Balcom. Photo by Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin
Kelsey Balcom, forward for the women’s basketball team, was named MIAA player of the week for Jan. 10-15 for her fantastic offensive play.
“It’s a cool little thing,” Balcom said. “I’m just focusing on the next game.”
Despite being a freshman, Balcom has found her place within the team and is giving depth that the Hornets need to continue their success.
“(Balcom) had a good week and was voted the best (MIAA) player of the week,” said Head Coach Jory Collins. “She has done great. She fits in really well, she works extremely well and she is very coachable.”
Balcom, who has twice led the team in scoring, shoots 44.1 percent from the field and averages six rebounds per game.
“She is averaging 11 (points) and six (rebounds)… I have to believe she is probably the frontrunner for freshman of the year in our conference,” Collins said. “No other freshman is putting up numbers like that.”
Hailing from Olathe, Balcom came to Emporia because of the small town atmosphere and her own love for the game.
“I’ve always played basketball and loved it. I probably couldn’t give it up. I just wanted to keep playing,” Balcom said. “I liked the coaches and the girls, the school and the small town atmosphere where I get to know people better.”
Due to injuries on the team, Balcom’s roll has increased beyond that of the average freshman as her scoring ability has allowed her to fill specific roles.
“She is a scorer. She came in and knew her role on the team, and it has been increased with injuries (on the team). She has responded well to it,” said Senior Forward Ali Volkens. “At the beginning of the season, we knew that she was going to be a great player. She is a big part of the team. She has picked it up and done well.”
Balcom’s skills are much appreciated by her teammates, and she is preparing to not just fill the shoes of the injured players, but become a leader.
“She is a freshman. She is always willing learn and know what she can do to improve,” Volkens said. “She is doing really well.”
In light of her achievements, Collins knows she has room to improve and become a better player and an even better asset.
“Like a freshman, she thinks too much and isn’t playing really free… She is sometimes timid… but she is really talented,” Collins said. “The defensive end of the floor is where she could improve the most… (but) she has already made a ton of improvement…. and she is just going to grow every year.”
Chris Dvorak
$40M FUND AIDS DOYLE’S COVENANT PLAN STUDENTS SIGNED PLEDGE.(METRO)
The Capital Times November 1, 2007 | Callender, David Byline: DAVID CALLENDER The Capital Times Gov. Jim Doyle today announced the creation of a $40 million endowment to help fund his Wisconsin Covenant plan, which will guarantee financial aid for college-bound high school students.
During an event in Milwaukee, Doyle said the program will begin with a contribution from the Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corp., which he said will be used to challenge other businesses to contribute to the covenant program and provide grants to students.
Doyle also announced the creation of a new Wisconsin Covenant Foundation, a private, nonprofit and tax-exempt charity that will raise and distribute money for the program.
The Wisconsin Covenant has been one of Doyle’s top priorities in his second term as governor. In prepared remarks, Doyle said that the creation of the foundation “will ensure that our young people know that there is an opportunity for them to go to college.” More than 17,000 ninth-graders signed the covenant pledge before the Sept. 14 deadline. Current eighth-grade students can begin signing the pledge March 31. see here great lakes higher education
Under the program, eighth-grade students who promise to maintain good grades and stay out of trouble through high school are guaranteed to receive financial aid to attend the University of Wisconsin, private Wisconsin universities or colleges, or state technical colleges.
The amount and extent of the financial aid have not been determined, but under a plan passed as part of the current state budget, it will be based on a student’s financial need. The first “class” of covenant scholars will enter college in 2011.
Doyle said the Covenant Foundation’s board of directors will include: former Commerce Secretary Mary Burke; Chris Abele of the Argosy Foundation; Tom Boldt, CEO of the Boldt Co.; Richard George, CEO of the Great Lakes Higher Education Corp.; Dick Hansen, president and CEO of Johnson Financial Group; Dave Hanson, a partner in the Michael Best & Friedrich law firm; Joan Prince, UW-Milwaukee; Sister Joel Read, former president of Alverno College; John Torinus, CEO of Serigraph; and Gerald Whitburn, former state Health and Family Services secretary.
The panel represents a bipartisan group with strong representation from Republican and conservative activists. Boldt serves on the board of the state’s big-business lobby, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, which last year attacked Doyle during his bid for re-election. Torinus has frequently criticized Doyle and Senate Democrats in a monthly business column for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and Whitburn was a close confidant of former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson. go to web site great lakes higher education
Doyle also anounced the creation of a Wisconsin Covenant Advisory Committee, which he said will consist of community and business leaders, teachers, counselors and administrators. It will be co-chaired by Wisconsin first lady Jessica Doyle.
dcallender@madison.com CAPTION(S):
Jim Doyle Callender, David
