Laying the Foundation
7/12/2021 1:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Women's basketball aims to take full advantage of summer
With a blast of her whistle, Caroline McCombs transitioned the GW women's basketball team from one defensive drill to the next during a recent workout at the Smith Center.
"Let's go," the first-year head coach called enthusiastically while motioning defenders into position around the perimeter. "We're creating habits right now."
A championship defense isn't crafted overnight, and the Buff and Blue are putting in the work this summer to start building the tough-minded identity that has been a calling card of McCombs' squads.
Workouts thus far have been heavy on defense and transition offense, and by design, there are frequent stops and starts for teaching moments as the group begins to grasp the bedrock principles of McCombs' system.
"We've got to lay down the foundation," said McCombs, whose Stony Brook teams ranked in the top 50 nationally each of the past seven seasons. "It's just going to take time. The things that are important we have to focus on, we have to repeat. That's the only way to teach and get better."
With a mix of individual and team workouts, the summer has offered a valuable head start for everyone with months to go before the first official practice of 2021-22.
It's an exciting time for a group that has added nine newcomers. The energy is high as they continue to learn together under McCombs and her staff.
"I like to say we're adapting to something new every day, but it's been good," said senior guard Maddie Loder. "It's never been something that we can't do. It's always something this group is very capable of doing, something we're ready to do."
McCombs is savoring this opportunity to focus on teaching.
She's a hands-on coach who is quick to hop into a defensive stance to demonstrate what she's preaching, and she's been able to lean on a staff familiar with exactly how her system should be run from their time together at Stony Brook.
"I love it," McCombs said. "This is a team that's pretty focused on the court. They want to be coached. They want to learn. It's just a matter of us being disciplined and holding them accountable with everything."
To begin the team's final week before a break for the Fourth of July holiday, the veteran coach held a film session with clips of her Seawolves squad that won the America East title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament last March to reinforce the basics on which she's built her recent success.
It was a simple-yet-useful exercise, stressing the fundamentals of defensive positioning, team rebounding and igniting the fastbreak.
"I think it helps to see it," McCombs said. "In practice, you think, 'This is really hard,' but when they see it and they see good possessions and what stops on defense look like and how defense-to-offense can be really fun and exciting, it gets them a little bit more locked in and focused."
A transfer via UNCW, Taylor Webster signed on this spring eager to be part of the vision that McCombs has laid out for the program.
The sophomore guard said the level of detail in the workouts, especially on the defensive end, has been eye-opening, and the progress has been evident week-to-week, day-to-day and even drill-to-drill.
"Everyone is learning," said Webster, a D.C. native whose father Darryl was a Buff and Blue hardwood stalwart in the mid-80s. "We're learning from each other, and we're learning the coaches. We're learning how they coach. We're learning each other as players. I can tell that we're getting better and starting to gel more and more every day."
Time together off the court has helped spur that continued growth, too.
There have been team-building outings, like a recent trip to watch GW alumna Jonquel Jones and the Connecticut Sun face the Washington Mystics, and plenty of chance to get to know one another.
Webster joked that she's visited the National Mall to peruse the monuments with teammates more in her first month on campus than in her entire life growing up in the nation's capital.
More formally, the team met with former coach/author/motivational speaker Kevin Eastman and has begun a team study of Joshua Medcalf's Pound The Stone: 7 Lessons To Develop Grit On The Path To Mastery. It's the book that inspired McCombs' favorite mantra, and the Buff and Blue already have a rock in their locker room as an ever-present reminder of the daily effort necessary to attain excellence.
"I love that book because it's a story that teaches so many life lessons," McCombs said. "I think when we develop that 'Pound the Stone' mentality, it's a lifestyle and it's a culture, and I'm excited for this group to learn about it."
A veteran of 75 career appearances in Buff and Blue, Loder is excited about continuing that journey in the months ahead. The Orono, Minn., native has appreciated the way that the new staff has exercised patience while upholding precise standards.
She's tried to be a steady voice of encouragement amid all the stops and starts at practice, mindful that the lessons gained now will be important later.
"Our coaches have been really great," Loder said. "They know this is all brand new to us. They're not saying, 'If you don't get this right now, you're not going to play come November.' They're saying, 'We have time to get this figured out, but we'd love for you to get it sooner rather than later."
"Let's go," the first-year head coach called enthusiastically while motioning defenders into position around the perimeter. "We're creating habits right now."
A championship defense isn't crafted overnight, and the Buff and Blue are putting in the work this summer to start building the tough-minded identity that has been a calling card of McCombs' squads.
Workouts thus far have been heavy on defense and transition offense, and by design, there are frequent stops and starts for teaching moments as the group begins to grasp the bedrock principles of McCombs' system.
"We've got to lay down the foundation," said McCombs, whose Stony Brook teams ranked in the top 50 nationally each of the past seven seasons. "It's just going to take time. The things that are important we have to focus on, we have to repeat. That's the only way to teach and get better."
With a mix of individual and team workouts, the summer has offered a valuable head start for everyone with months to go before the first official practice of 2021-22.
It's an exciting time for a group that has added nine newcomers. The energy is high as they continue to learn together under McCombs and her staff.
"I like to say we're adapting to something new every day, but it's been good," said senior guard Maddie Loder. "It's never been something that we can't do. It's always something this group is very capable of doing, something we're ready to do."
McCombs is savoring this opportunity to focus on teaching.
She's a hands-on coach who is quick to hop into a defensive stance to demonstrate what she's preaching, and she's been able to lean on a staff familiar with exactly how her system should be run from their time together at Stony Brook.
"I love it," McCombs said. "This is a team that's pretty focused on the court. They want to be coached. They want to learn. It's just a matter of us being disciplined and holding them accountable with everything."
To begin the team's final week before a break for the Fourth of July holiday, the veteran coach held a film session with clips of her Seawolves squad that won the America East title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament last March to reinforce the basics on which she's built her recent success.
It was a simple-yet-useful exercise, stressing the fundamentals of defensive positioning, team rebounding and igniting the fastbreak.
"I think it helps to see it," McCombs said. "In practice, you think, 'This is really hard,' but when they see it and they see good possessions and what stops on defense look like and how defense-to-offense can be really fun and exciting, it gets them a little bit more locked in and focused."
A transfer via UNCW, Taylor Webster signed on this spring eager to be part of the vision that McCombs has laid out for the program.
The sophomore guard said the level of detail in the workouts, especially on the defensive end, has been eye-opening, and the progress has been evident week-to-week, day-to-day and even drill-to-drill.
"Everyone is learning," said Webster, a D.C. native whose father Darryl was a Buff and Blue hardwood stalwart in the mid-80s. "We're learning from each other, and we're learning the coaches. We're learning how they coach. We're learning each other as players. I can tell that we're getting better and starting to gel more and more every day."
Time together off the court has helped spur that continued growth, too.
There have been team-building outings, like a recent trip to watch GW alumna Jonquel Jones and the Connecticut Sun face the Washington Mystics, and plenty of chance to get to know one another.
Webster joked that she's visited the National Mall to peruse the monuments with teammates more in her first month on campus than in her entire life growing up in the nation's capital.
More formally, the team met with former coach/author/motivational speaker Kevin Eastman and has begun a team study of Joshua Medcalf's Pound The Stone: 7 Lessons To Develop Grit On The Path To Mastery. It's the book that inspired McCombs' favorite mantra, and the Buff and Blue already have a rock in their locker room as an ever-present reminder of the daily effort necessary to attain excellence.
"I love that book because it's a story that teaches so many life lessons," McCombs said. "I think when we develop that 'Pound the Stone' mentality, it's a lifestyle and it's a culture, and I'm excited for this group to learn about it."
A veteran of 75 career appearances in Buff and Blue, Loder is excited about continuing that journey in the months ahead. The Orono, Minn., native has appreciated the way that the new staff has exercised patience while upholding precise standards.
She's tried to be a steady voice of encouragement amid all the stops and starts at practice, mindful that the lessons gained now will be important later.
"Our coaches have been really great," Loder said. "They know this is all brand new to us. They're not saying, 'If you don't get this right now, you're not going to play come November.' They're saying, 'We have time to get this figured out, but we'd love for you to get it sooner rather than later."
Players Mentioned
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