Coach Ralph and Coach Lea on Commodore Hour

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MikeADore
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Coach Ralph and Coach Lea on Commodore Hour

Post by MikeADore »

Coach Ralph's segment starts at the 5:40 mark.

https://www.thegamenashville.com/audio/


MikeADore
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Re: Coach Ralph and Coach Lea on Commodore Hour

Post by MikeADore »

Some highlights:

* Spent the summer with team laying groundwork and building the culture. I know a lot of us were bothered that coach White didn't show up the first summer after being hired while she finished the WNBA schedule. It was nice to hear coach Ralph has spent every minute possible with the players.
* Husband Tom is one of the best coaches in the business. Players are learning how good he is.
* Biggest thing they're having to teach players is the pace and effort it will take to win. Many of the players on the team haven't played a lot of college basketball. First step is teaching them to train like champions.
* After missing most of last season, the players were behind in training. Had to create a four-week program to get them to the point where they could actually train at 100 percent.
* About today's college athletes: "If I had been competing against these players, I probably would have been a manager somewhere."
* For this inexperienced group, they will spend much more time working on what they need to do game to game than scouting what opponents do.

One thing I noticed at several points in the interview: She is actually quite funny. That makes her even more likable.
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Re: Coach Ralph and Coach Lea on Commodore Hour

Post by Minoadoc »

I am a little shocked that she said something like " we didn't have the best players at UCONN...." She may not have been with him for his entirety, but during Geno's run, they have easily had at least a dozen of the greatest woman college players of all time. And for most of that time, Geno always had one of the top three rated HS players come to UCONN
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Re: Coach Ralph and Coach Lea on Commodore Hour

Post by MikeADore »

Minoadoc wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 1:07 pm I am a little shocked that she said something like " we didn't have the best players at UCONN...." She may not have been with him for his entirety, but during Geno's run, they have easily had at least a dozen of the greatest woman college players of all time. And for most of that time, Geno always had one of the top three rated HS players come to UCONN
Yeah, I think she was mostly saying that to emphasize her point that you need the right players for your program and the culture you hope to create no matter how talented they are. I get her point, but you are certainly right about the talent level they've had. Of course, the coaching has also been great.
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Re: Coach Ralph and Coach Lea on Commodore Hour

Post by tim4vandy »

Thanks for the link, Mike! :) @GAD
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Re: Coach Ralph and Coach Lea on Commodore Hour

Post by HuskyT »

MikeADore wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 11:22 am Some highlights:

* Spent the summer with team laying groundwork and building the culture. I know a lot of us were bothered that coach White didn't show up the first summer after being hired while she finished the WNBA schedule. It was nice to hear coach Ralph has spent every minute possible with the players.
* Husband Tom is one of the best coaches in the business. Players are learning how good he is.
* Biggest thing they're having to teach players is the pace and effort it will take to win. Many of the players on the team haven't played a lot of college basketball. First step is teaching them to train like champions.
* After missing most of last season, the players were behind in training. Had to create a four-week program to get them to the point where they could actually train at 100 percent.
* About today's college athletes: "If I had been competing against these players, I probably would have been a manager somewhere."
* For this inexperienced group, they will spend much more time working on what they need to do game to game than scouting what opponents do.

One thing I noticed at several points in the interview: She is actually quite funny. That makes her even more likable.
.
This is exactly what I expected from Shea. Conditioning pace and effort. Also I would like everyone to note the last comment 'They will spend much more time working on what they need to do in a game...' There will be some arm chair coaches out there that will criticize Shea's in game coaching this year. Comments beginning with 'She Should have switched to ...' will be readily available. This year is more about this team learning how to play D1 women's basketball than winning games. This year is laying down a foundation more than a winning record. She is going to play to win, but not at the expense of the foundation that needs to be built to compete for championships. My advice is to keep criticisms to a minimum and enjoy the process. Celebrate your teams effort. There will be blood on the floor.
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Re: Coach Ralph and Coach Lea on Commodore Hour

Post by Seadog73 »

Sounds very similar to what Clark Lea is trying to do with the football program.
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Re: Coach Ralph and Coach Lea on Commodore Hour

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HuskyT wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 9:47 pm
MikeADore wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 11:22 am Some highlights:

* Spent the summer with team laying groundwork and building the culture. I know a lot of us were bothered that coach White didn't show up the first summer after being hired while she finished the WNBA schedule. It was nice to hear coach Ralph has spent every minute possible with the players.
* Husband Tom is one of the best coaches in the business. Players are learning how good he is.
* Biggest thing they're having to teach players is the pace and effort it will take to win. Many of the players on the team haven't played a lot of college basketball. First step is teaching them to train like champions.
* After missing most of last season, the players were behind in training. Had to create a four-week program to get them to the point where they could actually train at 100 percent.
* About today's college athletes: "If I had been competing against these players, I probably would have been a manager somewhere."
* For this inexperienced group, they will spend much more time working on what they need to do game to game than scouting what opponents do.

One thing I noticed at several points in the interview: She is actually quite funny. That makes her even more likable.
.
This is exactly what I expected from Shea. Conditioning pace and effort. Also I would like everyone to note the last comment 'They will spend much more time working on what they need to do in a game...' There will be some arm chair coaches out there that will criticize Shea's in game coaching this year. Comments beginning with 'She Should have switched to ...' will be readily available. This year is more about this team learning how to play D1 women's basketball than winning games. This year is laying down a foundation more than a winning record. She is going to play to win, but not at the expense of the foundation that needs to be built to compete for championships. My advice is to keep criticisms to a minimum and enjoy the process. Celebrate your teams effort. There will be blood on the floor.
Agreed. Win or lose, I look for improvement that demonstrates advancement in little things. That confirms the effect of good coaching. I maintained that there was little evidence of that with CSW especially with defense where there was absolutely no improvement from day 1 till the end. The athleticism grew somewhat but not the fundamentals or scheme. Let’s hope CSR will be different- I sense that it will but we shall see.
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