Let's Go Bowling!!

Last week we got together as a team and went bowling. It was definitely a fun time. The bowling wasn't so great, but we did have a blast! The good thing is I know we are MUCH better playing ball than we are at bowling :-)

"The Nation" (Far lane with Pearce, Rocco, Ty, Jarrett) ended up winning the whole thing. Somehow they had guys go from bowling 27 in one game to 150 in the next. They had to be cheating in some way, shape, or form, but we never did catch them so I guess we will give them the title for the year.

 

 

 

Definitely were a LOT of moments like this with a bunch of people laughing. The good thing is since I was taking this picture, they couldn't have been laughing at my bowling!

 

 

Jerell (Top) and Brian (Bottom), did a pretty good job of carrying their teams. Not enough to beat the cheaters, but they were still 2 of the best bowlers for the night. 

 

 

To me, as an old dude, this picture says it all. Some guys laughing at someone bowling, while other guys are texting and tweeting away. Of course 3 of our main tweeters are in this picture. haha

 

 

 

As I'm sure you can tell from these photos, these guys are a lot of fun to be around and they enjoy being around each other. I really like the chemistry of this group and look forward to having a lot more fun with them.....and winning a lot of games!!

 

Yours in Hoops,

Coach Strick

 

Getting Better and Having Fun at Camp!!

Hope everyone had a great fourth of July!!

While this month we are celebrating our nation’s independence, last month our program got to celebrate a little with our basketball camp.  The camp always seems to be a lot of fun to the campers and they enjoy getting better at the game of basketball. This year was our biggest camp yet, as it tripled in size from when we started them a couple of years ago!

Everyday we would start with our ballhandling drills which should be done how often campers…….every day....and for how long....15-20 minutes a day! That's right! Haha  Then we would do our station work which focus on the fundamentals of passing, ballhandling, shooting, and agilities.

After our fundamental work was done for the day, we would get into our competitions.  One of the competitions we do is Basketball Golf.  It’s something I’ve done since I was attending my own high school camp back in Rochester, NY.  Basically what it is, is a glorified game of Horse.  And the kids LOVE it!!!

And of course we would finish up with some full court games. Obviously this is what the kids want to do for the whole 3 hours, but we make sure we get our fundamentals in everyday before they play full court. Besides, the summer is for making the individual basketball player better in their skill work. The season is when the team gets better by practicing and playing together.

Our main goal is that the campers have fun so that they enjoy the game enough to practice the drills at home on their own.  Because the players that practice hard on their own are always the ones that have the most success later in life.  That’s why our goal is to get them having fun doing the drills because if they are having fun they don’t even realize how hard they are working.

Hopefully we will continue to get back some of the same campers as they are AWESOME to be around!!  While I’m trying to make it fun for them, they are making it fun for me.  There’s nothing better than having a camp with good kids who come with a positive attitude and want to get better.  So I wanted to say thank you to the campers that came this year and I hope to see you again next year!  Plus bring a friend or two with you for even more fun :-)

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer and if you are a baller I hope you are working hard at your game!

Yours in Hoops,

Coach Strick

7 Make AMCC All-Academic Team!!

Crazy as this may sound to some, but the Pitt-Greensburg school year is over!! Not gonna lie, one of the best things about coming to Pitt is getting almost 4 full months off for summer. Not too many places where you can get that kind of summer break!

So as we wrap up the year and head into the off-season, I wanted to make sure we gave a s/o to our All-Academic guys. Last week we had our Pitt-Greensburg Athletics Awards Banquet and that is where we honor our athletes both on and off the court.

If you've ever played for me, or been recruited by me, you know that I place a BIG emphasis on academics. After all, you are going to end up going pro in something other than basketball. So when student-athletes are making their decision about where they want to go to college, I always stress that they are not making a 4 year decision, but a 40 year one. Because where they decide to go to school will decide what kind of doors get opened for them after school which will dictate a lot of their career path. Obviously I know a University of Pittsburgh degree will open a ton of doors, so that's why I stress the academics when you play for me...get the degree and get a good start on your professional career :-)

Last year we we had 3 guys make the AMCC All-Academic Team. This year that number went up to 7 players,which was almost half our team. How proud do you think I am as a coach?? So congrats to Brian Heinle, Doug Wilson, Mike Connelly, Dylan Reigel, Jarrett Shannon, Brock Witkowski, and Steve Hearty!! (Pictured in the same order from left to right).

  
Those guys are a great example of what our goals are here at Pitt-Greensburg....be champions on and off the court! As we strive to achieve a Top 25 Team GPA, these guys will definitely be leaders in that pursuit. I look forward to seeing more guys on the All-Academic Team next year and us reaching our Top 25 team GPA goal!

Hope everyone is having a great start to their summer!!

Yours in Hoops,
Coach Strick

Scholar-Athlete Breakfast

On February 21st the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg held their Scholar-Athlete Breakfast. It is the same type of breakfast they hold at the University of Pittsburgh campus in Oakland, but not with as many athletes. haha  If you have a 3.0 or higher you are invited to the breakfast, which always includes a great guest speaker. This year it was Marcus Bowman who is the Assistant Athletic Director for Administration and Planning at the University of Pittsburgh and former walk-on player for the basketball team.

Our team goal every year is to represent our University the best way we can both on and off the court. Our goal off the court in regards to academics is to achieve higher than a 3.0 team GPA. For comparative sake, Duke is around a 3.0 every year. This year our team came in with a first semester GPA of 3.06! In doing so, there were multiple players that qualified to be invited to the Scholar-Athlete breakfast with higher than 3.0 GPAs. Matter of fact, 9 of our 15 players achieved that 3.0 or better GPA.  Here's a picture of them....

Yes, they did a great job of pretending to be awake for the picture! haha

Seriously though, as a coach I couldn't be more proud of this group! To have 2/3 of any team achieve 3.0's or higher is truly amazing to me and I just can't say enough how proud I am of them. I'm looking forward to next year when even more of their teammates join them in achieving the lofty goals we have for them as students. After all, that is the main reason they are in school and have chosen Pitt-Greensburg!

Yours In Hoops,
Coach Strick