Kentucky Girls All-Star team Named...Smith to visit Wednesday

Natalie Greenwell is one of twelve to make
the KY. All-Star team. She's headed to
Morehead State to attend college

TUESDAY with CARDINAL COUPLE

-Ky. Girls All-Star team named

-Bria Smith to visit Louisville on Weds.

-Women's Golf in 2nd place in BIG EAST
Tournament.

-Rowing facility dedication Weds.

-Watson discusses recruits and coaches
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The 12 players performing for coach Chris Stalling as the 2011 Kentucky All-Star Girls Team have been announced. Heading the list are Miss Kentucky Basketball Sara Hammond and Elizabethtown senior Natalie Greenwell. They'll play June 10th. in Bellarmine's Knights' Gym and then at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday, June 11th. The team roster:

#1 Sara Hammond (Rockcastle County)
#2 Carla Booth (Sheldon Clark)
#3 Averee Fields (Calloway County)
#4 Danay Fothergill (Southwestern)
#5 Chastity Gooch (Franklin Simpson)
#6 Natalie Greenwell (Elizabethtown)
#7 Mechael Guess (Manual)
#8 Juliann Miller (Mercy)
#9 Maddie Peabody (Sacred Heart)
#10 Caprisha Rogers (Clark County)
#11 Kristin Stanback (Scott County)
#12 Lauren Tibbs (Scott County)

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Unsigned high school guard Bria Smith will visit the University of Louisville Wednesday as she narrows down the selection process of where she will attend college. She also has a trip scheduled to Tennessee later in the week. Smith is the highest ranked guard by most recruiting services that is still unsigned.

Smith is one of the best
one-on-one guards entering
the freshman class

Enjoy your stay here in Louisville, Bria. Cardinal country is a fun place to be and you'll be playing in front of the most rapidly growing fan base in women's college basketball when you choose Louisville.

The Lady Cards are building a BIG EAST powerhouse squad. You need to be a part of the magic and excitement that is unmatched in women's college basketball when the Louisville women take the court at the KFC YUM.
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Louisville women's golf moved up to second place in the BIG EAST Tournament with a 302 yesterday in second round action at Innisbrook, Florida. They trail front runner Notre Dame by 18 strokes with one round to go. Sophomore Anna-Karin Llungstrom fired a 72 to lead the Cards. She's tied for third place with a two day total of 148. Senior Sara-Maude Juneau carded a 76 on Day Two. Laura Anderson finished with a 76 along with Tara Lyons. Maria Castellanos toured the 18 in 79 strokes.

The Cards are 21 strokes ahead of Georgetown, so at least second looks wrapped up for Louisville...but they'll need their best efforts of the tournament to catch the Irish . They play the final round today.

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The new rowing facility is located directly
on the Ohio River..next to Waterfront Park.

The University of Louisville G.Garvin Brown Rowing facility will be unveiled Wednesday at 4 p.m. with grand opening speeches and ceremonies. Located off River Road and just 3 miles from the Belknap Campus...it gives the Cards one of the top facilities in the nation to train, practice and hold meets on the Ohio River. The Cards will compete in the BIG EAST Championships on April 30th in West Windsor, NJ.

Louisville's coming off three wins over Syracuse in the Charles River Challenge last time out.
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(David Watson is a special correspondent for CARDINAL COUPLE. The opinions expressed by David do not necessarily mirror those of CARDINAL COUPLE. He likes those mixed fruit jelly packages on toast, for example. WE hate the mixed fruit ones...) 

It looks like Jeff Walz has gone out hunting and brought back a whole knapsack full of game. And, he's got his sights set on more recruits. Sara Hammond, Jude Schimmel and Monney Esther Niamke have certified and DI level skills. They constitute a heck of a class for 2011. Adding Bria Smith would definitely make this a top five class. Walz has more talent lined up on campus for next hoops season than there are construction workers standing around on I-70 watching road improvement heavy machinery equipment.

Recruiting. It's 24/7, 365 days a year and continual. I have the pleasure of knowing a former DII coach who prowled the hardwood at a college not too far from my hometown. Even at that level, the recruiting process is fierce, competitive and can cause a coach to reach for the Pepto-Bismol as frequently as the cell phone. College coaches spend their summers attending the AAU Tournaments, watching highlight reels and zeroing in on their job security intangibles. You gotta win. You need players that will accomplish that for you. You go out and try to get them.

My buddy was 62-20 in three years in coaching locally before accepting another coaching  job out of state for more pay, more competition and more headaches. Did well there with 52 wins in two years at that next job and it led to a position further up the food chain. Unfortunately, that final job was four years of sub .500 records and an eventual resignation as the head coach. My buddy remains on campus as a assistant professor in sports related academia...but coaching isn't out of his blood. My buddy spoke about it:



Coaching isn't always celebrations,
championships and champagne.



"I could tell you about so many close misses on recruiting players that could have turned any or all of those seasons around for me. I could tell you about games decided by several points, a missed shot here, a crucial turnover there. The hours of visiting, researching, practices...but, in the final chapter...it's all about the win to loss ratio. I replay some of those games in my mind. I guess I'll always be a coach...but right now, I'm a commander without a battalion."



I would venture a wager that someday my buddy will pace the sidelines again. For now, though...the headaches, stress, knots in the stomach and hours of recruiting and training are on the shelf. Heck of a life, if you ask me...when your future and paycheck are dependent on the skills and abilities of teenagers and young women...



(David Watson stresses each and every week over the successes and failures of the bowling team he captains on Wednesday nights. His "buddy's name" was withheld by request.)

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