COLLINS

What are this year’s expectations?

Our goals aren’t going to change. We feel like we’re at a level where we’re able to recruit and replace people. We’re still going to try to compete for championships. I feel like this year especially, as soon as those young ones can get up to speed at the college level, then we’re going to be able to be right in the mix. They just need a little time. They may take some bumps early, when they’re getting thrown into the fire, but I know by January and February, once they get acclimated, then we’re going to be pretty good.

Who are some specific leaders for this team?

We don’t really have a single person. Last year everyone looked to Alli (Volkens). This year we have a lot of people that take leadership roles. We’re not overly vocal in that aspect. We are a little bit, but it’s a lot of lead by example for our team… it’s nice to have a balance (of leadership). This year we have six different players who could average double figures. I don’t think anybody’s going to get 18 a game, but we have six that could get 12, 13 or 14 that are capable of getting 20 on any given night. I think that makes you tougher to guard. Obviously, they can’t really focus on one person, and anybody can get you. I think with our depth now that we’re healthy and we have new players in here, we ought to be tough to guard because we ought to be able to have five people on the floor that can score.

Who are some specific freshmen who will make some impact?

(Sarah) Wood, (Merissa) Quick and maybe (Kathryn) Flott a little bit… as freshman post players, I expect them to be in foul trouble early. But they’re big, physical players. They have good skill sets. They’re just lacking some experience – some college game experience. Kathryn is going to play the four for us mostly. Her best skill is probably just putting the ball in the hole. She lacks a little bit in ball handling and in passing – things she didn’t have to do in high school because she played the five. Shandelyn (Stewart) can do a little bit of everything. She’ll play the four for us as well. All of them are winners. They bring a lot of things to the table that we need. Obviously size is the number one thing, but they’re competitive and they’re ready to do well immediately.

How do you replace Alli Volkens?

We brought in four freshmen. Two of them… play her spot. (Volkens) averaged 18 (points) and 12 (rebounds) last year, which are really big numbers. I don’t know if we’re going to be able to make up for points with one person. It’s probably going to be by committee because they’re really young players. What we’ll miss most is probably her competitiveness and leadership more than we will her points and rebounds. I think those guys that we brought in are very talented. They’re just not as experienced.

Brandon Schneeberger

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An odd thing happens at sporting events and Emporia State is unfortunately not immune. It happens frequently at football and basketball games before slowly dying off into obscurity during the spring and summer sports seasons.

Now personally, I’m not immune to this either. When watching my favorite team compete, I naturally want them to win. I cheer hard for them and for the most part, I’m usually upset when things don’t go my way. I look for someone, something, to blame.

Usually, what happens in these situations, while looking for someone to blame, people begin to lose it. They start to ride the zebras.

We’ve all seen this. The angry father rides the zebra at his five year old daughter’s soccer game. Students in unison, the random drunk and even responsible adults ride zebras, usually at basketball games. It’s constantly happening people, and frankly it’s sick.

Unfortunately, I, too, must own up for I have indeed ridden a zebra. To be honest though, it’s not the riding of the zebra that gets under my skin so much as how the person is riding it.

Some people ride casually, some have trouble staying on (usually the drunks).

Others are maniacal. Now these people are all riled up. They stand up on the zebra (can you imagine!), bring a whip and a whole host of words that will not be repeated, and they really harass the poor thing. It’s comical to watch, yet after about the third person, it’s obnoxious.

The point is that zebras need to be respected. They have a job to do, and we have no right trying to correct them. It’s like screaming at the construction worker because traffic is slow. It’s simply irrational.

We have in our country, sane, respectable, wonderful people improperly riding zebras. There’s even a Facebook group titled “Kill the zebras.” (As if the decisions they make affect life and death).

What is wrong with us? I mean, it’s okay to disagree with a zebra (they’re an often mistaken species). I find myself disagreeing with zebras often, but that doesn’t make me harass the poor thing. Consider, is the disagreement really worth the harassment?

Fact is, zebras are naturally an independent species, and frankly glasses won’t help their eyesight anyways, so there’s no reason to tell them that while you’re riding them. They’ll go where they please. Never in my life have I seen a zebra change its mind because of the person riding it. Horses, now that’s different. Ostriches, too, are tough to corral, but that’s a different subject and quite off topic.

Sadly, zebra riding season is basically over. It happens here and there during the spring and summer, but it’s not really a huge problem. So when next fall rolls around, think twice before you hop on a zebra. Consider how that zebra feels with you on its back. And remember, there is a reason the zoos don’t let us ride the zebras.

Brandon Schneeberger

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Throughout the duration of a single sports season, it’s easy to lose sight of little things. This occurs especially when a team is vying for a conference championship. It’s easy to get caught up with the team’s record, ranking or current win streak. All of which are good things to get hung up on.

The phenomena I will be referring to happens in all areas of sports. For example, in professional baseball, Ken Griffey Jr. retired halfway through last season without much publicity. Brett Favre limped his way to retirement (or at least for today). Michael Jordan didn’t even have an epic retirement (the third time, that is).

Though on a much lower scale, Emporia State Athletes – and really all college athletes – experience the same type of ending to their careers.

It’s about this time of the year that the final home games will be played at White Auditorium. The games will come and go, a team will win or lose, but something will inevitably be overlooked. What I’m referring to is the legacy of senior forward Alli Volkens. With just two games left for Emporia State fans to see barring a road trip, Volken’s legacy as a Hornet is coming to an end at Emporia State.

Our job as fans? Don’t take her successes on the court for granted.

Volkens has established herself this year as one of the top players in the MIAA averaging 17 points and 12 rebounds per game as well as almost 3 blocks per game. Furthermore, not including Wednesday night’s game against Pittsburg St., Volkens is the 17^th Hornet on the women’s basketball team to reach 1,200 points in her career. After Saturday’s 16 rebound effort, she became the 7^th all-time Hornet in that category just four shy of 800.

Certainly, the future looks bright for the Hornets, but players like Volkens don’t come around every day, and it’s our job as fans to appreciate them when they do come around. Instead of taking for granted what has almost become a given when it comes to generating double-doubles, appreciate the talent on the floor.

So, if you happen to make it out to a Hornets game for one of the last two at White Auditorium, cheer for the team above all. But don’t forget to recognize the talent that is soon leaving Emporia. Because with sports, like most things in life, you never fully realize what you have until it’s gone.

Brandon Schneeberger

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It’s unfortunate, but Emporia State is missing out. I’m not just referring to the obvious shortcomings that may come while living in a small town like Emporia. I’m referring to the Emporia State men’s – and women’s – indoor track team.

Now this isn’t meant to bash ESU for not having an indoor track facility. Like cash, those don’t grow on trees. I’m simply referring to fact that we are all missing out on getting to watch this great track team in action. Unless, of course, you’ve been traveling all over the Midwest to watch the team.

The simple truth is that the current ESU indoor track team is not good, but great– especially on the men’s side of things. This year alone, there have been two ESU school records broken – both by the same person, Kevin Roulhac – in two consecutive weeks. Roulhac first set the school record in the weight throw before breaking his own record the following week.

In addition, Katie Mona ran to third place all time this past weekend in Lincoln, Neb., with her mile time of 4:56.40. Andrew Etheridge, a freshmen, also moved up in the ESU record book with his 60m run in just 8.10 last weekend. He’s now second all-time at ESU.

I consider myself a fair-weather runner. It’s natural for me to enjoy watching others excel at running, and it’s something that I look forward to every time the Olympics roll around. Likewise, it would be nice to get to see our athletes at ESU do these remarkable feats in person.

Furthermore, and perhaps a better reason, is the need for more options here. Basketball is great – don’t get me wrong. In fact, basketball is my favorite sport. But we need a little more variety come this time of year here at Emporia State.

Basketball will always be king – or queen – this time of year, and perhaps it should be, but our track stars need some of the glory passed on to them every now and then as well. They too should have the opportunity to have their friends come out and support them.

It would be nice for Emporia State students to be able to see these athletes in action. Unfortunately, students will have to wait for the spring track season to catch a glimpse. The least we can do for now is to continue to follow the team and the individuals as they gear up for the conference tournament and the national championships.

Brandon Schneeberger

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In light of last week’s column, I think it’s good to clarify the above statement. As of right now, the Emporia State women’s basketball team are simply not a top ten team. On Nov. 3 of last year, the Hornets were picked as the #6 team in the land. Perhaps, like some Division I schools, the ranking may have been preordained.

Let’s take a closer look at things.

The Hornets came off a season in which they won 30 games and won the national championship. They lost one of the greatest Hornets of all time Cassandra Boston plus the all-time leader in Emporia State history for wins and winning percentage as a coach for the Hornets in Brandon Schneider who now coaches at Division I Stephen F. Austin.

Furthermore, the Hornets were ranked so high with a full team. Since their national ranking, Emporia State has lost three major players to injuries including senior guard Brittany Miller, who was injured during the end of the volleyball season and has yet to play this season.

With the loss of a major leader from last year in Boston, an achieved head coach in Schneider and three players due to injury, it’s hard to expect a team to remain ranked so high.

This is not meant to bash the Hornets or imply they were overrated or are underachieving. On the contrary, it should be clear that the Hornets are playing exactly where one would expect to see such a young team. In contrast to the Hornet men – who it seem have nothing but seniors – the Hornets have only one senior playing significant minutes.

In fact, the Hornets’ top five scorers – who make up 80.2 percent of the team’s scoring – are made up of one senior, two sophomores and two freshmen. This puts a lot of pressure on the lone senior in the group, Alli Volkens, to be both a leader emotionally and mentally as well as physically.

The long and short of it is that this team relies on their underclassmen. Currently 66 percent of Emporia State’s offense comes from sophomores and freshmen. To add to this, underclassmen see the court 69.4 percent of the time for the Hornets. These stats alone should indicate a team in transition as opposed to a team that has arrived.

With a young team, however, comes hope. A young team will continue to grow and will thus be leaps and bounds ahead of where they were at the beginning of the year. A young team also gives hope for the future of program. A future that looks awful bright for the Hornets.

Brandon Schneeberger

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Schneeberger

Perfection for most of us and in most areas of life is but an illusion. A perfect score on a test, the perfect car or the perfect person are unrealistic. The problem arises when we begin to expect perfection. Whatever the case may be, each person inevitably expects perfection at some point or another in their life.

This pining for perfection spills over to sports.

The expectation can – though perhaps not explicitly stated – be found for the women’s basketball team this season. Though probably not fair, expectations for a defending national champion are always high. We look at the schedule and inevitably see nothing but wins. I’d like to propose that a team will actually profit from a couple of loses throughout the season.

I recently finished reading a book that proposed the idea that pain in itself is not a bad thing, but something more like a tool used to perfect us. Translate this idea of pain (losing) to the college basketball season, and you begin to see that a few loses can help a team gain perspective on the season.

Certainly, the Hornets don’t plan loses, but when the occasional loss does occur, it gives the team perspective. The Hornets have lost two of their last three (not counting last night’s game). A pessimist worries, wondering how they’ll bounce back. Another approach is to see how the team will learn from the setback.

Loses do something that wins cannot: They prepare a team, showing them where they need to improve. Loses humble a team whereas an undefeated season may produce pride – what is sometimes the biggest impediment for a team to overcome.

It’s good for a team to have a few loses on the season, gaining insight on where they are weakest. Ask any athlete. When a coach refers to a game that ended in a loss, the first thing that comes to the player’s minds is the loss. Losses grab the attention. They add power to the problem addressed by the coach.

In February 2006, the Florida Gators men’s basketball team lost three games in a row to three teams they had no business losing to. Talking heads essentially wrote them off, purposing they wouldn’t last long come March. Low and behold, it was the Gators who bounced back to win the National Championship that year. (Ironically about the same thing happened the following year).

Women’s basketball may win out this conference season. They may lose a game or two more. The purpose is to not get preoccupied and let the losses pile up, but to learn from them, and become better prepared for the postseason. To see the forest for the trees if you will. Perhaps like this particular column, the Hornets will hopefully, by season’s end, be perfectly imperfect.

Brandon Schneeberger

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Schneeberger

Sports, much like academics, begin to feel the strain of October. Believe it or not as this article goes to press, the ESU athletic schedule for the fall is almost at the midway point.

Emporia athletics are bearing down for the homerun stretch this October, and as a student of this college, it’s time to dig in and support your teams. Saying you don’t care about athletics at this school won’t fly. The amount of ESU t-shirts and sweatshirts seen on the campus suggests otherwise.

Reasons still may be needed to get many of you to support the Hornets. As I write this, our football team is currently 4-1.That matches the best start since 2002. With six games on the way and the way our defense has been playing, a winning season seems more than possible – perhaps even a playoff birth looms on the horizon?

Meanwhile our volleyball team is not only owning on the court but are currently ranked 11th in the nation. Need I say more? I will though. Through the first three weeks of the season, senior setter Ting Liu managed to earn three consecutive MIAA player of the week awards. Volleyball can also be incredibly exciting sport – especially when there is a lively crowd.

Let’s not forget our soccer team in the excitement. The record may not persuade many of my readers to care to get out to a game, but the passion and intensity are just as evident on the soccer field as with any other sport.

Compare it to the bigger stage. Being an avid Royals fan, I have yet to attend a relevant Royals baseball game in my lifetime. Does that keep me from attending? Of course not. Add to this the excitement a soccer game brings, and the fact that October weather is great stuff, the reasons for attending a game begin to stack up.

Last and certainly not least, we come to cross country. This Friday will be their final home meet at Jones Park at 5 p.m. In their last meet, Katie Mona opened up her season with a first place finish, and for the men Asher Delmott has been the top runner. Attending a cross country meet doesn’t take up too much time either, not giving way to any excuses to miss out.

The challenge is not to make it to every game, but to make it a priority to attend at least one game a week. That’s two to three hours of your week. Go with a friend, paint your face and forget about academics for a few hours while you enjoy our school’s great athletic teams.

Brandon Schneeberger

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Schneeberger

Like most sports fans, I am a fan of big time college sports. It’s hard to top a Saturday afternoon football game or March Madness.

Now, as much as I like watching the top athletes at some of the bigger schools compete, I have over the years found myself more annoyed every year at the current state of college athletics. It’s becoming more apparent every year that many – though not all – of today’s Division I athletes are simply athletes, nothing more.

Before I go any further, I must make it clear that I will be making generalizations regarding Division I and Division II athletes. I’m aware of the exceptions to these generalizations, and when I refer to “Division I” athlete, I generally am referring to those looking to play professionally.

This being my first semester at Emporia State, I have not paid much attention to Division II college sports in past years.

That is until now.

The major difference you can see between the athletes on television and the athletes here on campus is academics. And that is what makes the Division II athlete so great. Instead of being a one-dimensional person, the Division II athlete is well aware of life apart from athletics. In summation, Division II athletes have real lives in which they are learning and training to be professionals of another kind.

Rarely will a Division II school be incited for recruiting violations or helping athletes pass algebra. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, or that Division I athletes can’t pass algebra, but that it occurs far more frequently on the bigger stage. The Division II athlete is not as distracted or as concerned about the big game.

It’s no secret that money is the root of the “problem” if you’ll call it that. Division I sports are about money, and when it comes to it, academics can and will go out the door. Instead of cutting back on the lengths of the athletes schedules – or even keeping them the same for that matter – we continue to push more games in for revenue.

On the Division II level, revenue is not nearly as big a deal. Athletes play the game as student athletes, not as money-making machines. There isn’t as much incentive to increase schedule lengths because of this, giving athletes more time to be students.

So the next time you happen to catch a Hornet game this fall, feel proud to cheer not just for a great athlete but a student who is “going pro” in something other than sports.

Brandon Schneeberger

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Brandon Schneider has left the building.

The winningest women’s basketball coach in Emporia State University history has decided to move on to Stephen F. Austin State University, a Division I school in Nacogdoches, Tex.

It would be hard for me to blame Schneider for taking the job.Stephen F. Austin’s women’s basketball program has a very rich, proud tradition of excellence on and off the basketball court.

And it would be very hard for me to argue against taking a higher paying, higher profile Division I job in the recruit-rich state of Texas, either.

Schneider has basically done all that he can at Emporia State.Countless postseason accolades for himself and his players, high finishes in the regular season conference race and the postseason tournament and the ever-popular National Championship are what Schneider has left behind to the Hornet faithful.

These honors and privileges will live on forever in the hearts and minds of those who were apart of the magic – these should never be taken for granted.It’s not often that a small-town college can do so many great things on the basketball court on a regional and national level.

Schneider is certainly moving on to bigger things, but will have to withstand the test of time.While watching his press conference where he was introduced as SFA women’s basketball head coach, I watched the same old coach preach the same old things.

Toughness.Chemistry.Defense.Identity.

These principals have led Schneider and his teams to greatness year in and year out, capping it all of with this past season’s #1 ranking and the elusive tourney trophy.While his players at ESU obviously took those principles to heart, it will remain to be seen whether or not Schneider’s new group of student-athletes will buy in to his program.

With Schneider’s track record, I have no doubt that they will.

What Schneider leaves behind is a team coming off of its deepest tournament run ever.The team, undoubtedly led by senior forward and NCAA Division II Elite Eight MVP Alli Volkens (what a mouthful), will be without the proven leadership of Schneider for the first time in over a decade.

If I were in that circumstance, a bevy of thoughts and ideas would be swirling around in my head.

Schneider assistant Jory Collins aims to take over the head coaching position, but will first have to await the approval of ESU President Michael Lane and Athletic Director Ken Weiser.

If Collins is hired, the program wouldn’t skip a beat and go on about doing business like it has previously, one would believe.Hell, Collins is a Schneider protégé if there ever was one.

Only time will tell if Collins is the heir-apparent to Schneider’s vacant throne.In the mean time, why don’t we all take a moment and reminisce about the honor and glory Schneider brought to Emporia State basketball.

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SHANE WILSON

Mere weeks separate the students of Emporia State from the ever-coveted summer vacation.The time for books and studying will come to a halt for most, and along with that, the crack of a bat, the whoosh of a tennis racket, and the thud of a shot hitting gravel will also halt.

I know I’ve spent my fair share of time trying to persuade my readers to get out and catch a game, but I only do so because I think it’s important.

A fanbase without fans is a sad, sad affair.

The chance to go watch some premium MIAA competition this year is waning and fast.How awesome would it be if the momentum from the women’s basketball National Championship carried over to a spring sport?

I’m sure the athletic department would love to see it.

I know what you’re thinking.Spring sports don’t have the same fan appeal that fall and winter sports do.I partly agree with that.It would be hard for me to pass up a good game of football or basketball to watch a softball game.

I implore you to at least give it a chance.It’s still exciting to see your peers hit a home run or jump a record height.Just because the spring sports aren’t the “big ticket” sports doesn’t mean they don’t deserve some love, too.

Think about the time and dedication it takes to play a college sport.Now think about the same factors playing a sport that receives little to no admiration or attention.It doesn’t sound too fun to me.

These student-athletes are just like the student-athletes that we all adore from the big name sports.For every Alli Volkens there’s a Kevin Wempe, who deserves just as much adoration as the former.

These athletes can do some pretty amazing things as well – just try and hit a tiny ball with a stick going 90 miles per hour and tell me how easy it is.

I’m not trying to criticize those who simply don’t enjoy baseball or tennis or track and field.I’m simply trying to persuade those of you who won’t even give these sports a chance to do just that.Who knows, you might enjoy yourself.

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SHANE WILSON

You know the economy isn’t doing so hot when sports are affected. Teams nowadays have to seriously cut down on spending, and some athletic departments have to shut down entire sports programs all together.

And to think, most people believe that athletic departments fund themselves.

In a few rare circumstances, some sports departments are able to fully fund themselves without the help of central administrations. For all of the other schools in the country, the opposite is the case.

The economy might not be entirely to blame in this instance. For example, the National Collegiate Athletic Association came out with a report in 2009 stating that average athletics spending increased 43 percent between 2004 and 2008, but average revenue only increased 33 percent over the same time period. The NCAA also reported in 2005 that between 2001 and 2003, athletics spending increased almost four times faster than regular institution spending.

The facts are simple. Athletics departments around the country are spending entirely too much to be sustainable. Spending in terms of salaries is also included in the argument.

Presidents of major universities agree.

According to an October 2009 Knight Commission report, when asked about salaries across Football Bowl Series institutions nationally, an overwhelming majority (85%) of FBS presidents indicate they feel compensation is excessive for football and basketball coaches.

In addition, less than a quarter of presidents believe intercollegiate athletics are sustainable in their current form at FBS institutions nationally.

These findings make the situation seem direr than ever. Athletic directors have been facing these sorts of problems for years. Now that a majority of FBS school presidents believe that a different, more practical approach is necessary for future stability, eyes are beginning to open to the severity of the situation.

So how is Emporia State affected by all of this? They’re no FBS school, that’s for sure.

ESU is just as susceptible to a declining economy as the larger schools are – maybe even more so. At an institution that receives far less financial support to the likes of KU or Ohio State (where over 30 different sports are offered to student-athletes), a rough stretch in the market can spell disaster. Without private donations and fiscal aid from central administration, the program would be in dire straights.

So yes, even sports can be affected by a poor economy. More so than I’m sure you originally thought. But unless the departments themselves take active steps in reducing the amount they spend, it might not be the economy that takes them down.

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