Coaching them up -- Louisville women's sports coaches -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

THE PEOPLE WHO GUIDE CARDINAL WOMEN'S SPORTS

Let's take just a few minutes here. There are 12 women's sports that compete in NCAA Division I athletics at the University of Louisville. Each sport has a head coach.

Can you name all twelve coaches? Close your laptops, your monitors, your smart phones and grab a piece of paper and writing utensil and start listing them. 

We'll provide the answer to this quiz a bit further down in today's column. Just to give you a little help, the sports are basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, rowing soccer, softball, swimming/diving, tennis, track/field and volleyball. 

Some of the head coaches' names will come fairly quickly to you. I was able to name 10 right off the bat and had to do a little thinking on the remaining two but got them. I'll give you another hint. you'll only end up with 11 different names, since one coach is the head coach in two sports.

Here's your final music for contemplation: 

JEOPARDY MUSIC 

NOTE: The music is a "loop" that goes forever it seems (with stupid commercial interruptions). If you can listen to five minutes, we'll give you the one-eared, toothpick-holder bear as a reward. Or a Laurel and Hardy handshake. I listened to three minutes and now the tune is stuck in my head. There is some pretty cool music that follows, as well).  


* (remember, no cheating...)


* (one of the coaches' last name rhymes with "dowry".)


* (one of the coaches comes from right here in good ol' Louisville) 


* (better hurry!) 



OK, contestants! Time is up. Here are your answers: 

BASKETBALL   --      JEFF WALZ
CROSS COUNTRY --  DALE COWPER
FIELD HOCKEY --     JUSTINE SOWRY
GOLF --                   COURTNEY TRIMBLE
LACROSSE --            SCOTT TEETER
ROWING --               DEREK COPELAND
SOCCER --                KAREN FERGUSON DAYES
SOFTBALL --            HOLLY APRILE  
SWIM/DIVE --            ARTHUR ALBIERO
TENNIS --                 MARK BECKHAM
TRACK/FIELD --        DALE COWPER
VOLLEYBALL --        DANI BUSBOOM KELLY

So...how did you do? 

An A+ for you If you named all 11 names, congratulations! You really know your UofL womens' sports! Proceed to the front of the class! 

8-10 is not bad and we'll give you an A. You're up on things and smarter than your average bear...oops...Cardinal fan. 

5-7 is so-so and worth a B. You probably have some specific sports you follow and we encourage you to get to know the other sports that you missed. 

2-4 is passing, but barely a C. We'll recommend that you read CARDINAL COUPLE every day for a year and no dozing while you do it! 

1 is a D and pretty bad but, hey, you're either still a Cardinal fan that doesn't follow coaching or a visitor from another school. WE APPRECIATE YOU STOPPING BY !!! We'll not be too harsh toward you. Give us 5 laps around the gym and 100 free throws. 

0 is an F. It means you either stumbled across this site and were looking for bird information or to see what the site is about. Stay around awhile and learn something about the women's sports that UofL has and we report on. 

Here at CARDINAL COUPLE, we try to balance the excitement of UofL women's sports with what is seasonal and what YOU, the reader, want to read about. We try to follow Cardinal Greats when they move on to other aspects of their lives...pro ranks, coaching or other things. Sometimes, this can be an arduous and challenging task.

Fortunately, we have, in my opinion, three great columnist (and me) who have our own specific interests...but are adept at covering any of the sports. Most of you know Volleyball and Basketball are Jeff's first loves. Jared encompasses those and softball. Case loves Soccer and knows his way around the hardwood also. I try to be open, but, if pinned down...I'll admit basketball has long been my first UofL women's sports passion. I have become a fan of the other 11 sports, though, and have has so many great chats with the players and coaches in them. We do wander away from specific sports, at times, during the summer doldrums. We do hope you enjoy these little "side trips". 

We also get a lot of feedback from you, the reader. Both in the comments section and directly to me via e-mail or text. Usually it's positive and uplifting commenting, but I/We do get called on the carpet occasionally. There's a few of you who wouldn't mind this being a WBB site all year. I get reminders on how Field Hockey and Softball need coverage from time to time. I've grown to love and adopt Lacrosse as a sport I hate to miss over the last couple of years and, occasionally, some of you want to read about sports that we don't cover enough here. 

Last, but certainly not least, behind each team, staff and coaching crew there are the Sports Information Directors. We deal with and depend on a half-dozen or so of them throughout the year to help us get interviews, provide information and deliver updates on events, media opportunities and activities that are either out-of-town or something we might have missed. They play an important role and we appreciate what they help us do. They play a much bigger role to the sport(s) they represent. In the words of Emil Faber: "Knowledge is Good". 

Fall sports draw near. 18 days until women's soccer scrimmages Morehead in Lynn Stadium. All across the Louisville sporting contingent, practices are either underway or getting ready to start. Coaches are faced with the duties of evaluation, recommendation, instruction and analysis concerning their rosters. Student-athletes have been staying in shape and await the specific instructions designed to help them and the team grow and prosper. 

We wait with anticipation and excitement. Another UofL sports season is around the corner. 


paulie
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