Binford's Blog

What Champions Are Made Of

2012-01-25T15:22:00.000-08:00

The end of January to early February is probably the most challenging time period for athletes and their motivation. Let me just explain the 6 months of the basketball season.

October-Practice begins. It's exciting, new, fresh, and roles are still yet to be established.

Novemeber-Games begin. Enough said. Practice is put into action!

December-Everyone wants to finish strong before hitting conference. Preseason is now over.

Early January-Conference begins. It's a new season and every game matters for placing in your conference.

Mid January-Early February: You have played everyone in the conference once. You are now hitting the second scouting report, second time preparing for the same teams, have been practicing for four months, and are probably going through the same drills you have been running for four months. The Champion is at a heightened level of focus in this month over the details to give them an edge.

March-There is a reason it's called March Madness. It's tournament time and everyone is excited and wanting to work at tournament time. The question is whether or not it's too late.

Back to Mid January-Early February: It can be the most critical time in whether or not your team is for real, or whether or not their goals are just written on a piece of paper.

Questions to ask yourself if you are a true champion?
1) What are your individual goals today? True champions have them.

2) What sacrifices are you willing to make this week? Champions have the discipline to make sacrifices for long durations.

3) What are you doing this week that is above and beyond what's being asked of you? Champions don't have excuses as to why they don't have time. They find time by cutting something else out.

4) On a scale of 1-10 how hard did you practice today? Champions don't get bored with the process or the drill they've done a thousand times. They value repition and routine as a way to perfect their game.

5) Are you satisfied with your role and what are you doing to improve it? Some athletes give up when they see their role as one not being as big as they would hope for. No one should be satisfied with their role as there is always room for improvement.

The last question is what champion teams are made of and the answer is simple. It's a team full of individual champions pursuing the same goal. You know the one that every team in your conference has also written down as theirs.

Coach Bin

Random Thoughts by Former Bobcat Jamie Thornton

2012-01-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

For those of you that are new to MSU women's basketball, let me introduce myself. I played for the Cats from the 2006-2007 season until the 2009-2010 season. After I graduated in May 2010 with my undergrad degree I decided to stick around Bozeman for a while and try life as a normal student as I pursued a masters degree in statistics. Nearly two years later I find myself only one semester away from having to get a real job and join the real world, and I can't help but to find myself looking back to the years I spent as a player here and all the good times I had.

Some of my fondest memories include road trips, like the time our whole flight to Northern Arizona got cancelled and we had to rebook 17 passengers to Phoenix that day. To make matters worse, we had lost a tough game to Northern Colorado the night before and no one wanted to be stuck in the airport for 12 hours while we tryed to re-book flights! But we kept a Coke in Coach Bin's hands an luckily we didn't have to run sprints in the airport.

Other memorable times are of the recruiting visits of some current players. We all clearly remember Katie Bussey's recruting trip, she probably weighed about 85 pounds when we met her. As soon as we heard she had signed, we all said "She'll have to red shirt, she'll be broken in half!" She proved us wrong! In our defense, she did gain some weight during that summer!

But this is a post titled "Random Thoughts" so here we go:

1) Is Dove chocolate and Dove body wash the same Dove? If so why is a chocolate company making body wash?

2) Why does everyone in Montana have vanity plates? And why does it bother me when I cant de-code them?

3) Are marriages legal all over the world? Like if you are married in the US are you married in China too?

4) Did you know that fog occurs when the temperature and due point are close to eachother. And it only counts as fog when visability is less than 5/8 of a mile.

5) What country is made up of over 54,000 islands? Canada!! Seriously!

6) Does anyone else think it's crazy that Christmas is in the middle of the summer in Australia? I do! Christmas is for winter, maybe they should mover theirs to July. I would go celebrate that.

7) Di-hydrogen mono-oxide and sodium chloride = salt water, why not just say salt water?

8) Why are knee braces allowed in games but not bobby pins? I'm pretty sure running into a knee brace hurts more than a bobby pin would!

And that my friends, is from the ever-pondering mind of Ms. Jamie Erin Thornton. She'll make a great addition to "the real world", don't ya think?

Super Fans

2012-01-03T10:16:00.000-08:00

Our families of our players and coaches bring amazing support to our team whether home or away. At home some of them take up their own section in the Fieldhouse and on the road make themselves heard very early on to our officials. Fortunately, this season, no one has been asked to leave the gymnasium.

Some of our recent road trips:

Las Vegas Tournament. If you are not sure if Katie's sisters are at the game then they are NOT. You will know when they are there. This year, however, we welcomed the additional loud section of the Mendiola family.
They have had some education on how to cheer at games. I now know where Giulianna gets her loud clapping from. Just watch her during introductions. I am personally flying the Mendiola's in for our Cat Griz rivalry(on Giuli's dime of course.)

Our Eastern Washington trip brought in incredible family support, including returning parents and even former player's parents. Jamie Thornton came in to do the radio with Tyler which brought Joe and Sandy back for another round of stress. Jeff and Patty Seidensticker also showed up for support which was most crucial as Coach Starr found out after the game that she had a hole in her pants. Thank you to Patty for sewing them after the game and Lisa Semansky's teamwork for bringing them to Portland the following day.

This year I have lost 10 pounds since we don't get to see Anne Strand after every game with 5 loafs of banana bread.

I feel a sense of comfort this season knowing that if I tweek my knee in my high heels I have Dr. Elliott there.

Most importantly I don't ever have to worry about getting over confident as Duane Bussey is always there at his usual 6'9 self to come over for support after games and remind me I am still only 5'6 even in high heels.

Thank you to all of our parents for your support of your daughters and our team. It's going to be an exciting Big Sky season, and it would not be the same without all of you joining us for the ride.

Now to our Super Fan Competition. If you want to get in the running the only stipulation is that you can not be related to any of the Bobcat players or coaches as family should automatically be super fans.

To our two front running "super fans" Carrie Benke and Bob Schwann you better show up with Blue and Gold face paint on Thursday because we have plenty of Super Fans that will be here at 7:00pm as we take on the ISU Bengals!

Coach Bin

A Savior Is Born

2011-12-25T10:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas marks a day of celebration, hope, and joy.

I can't describe what joy is any better than the excitment on our kid's and neighbor Ella's faces last night when they heard Santa's Reindeer bells outside Brooklyn's window. (My niece Ashley was outside their window jingling the bells off her phone.) All of the kids sprinted out of their rooms and screamed, "We heard Santa's reindeer bells!"

My sister and I told them it means Santa is close so we better get to bed. That's when they all sprinted back into Brooklyn's room, including Ella. Ella's mom Angela and I just cracked up and after gathering ourselves, clarified they needed to go to bed in their own rooms.

At 5:55am this morning we heard 6 feet shuffling down the stairs as my oldest nephew Tyler throws the door open, "IT'S CHRISTMAS!" I said, "Don't you remember our agreement, 6:50am is when we get up." He comes over to me and gives me a big hug as for me to get up. What stories of joy.

As we watched our kids overwhelmed with joy unwrapping presents, I think of how Jesus must feel and the excitement He must have when seeing a new believer receive His wonferful gift of salvation. It feels so good to give and thank you Jesus to the best gift ever to receive.

Have a Merry Christmas,

Coach Bin

Scheduling

2011-12-08T15:42:00.000-08:00

Since I have been asked the question daily why we have two weeks between our North Dakota and Illinois games I thought I could just tell you all on my blog.

Scheduling preseason games is one of the most challenging tasks we have here at Montana State. That's why I gave the task to Amy!

Scheduling away games is easy as EVERYONE wants a home game. Home games, however for a remote, and winterland tropicana, NOT SO EASY. If I was a California school I would be jumping at our offer to come play us. How many times do your players get to make snow angels or have a snowball fight.

The two week downtime is mostly because we couldn't get one more home game and that we wanted next week off so our athletes could be steller students and Ace their finals. That we will certainly accomplish.

In the end, I think our schedule has been fantastic. It has been difficult, compact, and about to take new heights as we take on Illinois and Georgia in Las Vegas. It will have prepared us for the upcoming Big Sky season especially with the home and home games we have against UND to see how to prepare for a familiar foe a second time around.

Most importantly, this downtime will give us the recovery we will need to be truly at our best when conference play begins.

If you are interested in coming to Bozeman to play, please don't hestitate to call!

Coach Bin

Coach Bin

DRINK MILK

2011-12-02T12:58:00.000-08:00

I remember growing up and having milk with every meal of the day. I assume 1% milk and skim milk were around back then, but I never saw it. It was always 2% or if I went to my best friend's house, who lived on a farm, she could just squeeze whole milk straight from the cow. I didn't actually try it that way though.

I was always told that milk would make me grow.I have now since come to the realization that may actually be a myth. I do believe milk is extremely important, especially to females in having strong bones. I remember my doctor telling me after my first knee surgery that he was impressed at how strong my bones were.

With all the pounding that athletes are doing at higher levels than ever before I want to encourage all young female athletes to get their calcium in.

On a different topic, is it me or are females getting taller every year? This season we have already played 6'7, 6'5, 6'4, 6'3, and 6'6 again tonight. I think I might ask her if she drank a lot of milk growing up.

Coach Bin

RECOVERY

2011-11-28T09:34:00.000-08:00

We are in the thick of preseason right now with 5 games over 9 days. It feels like a WNBA season.

This past weekend we played Wisconsin on Friday with 3 players playing 30+ minutes. These same three players played 30+ minutes on Saturday against Valparasio. With ten minutes to go we were able to pull away. That spark of energy down the stretch managed to be the difference in the game for us and it was led by these three.

When you have that many games piled up in a row, your ability to bounce back physically and mentally is critical. Simple methods such as hydration, stretching, ice baths can be hugely beneficial. I also make them do my version of "yoga", which is not real yoga.

Proper nutrition is also crucial. I am thankful that Katie Bussey is a Kinesiology major as she does a better job of educating our underclassmen than I do.

We have Colorado State coming to Bozeman tomorrow. Our strength coach will take the team through a recovery workout today, we will go through our scouting reports, loosen up our bodies on the court and get ready for CSU's tendencies.

Fortunately for Coach Starr and I we do not have an In N Out Burger in Bozeman so we are all forced to prepare properly for our next home game.

Coach Bin

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T14:06:00.000-08:00

To all of our families and supporters we want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving.

Our team will be in Boulder, Colorado tomorrow preparing for the CU Thanksgiving Tournament. I was asked yesterday what food I was most excited about eating. After Tish Adams gets through the line, I will be thankful if there is any food left at all.

Coach Bin

Cat & Griz Brawl of the Wild

2011-11-19T07:43:00.000-08:00

Yes, today is the day of the Cat Griz rival. It's going to be a high of 17 degrees so layer up because the show begins with a presentation of the United States Flag that is the length of the football field, a fly by of some kind of jet(my husband would know what kind), and senior introductions on our new video screen. If that's not enough, the new lights will be turned on, and the game will begin!

Good luck to our football team today, ranked #1 in the nation. Let's finish #1 as well.

Hope there is hot chocolate!

Coach Bin

It's Official

2011-11-09T19:40:00.000-08:00

We want to welcome our newest members to the Bobcat family, Lexi Dawkins, Peyton Ferris, Jasmine Hommes, and Lindsay Stockton.

Not only are they talented young ladies, but they are tough, competitive, and most importanatly, great people.

In our press release, however, you won't hear about the most important details that make each of them so special.

Beginning with our most local, Lexi was the first Bobcat to commit by a card that she placed on my desk. I was only gone five minutes, but when I returned and read it, along with a cool basket of creative goodies, I sprinted out my office to find her younger brother filming me in the Fieldhouse. (Lexi- I am out of Diet Pepsi). Lexi is so fast she even won in Go Kart racing.

Peyton, our second closest to Bozeman is our recruit behind the new knee pads the team is currently wearing. Peyton likes to be on the floor more than a broom, hence the knee pads, so our players thank you! They LOVE them. Your mom will also thank you when you cut down your ER visits to one per year.

Jasmine may be furthest in distance, but her name is quite familiar for Bobcat fans. What you wouldn't know about Jasmine, however, is that she actually got her great height and strength by eating hundreds of her favorite food, PICKLES. All of the signs pointed to MSU for Jasmine as we have The Pickle Barrel and a jersey already with the name Hommes on it. Her aunts never threatened her if she did not commit to the Cats. HA!

Lindsay, our second Washington recruit actually taught her dad everything she knows rather than the other way around. John wanted to do behind the back, between the legs, and flip passes, but Lindsay's first words when she was born were, "Keep it simple, dad." We almost had a nightmare for Lindsay's visit when she forgot her makeup. When she was able to turn around and get her makeup she realized Bozeman was close enough. Crazy connection, but John's sister was my trainer when I played for the Utah Starzz.

It was a big day for all of us and we are just thrilled. Now seniors- go win your high school championships and finish off some amazing high school careers.

Go Cats!

Coach Bin

MSU FOOTBALL BIG SKY CHAMPS

2011-11-06T15:55:00.000-08:00

Congrats to our Football team as our victory this weekend over Weber State University guarantees our team a share of the Big Sky Title. One more game and they can OWN it all together!

As a fan of our men's program, but also looking at it from a coaching perspective, it is not a surprise to any of us that our men have consecutively won the Big Sky Conference Championship. The reason is in their habit.

Example #1-The weight room is to Cody Kirk as a home is to the rest of us. He lives in that place and I can honestly say there is NO ONE that will out work him.

Example #2-Leadership. Since Coach Ash has taken over our men have improved in the classroom, given more hours in the community, and taken the field performance to a whole new level. Champions are disciplined in everything they do. They don't just pick and choose what to apply that habit to.

Example #3-Accountability. Teams can only go so far with the coaches. The trenches where huge changes happen is within the team itself. Accountability and responsibility to one another can vastly improve a team's ability. Ours starts and ends with Denarius McGee. He is a leader in every sense of the word and the guys raise their level because of his motivation.

Example #4-Mental Toughness. Talent can only get you so far. The ability to overcome a physical challenge is hard, but the mental challenge is a unique gift. Focusing on what is in your control and letting go of everything else, whether it be a call, the opponent, or just the last error was exactly what our guys did yesterday. They started the game with multiple turnovers. Many teams would tank in a situation like that, but our guys didn't. They stayed confident in who they are and what they do.

Congrats boys. We are proud of you on and off the field!

Coach Bin

Tea Party

2011-11-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry to disappoint Rachel on the spider costume. That seemed to be WAY too much work. The good news is that Brooklyn changed her mind by Halloween and wanted me to be a frog instead. Fortunately she was distracted by the other trick & treaters that I got away dressing warmly.

Tonight we had an evening practice, did a self scout, ran a drill over three times until we got it right, but finished with crisp execution. Then I came home to a Tea Party hosted by Justin the waiter while Brooklyn and I were the guests.

It was a very entertaining evening as it began with Brooklyn spilling our drinks as she poured actual water into our tea glasses. Our waiter cleaned it up quickly and reassured Brooklyn that his job was to pour our drinks.

Justin is quite the creative spirit as he cooked over Brooklyn's toy kitchen in her bedroom. It was your typical kitchen with the stove, microwave, and dishwasher. Then Justin started to pretend to utilize another utensil on the stove. I asked him what it was. "It's a cool down device so you don't have to blow on your food to cool it down yourself." Not a bad idea I thought.

Justin said it would be cool to have water fountains where you can push a button for every drink you would want. He said my drinking fountain could have Diet Pepsi in it.

Our evening was a delite as Justin brought us the final bill on one of the building blocks. I paid with a heart. He told Brooklyn and I we made the cook's day as "he was a little grumpy before we arrived since there was no one to cook for."

I look forward to tomorrow's pretend and tomorrow's reality. My main focus will be to make sure my cup of tea is at minimum, half full in both.

Coach Bin

My Eclectic Week

2011-10-24T16:57:00.000-07:00

Took Todd to see the movie Courageous. Didn't know I would need a box of Kleenex.

The NCAA asked the conference captains to take the Officiating test and I won't tell you my score. I may know the rules of the game, but where the lead official should be in comparison to the trail is gibberish to me.

Cooked pumpkin seeds after practice. Justin added more salt.

Put in our zone defense. That was the key to beating our scout team for the first time as we beat them yesterday in our final scrimmage!

Worked on a 1000 piece puzzle with Justin. Brooklyn likes to hide the pieces.

Met with our new sports reporter, Colter at Spectators to fill him in on our team. I was impressed not only by his in depth questions, but that he was able to finish all of his waffle fries. Good work.

Worked on Justin's reading homework. First grade is intense.

Brooklyn played the piano and sang for us. I hope she is athletic.

Bribed my kids and babysitter to go to practice with me on Saturday with sushi afterwards. Justin finished off an entire Widespread Panic roll all by himself.

Found a wig at Wal Mart for Brooklyn's Rapunzel outfit. Now we just have to find her dress.

She wants me to be a spider but can't quite find that costume.

Had quiet at church after dropping kids off at Sunday school. That is a miracle in itself.

The weekend is a wrap!

Coach Bin

Fall Eval

2011-10-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

You thought this blog was going to be about fall evaluation weekend. I tricked you since it's October and we deserve both a trick and a treat.

The treat was for me since I stayed home for practice while my three assistants went all over the northwest.

Utilizing my student assistant coaches Kelsey Roben and Sarah Balian we were able to pull off practices with great energy and focus by our squad. I did have to ask Kelsey if she had blown her whistle. She said I was just too quick on mine. That never happens, lol.

We managed to finish the weekend off with a small scrimmage as we are only 5 practices in. Here is the breakdown from my Clint Eastwood interpretation;

The Good: Despite graduating great scorers in Lyndi and Sarah, we can score.

The Bad: We still communicate better on a bus than we do on the court.

The Ugly: Our new scout guy Kevin (who looks like Kevin from Home Alone), drained about 6 tres in our face.

It's week one, and we are moving in the right direction. Ladies, we just have to move there a bit faster.

Coach Bin

Off and Running

2011-10-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

Two practices in to the 2011-12 Season and we are off and running. The best news of all is that we have enough players and scout guys on the floor that our coaches don't have to lace up their shoes.

Our newest manager Taylor has gotten a good workout running to put the rebound rim in, then running back to start the shot clock, then sprinting to go pass. I think we may start having her and our veteran manager Stephanie start warming up with the team.

Our newest coach Giuliana has learned you don't hit Katie Bussey with the pad above the waist, and you don't hit Chelsea Banis below it. Adrenaline is flying everywhere!

Coach Bin

The Mermaid

2011-09-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

Right now it is a contact period in recruiting so we are able to do home visits, watch an athlete in a different sport, and even get to an open gym.

I am not a coffee drinker but in my travels I do enjoy the caffeine pick me up on occassion. So I found myself standing in line for a place I rarely visit, Starbucks. I chose a green tea, alhtough I do not even know if it has caffeine. However, the fact that my last flight had no heat and my feet were still frozen I thought a warm beverage sounded nice.

So I sat down waiting for it to cool enough to take a sip and looked at the symbol on the cup. After all of these years I hadn't ever really noticed that it was a lady. I texted Amy to see what the lady was, and the answer, a MERMAID.

What's the purpose of this blog you ask? Absolutely nothing, unless you are on Jeopardy. Amy e-mailed me the Wikipedia link about Starbucks and how the Mermaid came into play. It was interesting, but I will not win any trivia games so I promptly deleted it.

Coach Bin

Game Day

2011-09-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

Last weekend our team had a tailgate in front of the football stadium entrance in anticipation of an aggressive performance by our 'Cats. We enjoyed the pulled pork, peanuts, and Todd lifted Brooklyn into the air to cheer everytime we scored a touchdown. We even started the wave across section 113!

Our team showed they will be Big Sky contenders once again! We are off to a rockin' start this season.

It could be the $20 million dollar campaign that gave us an additional 5,000 seats in a new end zone; or maybe it's the shoulder to shoulder blue and gold, head-to-toe student section? I must admit, it is helpful that we have the MVP of the Big Sky taking every snap for the Bobcats!

When you add up all of the factors- community, college campus, amazing venue, talented athletes, and savvy coaches- it makes for an awesome game day experience!

Go 'Cats!

Coach Bin

Official Visit

2011-09-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

Signing Period is just around the corner as prospects visit campuses to make their leap of faith on the perfect choice for them.

What's interesting about the recruiting process is how much the conversation changes as the final decision gets closer. The initial calls deal with size of school, location, major interest, success of the team, which are all important pieces and help narrow the list of what schools to visit in person.

So what is the official visit about then? It's all about the relationships! How does the prospect feel about the coaches, the players, and the community?

Ask yourself who you want to spend 20 hours a week with and that's your answer.

I made my decision within the first 30 minutes of my official visit. I didn't tell anyone that soon but I knew. I knew that if I was happy, enjoyed the people I played with and for, then I would work that much harder every single day.

I believe you can have great team chemistry and be extremely successful. Neither one should suffer because of the other.

At the end of the day, if the journey isn't valued then the result doesn't matter.

Coach Bin

Support

2011-09-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

Emily Allen's brother passed away this weekend. We ask that you keep Emily and her parents Craig and Julie in your thoughts and prayers.

Sincerely,

Coach Bin

Thank You

2011-08-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank Coach Scanson for being so persistent 5 and a half years ago when I had an assistant coaching position open. He literally did everything imaginable, including driving to my office from Las Vegas to convince me he was the perfect candidate for the job, and he was.

Coach Scanson has been a valuable coach and teacher to our student athletes bringing more than his enthusiastic "rock star" energy to practices every day. He was a visionary and pushed our social media networking capabilities to a whole new level. When asked for an idea he would give me twenty options.

The Scanson "Diet Book".

If the restaurant has dessert in the name of the restaurant you can have dessert. Ex. Cheesecake Factory.
You are not allowed to have more than 4 breadsticks.
Don't eat off of other's plates. He learned that after the first year of finishing my meals on road trips.
Pick bacon or sausage not bacon and sausage.

Although we will have to find another brilliant chef for team dinners, and I will have to call ITC five times a day, I wish Coach Scanson and his family the best in their new adventure. Our staff and team will miss you but know this is a great opportunity for your family.

So you ask where is Coach Scanson going? Our program has been utilizing the services of a software company called Fast Model that organizes playbooks and opponent scouts. Fast Model just got a great addition, but he won't "break" when you ask him for MSU's plays!

The best news of all is that he is still in Bozeman and now can dance WITH his daughter during the music before our opening tip.

Coach Bin

Cagey Squirrels

2011-08-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

My family went camping with some friends this weekend and found ourselves in a pickle with the local squirrel community. The second we set up camp squirrels were running in a dither, which at first was a joy. All of the kids were pointing with excitement trying to catch them.

The next morning, however, was not so wonderful. Our friend came over and said that squirrels had gotten into his camper and stole something underneath the hood. Then we saw a squirrel running from another vehicle carrying something.

So my husband popped his hood, a squirrel jumped out, and he jumped out of its way with his own cat like reflexes. Our children will be so athletic!

As we looked in the hood we noticed the insulation was all torn up. These nice, sweet rodents were destroying our insulation to build themselves a cozy nest. Instead of sweet words our children were now pointing saying "mean squirrels."

We went into immediate protection mode.

Keep the hood raised so the squirrel can't reach the insulation. That didn't work as they can jump.

Spray the insulation with mosquito spray. Failed! They aren't mosquitoes.

Wait with my son's Indiana Jones whip and then scare them. I'd rather go boating on the lake.

In the end we let them have our insulation and build themselves a comfortable Silverado Sofa. They have learned to adapt to city slickers coming in on their neck of the woods so we might as well let them have what they want.

Coach Bin

Purpose

2011-08-12T18:31:00.000-07:00

I, along with assistant coach Mandy Close, spent the last two days listening to amazing speakers at the Global Leadership Summit. Going into the summit my expectations were to learn how to be a better leader, better teacher, improve my skills, and grow stronger in my faith and relationship with my Lord and Savior.

What I got out of this summit was so much more. I think the core of this Summit challenged each of us, more than 160,000+ listeners to ask a very important question. What is our purpose and how do we fulfill it to the best of our ability? As Pastor Steven Furtick put it, "don't survive the world, change it."

I feel blessed and humbled that I have been given an opportunity to coach and teach young women. Our student athletes learn the importance of sacrifice, putting their teammates above themselves, serving their community with thanks. .In fact, the best and most admired student athletes are the ones who hone such humility.

If I could accomplish one goal for each student athlete, besides winning the Big Sky Conference and Championship, it is that they identify their purpose beyond basketball and run toward it with perseverance.

I am a work in progress as always, but feel re energized for an incredible 2011-2012 Season,

Coach Bin

Disneyland

2011-08-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you finish July recruiting? YOU GO TO DISNEYLAND!

My family and extended family including my niece and nephew, sister, and Nana and Papa planned the day to a tee. Todd and my sister organized the day with the "must rides" list. They used a company called ride a max to map the day out for what times to go to certain rides so we didn't have to stand in lines all day. However, when we got through the doors at 8:32am instead of 8:00am we threw that sheet away.

It didn't matter because the first thing we saw was GOOFY! Brooklyn was so mad that we didn't just hang out with him the rest of the day.

Brooklyn's first ride was Astro Boy, or something like that, a space ship while the others went on Space Mountain. Once we got buckled in she started pulling on the yoke saying "it's broken."

Finding Nemo-AWESOME for all ages. Would have been a better first ride for Justin as he thought he was going to fall out on the Space Mountain ride.

Walking & Waiting. Grabbing and holding, making sure we don't lose anyone. The names and numbers we wrote on the kid's arms that morning had already smeared off. Great idea in theory.

Eating ONLY for nutritional value as food is not Disneyland's strength. Ironically Brooklyn ate very well.

Pirates of the Caribbean was the longest line but worth standing. Isn't it funny that you lose all sense of sanitary thinking when you get tired? We sat on the ground, leaned on anything stationary, and who knows what we touched. Once on the ride though Brooklyn realized it was more intense than Astro as we dropped like a roller coaster and she screamed. As a concerned mother I leaned over thinking she would be scared and she said, "mommy, we dropped and I said awww!" she loved it.

Finally for Justin, only asking the seventh time of the day when we get to go on the Indiana Jones ride, we at got to go in the store. He was now in costume, Brooklyn had her Princess Hat with Micky Mouse Ears on, and the group was ready to go find the Lost Ark. Mainly because Brooklyn fell asleep in the stroller.

Nana and Papa hung out with their grandchild and the rest of us sprinted over through the "fast pass" lane to see Harrison Ford. It was exciting, entertaining, and frightening as my sister ducked when she thought the boulder was going to actually hit her. Justin was so excited that he......didn't want to go on the ride again. I guess it was scarier than we initially thought.

For a 2 year old and a 7 year old, the day could have easily been done around late afternoon, but being the frugile parents that Todd and I are, we decided to get our money's worth. So we fed them cotton candy and that second wind caught right up to our 12 and 17 year old niece and nephew.

We raced to Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, Toon Town, saw Micky's family in the parade. I found out that my sister is actually a secret spy after her ride on Star Tours which explains a lot.

As our feet got tired, we waited it out for one final push down Splash Mountain, and then had two children crash on me for the fireworks. I lost count of how much money was spent because when you go to Disneyland, it really is the land where dreams come true.

So I didn't really spend $10 on a cup of macaroni for my kid.

Coach Bin

July Evaluations Over

2011-07-31T16:38:00.000-07:00

Coaches have accumulated frequent flyer miles, rapid rewards, and maybe a few speeding tickets for some. I would love to do a poll to see how many coaches received s ticket trying to make a game from a different gym. Isn't that just crazy.

Beginning this week questions will start to get answered by both sides. How interested is the prospect in your school and how interested your school is in the prospect. The chess match begins.

It would simplify things if the prospect could just say yes, but it is more complicated than that. They need to step on campus, meet the team, see a coach in action, get a feel for the community among a million other things, and they need to cut out schools before they get to that decision.

I think of it as a privilege that a prospect will decide to visit our program as one of her top choices, better yet when they decide to be a Bobcat.

Let the calls begin.

Coach Bin

Three Weekend Evaluations

2011-07-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

The buzz this summer is about the possibility of July recruiting moving to three three day weekends instead of the entire month of July, excluding the Dead Period of course.

I am in favor of shortening our recruiting evaluations for a number of reasons.

1. Prospects won't have as many injuries. Every year it looks like more knee braces and sleeves because athletes don't get any rest.
2. It will save on everyone's budget especially the prospects although I would be extremely disappointed if I couldn't do anymore Red Eyes, lol.
3. Coaches could spend more time on campuses with their student athletes and help that transition during summer school.
4. It would open up more opportunity in between evals for athletes to visit some schools and narrow their lists.
5. I could really enjoy our beautiful July weather in Bozeman with my family.
6. Athletes would perform at a higher level of play.

We want our game to be great and we want prospects to have the opportunity to compete. Coaches get on board because this change would be great for everyone.

Coach Bin

Forehead Freeze

2011-07-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a cold forehead? It's kind of Annoying.

Examples:

Sitting in the passenger seat of the Mustang and the air conditioner blows directly on your forehead.

Sleeping in your hotel bed and the aircondtioner blows directly on your forehead as the rest of your body is snuggling under your comforter.

These are the two experiences Mandy and I had today.

I am just shocked she didn't have a brain freeze from eating ice cream as we all know she loves her sweets.

First day of the second round recruiting is a wrap. I will talk to you tomorrow from Las Vegas,

Coach Bin

California Girls

2011-07-22T12:38:00.000-07:00

Mandy and I are here in Santa Clara watching the MSNM Tourney. I need to give all you Californians a hard time because it's warmer in Bozeman than it is here. So Destini and Symone, when it's January, no complaining.

What's hotter than either spot, however, is Mandy's rental, a fireball two-door red Mustang. I feel like a character from the movie "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" since the passenger's seat is extremely low.

We took a break from the morning games so I could introduce Mandy to the best spicy chicken in the U.S., Popeyes. She is still on staff after agreeing with me that it is incredible!

Tomorrow I head to Vegas for the day, yes to recruit. I will keep my money in my pocket, but today I will soak in the palm trees and sea level workouts.

Coach Bin

The Dress

2011-07-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

As I touch down in Bozeman in between trips I continue to be amazed how quickly my children change in a day or two. The good news is that my husband seems to be consistent except the additional gray hairs that take place.

My daughter right now is a 2 year old going on sixteen. We have a constant battle of clothing and what she'll wear, much different than what we experienced with Justin. For him, if it had a ball or Transformer on it, he'd wear it.

Brooklyn, however, only has one dress that she wants to wear. She will wear it every day of the week, she'll wear it to bed, and even if it smells and stands on its own because it's so dirty, she doesn't really care.

My choices are to throw the dress away, let her scream her head off as I put on what I want her to wear or better yet, OUT SMART HER.

I first called my friend who purchased the dress to see where she bought it so I could buy another one in a bigger size. Unfortunately it's a store that we don't have.

The next plan was to take Brooklyn to the store and have her pick out a dress similar so we did. Once we got home, however, she didn't want to wear the new one anymore.

It doesn't help that in public everyone seems to acknowledge her "pretty dress". If you are one of those people, stop it, jk.

Last resort will be to throw it away, and although there will be a few tears she is tough and will eventually grab ahold of a new obsession.

I just hope that one is with a basketball in hand.

Coach Bin

Misconceptions

2011-07-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

This morning we bracketed the 64teams for the NCAA Tournament. To simplify the challenging process of accomplishing this task I will cover a few points.

1. Teams from the same conference cannot play each other before regionals.

2. Teams are to play at home if they are a host site even if they are a higher seed.

3. Travel is taken into consideration so if a team can bus rather than fly you try and place them there if possible.

The software used to bracket has all kinds of tools to help the bracketing process more efficient.

For example, it shows you distance to each host site for the team being bracketed. It will inform you if you have made an error in placing a common conference opponent in the same bracket, kind of like spellcheck.

Despite all of these resources at our fingertips it still feels like piecing together a 1000+ puzzle piece.

In the end I have found an even greater respect and appreciation for the amount of research, time, and integrity by our committee that is put into the process of creating a solid tournament bracket.

Thank you to the NCAA, WBCA for creating this experience for us, to the coaches and commissioners, and the A Team.

When the MSU Bobcats make the tournament I am calling on Ralf to be our voice. He knows what "sparkle" from yesterday's discussion is all about.

Coach Bin

Seeding

2011-07-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

We are now beginning the seeding process. Just kidding, we started, took a dinner break and tour of the NCAA facilities, and now are trying to wrap up the seeds.

The A Team has remained united throughout the process and each brought a unique skill. Danielle is our scribe wizard. Courtney-win or be forgotten! We learned "you need to have a sparkle about your schedule to get a number 2 seed.

Coach Bin, AKA RPI Genius is signing off.

The Bubble

2011-07-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

Afternoon session has consisted of discussion and voting of teams that should be considered for post season play. We have found that it is easier to complain about the decisions made rather than finding a better solution.

I think I will stick with coaching for now.

What's for snacks you ask? The A Team, as we now call ourselves, or in my case "when all else fails look at the RPI", is having whoppers, pretzel nuggets, and reeses. If you know me, I am not eating the sweets,

Coach Bin

Danielle's I Pad Tutorial

2011-07-16T09:45:00.001-07:00

She just showed me how to fold my cover so I can type easier.

Courtney's Automatic Qualifiers

2011-07-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

I also forgot to tell you Courtney automatics qualifier is nothing short of remarkable. Danielle and I tried to challenge her five times and were incorrect. Her mind was quicker than our computer.

I am supposed to be working,

Coach Bin

Mock Bracketing

2011-07-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

I just finished the morning session here in Indianapolis and already learned a ton. I want to be clear, however, that it is not rocket science how Montana State gets into the NCAA Tournament as my quotes might have sounded otherwise on our msubobcats.com website.

What I have learned so far is the process of scheduling officials and an in depth knowledge of the RPI which does not stand for Rest Peacefully Indoors.

I am paired up with Danielle Donehew from the Big East Conference and Courtney Banghart, the head coach at Princeton who both want you to know how beautiful and smart, and prepared they are.

Well, of course, Princeton!

Keep you posted,

COACH BIN

Frequent Flyer

2011-07-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

After Oregon City Mandy and I covered the Midnight Summer Madness Tournament in Seattle while Justin flew to Chicago.

As the head coach I get to pick where I recruit so why wouldn't I choose Seattle who has the best sushi ever at Shiro's restaurant that my friend Janet and former teammate took me to last year? I took Mandy with me this time around and she had to agree with her boss that it is in fact the best!

We got to hang out with Janet for the evening up on top of the terrace of her condo overlooking Seattle, but then it was back into action at Arco Arena. Coaches were so impressed that I had an I Pad I actually had to act like I knew what I was doing with it. Unfortunately, I still had to take some notes with my pen for "new" recruits that weren't yet in our database. That allowed me to write on pretty much everything including my new shorts from the Nike store, the cover of my I Pad, and my former coach June Daughtery. I didn't know if I should tell her or not, but she was cool with it because she loves me so much.

I flew home to see my family, my student athletes in summer school, and our lone coach holding down the fort Amy. Our student athletes are doing great, transitioning well, and competing to break our Top 12 WBCA Academic Finish of last year.

I took my son Justin golfing. He enjoyed raking the sandtraps, taking out the flag, and had pretty good contact on the ball. Brooklyn got to hang out with me in the office, and Todd enjoyed a few hours rest before I take off again.

Tonight I head to Indianapolis for a Mock Bracketing exercise where I, along with 18 other head coaches across the nation learn how the NCAA charts their seeding for the tournament. I will try and blog in between sessions at lunch and dinner, but don't want to give too much information out because you might be angry with who I pick, LOL.

Aisle, or Exit row?

Coach Bin

End of the Trail

2011-07-09T22:31:00.000-07:00

Justin, Mandy, and I finished The Oregon City Tournament today. Here are the highlights:

1. Mandy helping Jerry Rice pick out sports bras for his wife at the Nike Employee store. Jerry had a purple outfit picked out so Mandy suggested an orange bra because it's on the opposite end on the color wheel. He went with the purple.

2. Five Guys Burger and Fries. In N Out Burger is still the best for cost and quality, but these burgers are bigger and it's the only place where I can't finish the fries. They give you so many you leave feeling like a potato.

3. GPS-I still need to name my GPS. I will call her Sue. I have to give her a girl's name because no guy would ever ask for directions so why would they be a GPS? I didn't get lost once. Great work Sue.

4. The games. My last game of the tournament kept me on the edge as Montana Hoops went to the wire with Corona Force? Montana was down one, called a timeout for a back screen play. They got fouled, hit two free throws to go up one, and then Corona nails a three to win. What a battle.

My bumb is now in full padded mode, yet somewhat numb. I like to also sit up high so I can get more excited about how tall players are because they look bigger from above. Although when I sit lower they are still all bigger than me.

5. We told you more evaluation tips to come so here they are;

First rule of thumb-every player must be taller than me. That gets my list narrowed down by five percent.

Second they have to shoot at the right basket, another five percent.

Last, they should pass the ball to the people in the same color uniform as them, and stripes are not include in that.

That leaves me five percent now to watch and reel in for future bobcats.

Isn't recruiting easy?

Coach Bin

The Spider

2011-07-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I am driving from One gym to another as the GPS takes me on the country road in between. As I am driving with hands on the 10 and 2 steering wheel a huge hairy black and white spider starts weaving down from my visor.

Trying not to wreck I am thinking hairy could mean poisonous almost tarantula style and then all of a sudden it jumps on my steering wheel. With no edge on the side of John Denver's Country Road I brake off the lip, jump out just barely escaping death. The spider then hops on my seat looking at me as if to say "thank you."

As I look to see what kind of spider this is I think it must be the "car camouflage" spider as it totally blended in. Nit wanting more of tHis I tried to sweep him out of the car but couldn't see if I got him or not.

Anyone want to trade cars today?

Coach Bin

Exercising with Mandy

2011-07-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

ManDy and I went for a run to start off the day. Yesterday I ran the same loop without Mandy. What's the difference you ask? It's five minutes and feeling refreshed or nearly dying.

Mandy just slows me down I guess.

Coach Bin

Day 1 done!

2011-07-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

Day 1 wrapped up! I went to the restroom more times than my two year old daughter because I stayed hydrated. It would be a miracle if they could get the gyms all the same temperature.... Do you wear a jacket or do you not? Do you wear flip flops or shoes and socks? I feel like I'm in a Katy Perry song- hot and cold!

Here are a few examples of sayings in our evaluations:
1.Wiry means skinny but tough
2. Smooth means it's ok if they are not the quickest because they make flowing decisions
3. Bulldozer means get out of her way!
4. Handsy means she can really get after it on defense (like latisha Adams)
5. Savvy means she is a coach on the floor and is a smart player (like Ashley Albert)

More to come tomorrow.... We need to do brackets and Mandy and I need to split our fish dinners!
Coach Bin

Fouls?

2011-07-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

I am on my fourth game already montana hoops vs lady swift and am not sure if they do the bonus at this tourney.

Definitely july as no fouls are being called. It seems to be a hack fest or I should say no blood no foul.

Players are playing hard. I can still feel My bumb so life is great.

Random comment I know, but I don't understand why new bathroom sinks shut off so quickly. Aren't we supposed to wash our hands for at least 30sec or the duration of singing "happy birthday?"

Bin

Oregon city

2011-07-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

It's the first day recruiting and I am sitting in the Oregon city gymnasium for the first game of JUly recruiting. I will also have a few typos as I am learning my new I pad that JUstin made me purchase.

The reason I think he got me an I pad is so I can type my notes when I evaluate directly to scout ware our recruitingnsoftware because they cam never read my handwriting or maybe it's so I buy them an I pad too.

Who knows, but it's a fun new toy.

Firstbday getting back into the swing I already forgot my clip to hold the book in place on the two teams that are playing each other. I guess I will just have tp flip through the book.

No worries, right Emily and Kate?

Coach Bin

Summer School

2011-06-29T12:59:00.000-07:00

Our five new freshmen are settled in to their new homes for the summer, the DORMS, managed to find their classes, and complete orientation. Tomorrow they will catch their breath.

Breakdown of the weekend.

Jackie Elliott-visited her room first. She has her schedule and classes mapped out. I may ask her for directions on campus.

Destini French- It was only 9:00am, but she already had make up on and Katie had already introduced her to the entire community of Bozeman. I will put her in charge of marketing.

Symone Brown-my daughter walked into her room ahead of me and grabbed one of Symone's granola bars. She was stocked up. How many shoes do you need though Symone?

Kalli Durham-First thing I saw was her t.v., and I asked her when she will be watching that? She is a perfectionist when it comes to the classroom as well as the court.

Kayla Dewit-Last room around the corner relaxed as can be until I told her she needed to get a parking pass.

The first week is always overwhelming getting settled, finding where everything is at, but now they are ready to roll. Instead of catching their breath it's really more of a gasp when you have a senior like Katie Bussey.

All I have to say to that is it makes my job pretty easy.

Get after it ladies!

Coach Bin

Smiling Moose

2011-06-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

I don't do this often, but I can't help myself. I had lunch today at the Smiling Moose. The Smiling Moose is the newest (and one of the tastiest) deli in Bozeman and if you haven't been there yet...GO!

It's not that often you can find a "healthy" food option that you can pick up at a drive thru. It is right next door to Signs Now on Main Street right next to the mall. It has dine in, dine outside on the patio, or the drive thru for those of us on the run.

You know I love my food and Smiling Moose gives you all kinds of great options, wraps, salads, sandwiches, and even "spicy" combinations for those of us who want to speed up our metabolism.

If I could think of a complaint, it would be my limited vocabulary trying to say some of the items on the menu. I just point instead. Smiling Moose is terrific!

(http://www.facebook.com/SmilingMoose)

Coach Bin

What is a "Vacation?"

2011-06-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

For vacation, do you go somewhere tropical or travelling internationally?

For me, a vacation is anywhere I don't have access to my cell phone or the internet. We are now a generation that is attached to our phones, 24/7 accessible, and it makes it difficult to truly take a break or "vacation" from our jobs.

Think of the last vacation you took. How many times did you read your e-mails, follow up with a coworker, or work from your laptop?

My solution, CAMPING

My family this past weekend went to a Bobcat Club Function in Kalispell, Montana. After WINNING the ladies challenge in the golf tournament my family headed to Swan Lake Campground with some friends of ours where there is no cell service.

I will admit, it didn't feel like a true vacation the first 24 hours as it was rainy and cloudy. Waking up to a sore back from tent camping isn't exactly spa refreshing, but camping makes you appreciate the little things.

#1 Just sitting still-I had a span of about 10 minutes where the kids were playing, not fighting. I didn't need to unpack or pack anything, cook or clean anything and said to myself I can actually grab a book! I think I beat Emily Allen's record of sitting still at one time.

#2 Air fresheners-I have seen all kinds of outhouses. You definitely don't want to look around (in case you see an insect not yet discovered), and no way are you looking down to see what kind of waste has already been "unloaded" so to speak, but an air freshener in an outhouse goes a long way! As a parent you worry about everything with your children. Try worrying about them in an outhouse.

#3 Food-I remember when my dad used to take us camping growing up and we lived on Spam. My brother and sister and I liked it so much we asked him to buy it when we were at home. He warned us we wouldn't like it and he was right. There is just something about food and hunger when you're camping, though, that everything tastes like a 5 Star restaurant. Burned pancakes-yummy, oatmeal-I'll have seconds, hotdogs-how would you like it cooked? Grilled, Boiled, or Roasted over the camp fire? Roasted for sure.

#4 Appreciating God's Beautiful Creations-We saw a rabbit (Brooklyn tried to catch), chipmunks, squirrels (Brooklyn tried to catch), a deer, and a bear had gone through our campsite the day we arrived. I am glad we didn't see the bear and Brooklyn didn't try and catch it.

#5-Camp Fires-Yes, your clothes and hair smell horrible afterwards, but you can't tell anyway. You can roast smores, tell stories around the camp fire, worry about your kids falling in the camp fire, tell your kids a million times not to make S O S smoke signals with their sticks, and keep shifting your chair as the smoke continues to follow you. Camp fires are awesome!

#6 Water-What is it about water that just refreshes you? Is it the aqua blue or maybe it was the 51 degree lake that takes your breath away. Kids seem to never get cold. Our kids were all playing off the tube the day it was cloudy and rainy. All of a sudden the clouds broke and it was gorgeous. We went waterskiing, tubing, and wake boarding, and we were the only boat on the lake. Maybe that's because it had been cloudy and the water was so cold, but we didn't care.

We packed up Tuesday, headed home, as soon as we came around the bend to Seeley Lake I had service.

I won't tell you how many messages, texts, or e-mails were waiting.

Coach Bin

It's a Wrap

2011-06-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

Either I am shrinking or the campers continue to get taller every year. The highlight for me, however, is when my players like Ashley Albert, Rachel Semansky, and Katie Bussey seem like they have grown an inch or two. Sorry, Ausha, you and I still see eye to eye!

Some of the highlights this week besides growing like trees:

Champ appearance-He talked this year, although that scared a few of the campers.
Coach Starr Post Demonstration-Now the campers know why Sarah Balian, Rachel Semansky, and Chelsea Banis have developed like they have.
Coach Scanson Intensity Station. Every year he increases his caffeine intake. I think he may need to go to counseling for his addiction.
Coach Close Cross Training Workout-If you were at camp this week you saw how busy our Camp Coordinator was running from gym to gym, making sure everything was running smoothly.
Multi tasking by our student athletes-I was watching Katie and Rachel officiate, take the whistle out of their mouth and then coach, put the whistle back in and call the foul. It was hilarious.
Last but certainly not least, great improvement every day by our campers. Not only did we have a record turnout this year but we had some terrific basketball.

Thank you to our parents for financially supporting your daughters to get better at a great game and have a fun week with new teammates.

We hope to see you again next year.

Go Cats!

Coach Bin

Camp Is In Session

2011-06-14T15:23:00.000-07:00

What a fun an amazing week already. Our nearly 200 campers are working so hard I feel like I am getting in shape.

Little Dribblers are so fun to watch. I have three nieces in camp this year and my youngest was hilarious after defending another camper. She said "that girl is really tricky." That means our camp coach Carrie Feenstra must have taught her a good move.

I demonstrated to our day and elite campers this afternoon how important it is to move without the ball. So much time is spent working on moves with the ball that we sometimes don't realize how simple we can make this game if we just do all the work before the catch.

Last night I discussed with our elite campers the importance of knowing your role and how to make the most of whatever role that is. Have you heard the word "assume?" Ouch is right.

Our Camp Director Coach Close lost her voice yesterday but got it back today. I am not sure how she pulled that off but tomorrow is Bobcat Dress up Day so it keeps getting better.

Go Cats!
Coach Bin

Why To Choose An Indoor Sport

2011-06-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when I was golfing in the "windy" Billings Bobcat Club Tournament I was briefly,(over the next 5 hours), reminded why I chose to play basketball; It's indoor and always 70 degrees inside.

Growing up in Carbondale, Colorado only 30+ miles away from Aspen I learned how to ski almost as soon as I learned to walk. I loved the rush of the speed, hitting the slalom poles with my inside arm, leaning into my turn, and then "playing" on the jumps afterward.

I ski raced competitively until junior high against boys and girls. I was once recognized as "Trash Bader" in the paper instead of Trish Bader which was my first taste of humility. My coach's name was "Bozo" because of his big curly hair. I remember being glued to my chapstick and most importantly never losing a race to any of those boys.

In junior high, however, each sport started to demand more time of competitors and I was forced to make a decision on cutting down some of my commitments. Basketball didn't require as much equipment (snow boots, socks, gloves, goggles, hats, etc). and my feet always stayed warm. I was able to enjoy it WITH my friends as a team sport and could practice it at home every day. Although I loved slalom racing it was a pretty simple decision for me at the time for me to play AND be warm.

Yesterday, I reapplied my chapstick a few times and wore my parka on occasion to warm up in between the holes similar to my days on the Aspen ski slopes.

I had packed every kind of clothing for the day and it payed off. I stayed warm and had a great time with my group from Vision Net. However, when it comes to attending a basketball game, fans can be reassured that the only clothing they need to be concerned about has to be Blue or Gold.

Go Cats!

Coach Bin

CAMP-Make a Commitment

2011-06-06T08:55:00.000-07:00

Camp is exactly one week away and we already have a record number signed up.

If you are reading this blog and you are a basketball player (with eligibility left) and are not signed up for an individual camp then I am going to challenge you to GET signed up, and here are the reasons.

1) You get BETTER from individual camps. You can improve your game by playing more games at open gym, or playing with club and high school teams, but you vastly improve your SKILL work at individual camp.

2) You get new tools and drills to practice on your own. It's called repetition. If you go to camp and never pick up a basketball again you probably won't see the improvement you are hoping for. Our camp will give you the necessary drills to practice to improve your ability when you leave.

3) You will improve your skills at your specific position for the "elite" level taking your game on further. How often do you work on speed and agility? How much time is put into passing, one on one defense, boxing out, communication? Have you ever put time into mental training? What's the difference between training as a point guard verses a combo, shooting guard, power forward or center? These are the areas you can focus on in our MSU camp.

Now is the time to get registered (click here: http://msubobcats.com/sports/2011/1/26/WBB_0126115031.aspx?id=85). You can come up with a million excuses not to attend, but I already gave you the three reasons why those million excuses aren't good enough.

See you Monday,

Coach Bin

Memorial Day

2011-05-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all of our men and women in uniform. Our prayers are with you and your families.

Sincerely,

Coach Bin

Celebrate Life

2011-05-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

Margo Dydek, a former Utah Starzz teammate and friend passed away.

Margo carried herself with grace and class, and my prayers go to her family.

Tricia Binford

Star Wars-Coach Bin Interpretation

2011-05-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

I was reading one of the Star Wars books with my son this week and talked about the similarities between the Jedi and Sith, or Good verses Evil in our own lives.

Jedi-Yoda is one of the smallest characters in the Star Wars Trilogies yet one of the most powerful because of his strength in mind. Yoda spends a great deal of time in meditation and like all Jedi's uses his gifts to help and serve others. Jedi use what's called the "Force" to use the strengths of their minds for good.

Sith-Darth Vader is one of the scariest villains of all time. He is also strong in the Force, also spends time in meditation in his chamber but uses this skill for evil. The Sith are selfishly focused, do not care about hurting or destroying others, and use anger to funnel their energy.

Here are a few challenging questions in relation to Star Wars in our own lives.
1) Do you believe in God?

2) Do you believe in the Devil?

3) What do you believe your purpose is in life?

I am a Christian, one who believes in God and that God sent his son Jesus to die for all of us on the Cross. I also believe that Jesus was resurrected three days later and that if we believe in Him his Holy Spirit lives in us and we will get eternal life with Him and God in Heaven.

This is what leads us to the discussion my son and I had regarding the "Force."

Binford interpretation of Jedi-"Jesus". Darth Vader or Sith "Devil"

Binford interpretation of "Force"-Spending quiet time in prayer, reading the Bible, serving others, controlling our thoughts to be positive by the way we choose our time. We can all have more strength in our own spirits if we focus on this aspect in our lives. Our thoughts controls ours actions. The Force is my understanding of working toward purpose.

Binford interpretation of Darth Vader utilizing the "Force"-He is always waiting, looking for opportunities to attack us. We live in a fallen world, and it's important we stay strong and vigilant on the good that surrounds us.

The best part, however, after my deep discussion with my seven year old he said, "Good always Wins." If you believe what the Bible says, then you know that by faith to be true.

God Bless & May the Force Be With You!

Coach Bin

Sleep Is Overrated

2011-05-19T12:09:00.000-07:00

Last day of the trip began at 4:00am heading to the Costa Rica airport. Chelsea Banis checked her 50+ pound bag, the one that Danny said had a "flat screen t.v. in it" because it was so heavy.

Once boarded, we sat on our plane for 3 hours before we were told to deboard so they could fix a part on our plane. Five hours later we were in the air to Denver airport.

If you know the feeling of being past tired, but not in a position to sleep, it's extremely frustrating. I tried the lean back, lean to the side, lean on the tray table, but none seemed to work. So I settled for a Diet Pepsi instead.

When we landed in Denver safely but starving we sat for another few hours waiting to get vochures from Frontier for the delay and missed flight for the evening. We were just happy everyone cleared customs this time despite the interrogations through customs. I was just glad Todd remembered where he was born.

We apologize to everyone who was worried about us since we heard the news reported us "lost". I should have also taken a picture of everyone on their cell phones in the Frontier aisle as it's amazing how much we miss this device when it's not available.

Realizing our party was dehydrated from travel and not eating for 10 hours we spent $40 on water. As I walked back to the team and opened up the bag Sarah Balian was so excited until she opened it to see "just water."

Finally Sarah and the rest of us did get dinner and spent the night at the Holiday Inn for what seemend to be an extended nap, (at least we got to lay horizontally), before heading back to the airport once again. Coach Scanson worked his miracles with Anthony Travel and managed to get us all on flights, not easy to do with a party of twenty.

As we flew in over the Highlight Mountains we were all ready to be home. As the saying goes, "all great things come to an end" (except Heaven of course), the trip to Costa Rica is in the books. What an amazing experience with unbelievable people. It reminds me that in every great thing you experience the best part about it is getting to share it with people you care about. I think that's what made this trip so special.

Many thanks to Ellen Kreighbaum, a huge supporter of this program. I am so thankful you were able to experience this trip with us; to Amy Starr for planning this trip & delivering a beautiful baby; Coach Scanson for figuring out colone currency and the travel, Coach Close for having gifts to share with our new Costa Rican friends, Ashley Wilde for getting us through a trip healthy despite some sunburning; Tom Schulz & Justin Scanson for allowing everyone else not with us to experience the trip through our social networking; Joe Bateson, our Administration, Rex Roben, & everyone else who had a part of getting Tish back to us in Costa Rica; Sports Tours & Emily Bauer and Savanna for putting on the best & most unbelievable tour for a team you can ever imagine; Swiss Travel & Danny & Jamie for hosting us this trip, teaching us so much of your country, getting us everywhere safely, and making it so entertaining and enjoyable; Radolfoe & the Costa Rica National Team for organizing our games, clinics & visit with the kids with Down Syndrome; Ellen, Dona Wallace, Larry Aesheim & Universal Athletics, Lou and Charline Spain, Tom & Celia OConner and all of our other donors of this trip; and most importantly our team. What an incredible group of individuals that have grown so close, given so much to others, and bring so much enjoyment to the rest of us.

To our parents, I want to thank you for trusting us with your daughters. You have done an incredible job of raising them and would be so proud of all of them. We didn't take for granted or waste one minute of this trip. We may be exhausted but this was an experience of a lifetime.

This year's theme may have to be "Pura Vida!"

Coach Bin

Teamwork

2011-05-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

Sports Tours certainly saved the best for last.

Whitewater rafting-We had groups of 6 in 4 different rafts. My raft included my husband Todd, Ellen, Justin Scanson, Mandy Close, and Ashley Wilde.

Our guide, Evan told us he picked our group because he knew we were the best. What we didn't know is that the "lead" guide also makes you work harder. From the start Evan wanted our raft to be first so we paddled HARD! After we managed to clear a rapid we'd high five our paddles, "pura vida" and Evan says "there is no team without work." Boy was he right.

This guiding crew was incredible. They floated kyakers ahead and behind each raft to make sure we had help ready if one of us fell into the water, and sure enough I look back and Ellen is just floating along enjoying the scenery. We managed to get her back in, but she was just disappointed she fell out in the rapid called "rodeo."

We stopped for lunch about 2 hours in which included some "heart of palms" potatoes, tortillas filled with everything, and unbelievable fresh fruit. Personally I would have just brought PBJ's. Danny, from Swiss Travel, said after lunch he wouldn't date any of our players because they eat too much.

We saw all kinds of butterflies, vulters, birds of every species, and even a sloth. Our guide showed us where a scene from Gorillas in the Mist was filmed as we turned our raft around to view the waterfall in the canyon, and then we were allowed to jump out and swim for awhile on a calm spot. I suppose I shouldn't say "allowed" as Justin was forced out by Evan.

The fun of the river included one of our player's rafts getting stuck on the rocks, Emily Allen trying to get in her raft while our guide made farting noises, Chelsea's guide struggle to pull her in the raft and tell her she was "grande", and Evan scaring everyone by grabbing their legs with hog noises. He was quite the entertainer.

We finished off the evening with another wonderful meal overlooking San Jose. Of course the clouds cleared so we could enjoy the beautiful view as Emily from Sports Tours has now told us to go play the lottery. Every day has been gorgeous.

After dinner the Costa Ricans put on a traditional dance before grabbing Ashley Albert, Kelsey Roben, and Rachel Semansky to join them. I personally think the dancer grabbed those three because they were so tall.

The Bobcats closed the dance floor, and about five hours later we will be hearing our alarms go off for a 3:30am wakeup call. No problemo as we can sleep on our 5 hour flight to Denver. Tom and Pam just need to make sure they don't sit in the exit row.

Danny said we now have a tour guide when we land in Denver, LaTisha Adams.

Buenes Noches,

Coach Bin

Arenal Volcano

2011-05-17T05:23:00.000-07:00

Danny told us you are only able to see the full view of the Arenal Volcano probably twice a year. Well, for us today it was one of those days, and it was incredible.

Our hike was around 3-4 miles around the volcano, so if you don't have visions of Dante's Peak it may be one of the most enjoyable hikes ever.

We found out that Tarzan swung on roots not vines, saw a green vine snake, and an animal that I can't recall it's name that looked like a mixture of anteater and racoon.

After our walk we sat in some hotspring pools that had a variety of temperatures. My favorite had to be the waterfall that gave you a comfortable massage while you were sitting under it.

Emily Allen challenged me to a swimming competition which I refused as I only take on a competition I know I can win, LOL.

After a 3 hour drive back to the hotel I decided to sleep instead of blog to all of you. So, here it is, we are off to our rafting trip, and most importantly Congrats to the Starrs for their beautful baby boy Caden Isiah who was born yesterday at 9 pounds 4 oz. It's a good thing he was a week early.

We all looked at the pictures of Caden on Coach Scanson's facebook before dinner and can't wait to hold him. Ausha Cole, AKA the "rock" as the Costa Ricans call her, offered to change diapers.

Coach Bin

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

2011-05-15T19:17:00.000-07:00

This trip has already produced some of the most hilarious facial expressions I have ever seen. I present to you the top 4 of the trip so far.

#4 Justin's face before the last quarter of mile zip line. "Do I really have to do this?"

#3 Kate Webb eating the Mamone fruit. What 'exactly is this that I am eating?"

#2 Chelsea Banis watching the Michael Jackson impersonator. "I am not sure what this is about."

#1 Expression of trip goes to Ellen Kreighbaum dancing before our game verses the Costa Rican National Team. "Yes I can rock the white man overbite!"

Today's events

Katie and Lyndi milking a cow. They drank the milk afterward. Later on the bus Danny, our tour guide, told us "you will get diarrhea if you drink the milk straight from the cow". Good luck at game time ladies.
Visited with children's school who have Down Syndrome and exchanged gifts. We connected so well that they will be joining us on our bench for our game today.
Rachel Semanksy joined in a parade and rode one of the Oxen. Unfortunately she ended up with some poop down her leg.
The horses riding in the parade had a professional trot. The first horse had perfect technique, a Sarah Balian type of horse. The second had its own unique style which I described as Emily Allen in a horse's personality.
Heading to the game we learned how Costa Ricans get around since they don't have street signs or addresses. They use landmarks to describe their destination. If we want to send Danny a postcard it might take the whole letter to write the directions.
Learned that Baby Jesus brings presents to Costa Ricans for Christmas rather than Santa Claus.
The kids from the school gave us a great presentation before the game. We gave them some Bobcat face stickers for the bench and they helped us to our final victory. 3-0 Bobcats!

Tomorrow we head to the volcano and hotsprings. Every day gets more spectacular than the next.

Coach Bin

Serenity

2011-05-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

We began the day driving the "OMG" road as it's important to pray in order to get to your destination. It's a one way road although cars can go the opposite direction. Fortunately for us we have Jaime as our driver who is blind but with nocturnal instincts.

As we pulled into the Cloud Forest Hotel sitting in the middle of an amazing Cloud Forest it just felt like complete serenity. Our rooms are in bungalows each with a private view of the Cloud Forest.

If you want to take a hike you can stop on the trail and see numerous kinds of hummingbirds. Otherwise, walk down the road for a horseback ride or head to the spa. I have to remind myself that, oh yeah, we have a game today!

After lunch we got back on the "OMG" road to head back to the town of San Ramone. We put on a clinic for the local kids which Ashley Albert proved she will be one of my future assistant coaches. What a great job our kids did today despite the language barrier.

Before our game verses the Costa Rica National Team we had a beautiful presentation by a Special Needs kid of Michael Jackson's "Bad." He was incredible and may be a better dancer than Katie Bussey.

Tip off hit at 6:00pm with a slow start by the Bobcats. Fortunately turning to some pressure defense led by Ausha Cole we had a 25-0 run in the 2nd quarter to break the game open. Final score 82-31, just in time for the Costa Rican Soccer Finale.

We are now back in Serenity at the Cloud Forest Hotel. I think it is just as cool at night with the fog rolling through the dimmed lights around the resort. Tomorrow will bring horseback riding, a visit with some Down Syndrome children and our final game of our trip.

A great night's rest will bring another day of serenity here in paradise. Most importantly, however, it better bring 3 in a row victories for the Cats!

Va Gatos!

Coach Bin

Zippity Du Da, Zippity Day

2011-05-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

Day 2 Costa Rica

• Started off the day working out in the fitness center with the t.v. playing Frashier, “with subtitles.”

• Food-Breakfast included beans & rice again (try with scrambled eggs). I picked fish for lunch although this time we had a hard time guessing what kind of fish. Everyone thought it was Salmon. Correct answer = trout. You would think all of us Montanans would have figured that out. Fruit of the day was mamone, a small fruit with a huge seed in the middle surrounded by a slimy texture like a slug. Needless to say, not everyone enjoyed the sweet & sour taste. However, we each had fresh mangos after our game. That pleased everyone’s palette.

• First activity of the day was to pick up Tish. She had a standing ovation on the bus. She was exhausted but made it.

We drove to a coffee field that was as majestic scenery as they come. The coffee doesn’t have as much caffeine as ours at home. Most of the children begin drinking coffee when they are 6 months old mixed in their bottles. Ellen’s way to counter was to have 7 cups.

Today was the first day of adrenaline rush sponsored by 12 zip lines. Coach Scanson and Tom were the most nervous especially when we were told that last line was a quarter of a mile long. What an amazing experience, zipping with views of the volcano, cloud forest, or in Tom’s words “orange.” He only looked at the instructors wearing orange shirts and didn’t look down. The best zip line form has to go to Katie Bussey. She looked like a compact battery.

As we rested for the game at our hotel, a 5.2 earthquake hit, the first experience like this for most of us. I just looked at Todd in our room while our t.v. was rocking back and forth. We then walked out to the hallway as did everyone else in shock. The good news I guess was that we didn’t have any traffic heading to our game.

• Costa Rica differences-Traffic –Common courtesy doesn’t exist when you are crammed nose to nose. The most common car here is the Huyndai or as Danny would say the “belly button” because everyone has one.

Home insurance includes barbwire over your house and bars on the doors and windows. However, this didn’t keep the lizard out of Mandy’s and Ashley’s room today.

• Game tonight was a spectacular 60-22 victory by the Bobcats. The floor was cement so the rule was no diving for loose balls or taking a charge. We still had three falls to the floor. I only had one FIBA rule mistake on the evening when calling a timeout. I now know to walk to the scorer’s table and call it there.

• Danny’s line of the day-He told Mandy she looked like Gene Simmons from Kiss when she tried to kill a fly.

Who knows what is in store tomorrow. With the watches off, the cell phones nonexistent, it’s once again, “pura vida!”

Coach Bin

"Pura Vida!"

2011-05-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

(Sorry for the delay, Blogger was down. Follow everything on Facebook at www.facebook.com/msuwbb )

Pura Vida”, as our tour guide Danny would say. Pura Vida stands for pretty much everything positive in Costa Rica.

We began our trip with a 7 hour layover in Denver that turned into a 9 hour layover. Todd, Mandy, and I had just taken our Nyquil when the Frontier attendant announced we would be delayed. We fought off the grogginess as long as we could but succumbed to the floor of the Denver International Airport for a few zzz’s like the rest of our party, excluding one, Ellen Kreighbaum.

Ellen, who is our Fast Break Club President was still reading her book at 1:45am when we began to board. We arrived in Costa Rica at 7:30am. Tom Scultz, our SID, made the mistake of choosing the exit row that didn’t recline so he is still yet to get any sleep.

As we walked through customs our season of obstacles added one to the belt when I heard one of the players ask, “where’s Tish?” Yes, she got sent back from security to the plane as her passport wasn’t the correct one without even letting me talk to her or figure out a solution. Long story short, she will be meeting us tomorrow after many, many people helped her get the right passport. Thank you to everyone in Bozeman that helped, Rex Roben, Kelsey’s dad, letting her get some shut eye in Denver, and Tish’s mom Barbara.

So the trip continued as we ate a wonderful breakfast, jumped on the bus and headed to Jaco Beach to take in some sunshine and cool waves. Danny, however, had one surprise none of us were expecting, a stop on a bridge to see 15-20 feet crocodiles below. I am just glad we were a bridge’s distance away. If you don’t know the difference between an alligator and a crocodile, just ask Danny. He will demonstrate how they bite you.

The beach was breathtaking. Rachel, Kate, and my husband Todd were the first in the water and all managed to get up on surfboards while the rest of us cheered them on from a safe distance from shore. I saw one fish swimming in the water and thought that was the biggest fish I needed to see for the day.

We got to have lunch on a patio overlooking the ocean. It was so majestic that I toasted Emily Bauer, our host from Sports Tours and Montana Native that she has started off our trip in style. The sea bass was incredible, and I understand we will get familiar with the beans and rice dish with every meal, except at dinner it is “rice and beans.”

As day one is nearly complete, I can only imagine what tomorrow will bring. Mostly I hope it brings us Tish. We wanted a culture experience for our student athletes. Well, Tish just got an experience of a lifetime. Safe travels young lady. We will see you in the morning.

Coach Bin

Costa Rica

2011-05-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

We are leaving today for San Jose, Costa Rica.

We will have player blogs, daily photos, video feed, etc.

Check in with us daily to see what our team is doing. It's going to be a blast.

On another note, I want to congratulate our winners at our team banquet Monday night.

Community Service Award-Lyndi Seidensticker

Ellen Kreighbaum Award-Debby Leadbetter (Founding Fast Break Board Member and contributor to our program)

6th Man-Tyler Wiltgen (radio voice of the Bobcats)

Most Improved-LaTisha Adams

Defensive Player of the Year-Sarah Balian

Bobcat Pride-Rachel Semansky

Most Valuable Player-Katie Bussey

I don't have time to write up the amazing evening, but our SID Tom Schulz had two pages of the records broken this season. Check out our highlight film by Coach Scanson!

Coach Bin

ALL BANQUET

2011-05-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

ALL stands for Academics, Leadership, and Life Skills. It is a competition between the athletic teams at MSU in regards to our community service hours, academic and athletic achievements.

Anyone in athletics knows how competitive people in our department are, so to have a healthy competition like this benefiting our community and making the student's degree the number one priority is pretty cool. Our Athletic Department does an amazing job of hosting this banquet with our great MC, Tyler Wiltgen, and food by Outback Steakhouse.

When the awards started to be announced, however, I was quickly reminded of why I am so proud of who they are as individuals.

Our student athletes do community service because it feels good to help others. Take Lyndi Seidensticker, the 2011 ALL Challenge Individual Community Service Award winner. She is a Big Sister in the community and gets to play with a kid in our community every week. Hanging out with her new brother is what she looks forward to. She gets a break from her studies, her training, and sees how much he enjoys spending time with her.

I could list every student athlete on our team who has given back to our community in many ways as they gave nearly 300+ hours this year. Our team won the 2011 ALL Challenge Community Service Award.

Academically our team has prided themselves in this category. We had two students on our team Sarah Balian and Rachel Semansky awarded the District Seven First Team and Honorable Mention this year, and Lyndi Seidensticker was one of 40 All Excellence Award Winners on campus. As a team we won the 2011 ALL Challenge Academic Performance this year.

We also love to win athletically, and our ten game winning streak this year won the team the 2011 ALL Challenge Women's Team Performance. I think at this time the crowd was starting to get annoyed with our team's success. That felt pretty good as a coach.

I will wrap it up with the overall most prestigious award of them all which totals all three categories, the 2011 AL BEYE Memorial ALL Challenge Trophy. I will display it in my office with pride until next season in hopes of continuing to keep the dust off.

Ladies, I am so proud of who you are, and I want to keep the trophy, so let's go get it again next year. This may be my first "bragging" blog, but it's well worth it for what you do for others.

Coach Bin

Family matters by Tom Schulz

2011-04-25T09:46:00.000-07:00

(This article can be found at: http://www.montana.edu/mountainsandminds/article.php?article=9655)

Family matters

Values are at the core of Tricia Binford's success

by Tom Schulz

Many basketball coaches will say that the essence of their program is the team, but for Montana State University's Tricia Bader Binford, it's all about family.

"At our level, recruiting is a constant battle," said Binford, who is coming off her most successful season at MSU. "But what is unique about Montana State is that we can sell a great education, a safe community and being part of a family. And that is exactly what the parents of our potential student-athletes can embrace."

It's no secret that when a prospective student-athlete signs to play for Coach Binford's MSU women's basketball program, she instantly becomes a member of the Bobcat family. She is also expected to embrace all the components that make the unit run--whether in good or bad times.

Ashley Albert, who was slated to start as the Bobcat's point guard until she tore her ACL three days before the season started, said that the team's coaches play a pivotal role in the family atmosphere that is the key to the team's success.

"They (coaches) care about each of us individually as people, not just as players. In this long process of rehabbing from my ACL tear, the coaching staff has been there every step of the way," Albert said.

"It's so great knowing I have such a great support system in my coaches and teammates."

Lorey Bussey, the mother of MSU junior all-conference performer Katie Bussey, had no reservations to send her high-octane daughter to Bozeman from Alamosa, Colo.

"We worry, like all parents do, about our daughter being so far away all by herself," Bussey said. "But, when we visit MSU, we get a really content feeling that she is in a wonderful college community in a town full of decent people, and that she is a member of the caring family circle of MSU women's basketball. You can only imagine how comforting that is to us."

Twenty years ago, Jim and Lyn Bader were in Bussey's shoes sending their daughter away to college.

Binford was raised in Carbondale, Colo.,--a ski town 40 miles from Aspen. She received her core values from her father, Jim Bader, who was the superintendent of schools, and mother Lyn, a school counselor.

A self-described adrenaline junkie, Binford began her basketball journey as a four-year-old "tree jumper" hopping from trunk-to-trunk in the woods by her home. It was where she first learned to challenge herself and take risks.

She parlayed her proficiency in tree jumping into a successful career leaping from the second-story window of her parent's house, at the urging of an older brother.

"There was a certain thrill--pushing yourself to the limits," Binford said.

Binford also excelled at basketball. She was Colorado Player of the Year and a Street and Smith's High School All-American in that sport. Yet, she said she had never seen a women's collegiate basketball game until she got to Boise State, where she played college basketball. She was drawn to the Broncos by former BSU head coach June Daugherty, who is now at Washington State.

"I know my parents felt at ease with her, and she sold them on a smaller university in a safe and supportive atmosphere," Binford said. "To this day, my folks still stay in touch with her."

At Boise State, Binford was an all-conference point guard, leading the Broncos to a national ranking and its first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament. For her efforts, she was named the 1996 Idaho NCAA Woman of the Year.

Binford left BSU with the school's career assists record and was second in program history in steals. In addition, she poured in 1,171 career points. Her tenure with the Broncos resulted with an induction into the Boise State Hall of Fame in 2001.

After college, Binford had double-knee surgery. Following rehab, she played for two years in Australia for the LaTrobe Demons. She then jumped to the WNBA, playing two years for the Utah Starzz, where she honed her skills working out with the likes of Utah Jazz Hall of Famer Karl Malone. She then joined the Cleveland Rockers after the team's starting point guard went down on a broken ankle.

"Cleveland's coaches had watched me warm up previously in a game with them, and liked my work ethic," Binford said.

Binford went on to play for four seasons with the Rockers, which culminated in an Eastern Division Championship. She also was an assistant coach at Boise State during the offseason, which is where she met her husband, Todd.

Heading into her sixth WNBA campaign, Binford had an opportunity to coach as an assistant at Utah State, which was in the process of resurrecting its women's basketball program following a 16-year hiatus. She and Todd decided it was time to hang up the sneakers and pursue her coaching career.

"I found great peace in our decision, and I felt like I had improved my game as best I could," Binford said.

Again, through connections at Boise State and her Colorado club team, Binford landed a spot on Reagan Pebley's staff at Utah State.

Two seasons later, Binford was named Montana State's 11th head women's basketball coach on April 13, 2005.

Character, integrity, and work ethic were the building blocks to the future, and Binford began to instill a sense of belonging to something much greater than just the team.

"Tricia has done an outstanding job with our women's basketball program," said MSU Athletics Director Peter Fields. "She is player-centered and has a caring attitude towards her student-athletes."

Binford intertwines her family, including children Justin and Brooklyn, with her student-athletes so everyone can be invested in the Bobcat program.

"My six-year-old son Justin might just be our best recruiter," Binford said. "He loves meeting our recruits, and he does a great job of entertaining them with his youthful exuberance."

Binford has steadily built the Bobcats into a league leader. The Bobcats have played in two Big Sky championship games in the last three years, were the top team in the league this winter, and would love nothing more than to bring a title to the Bobcat family.

"(Yet) At the end of the day our relationships are what matter," Binford said. "As in all families, our team works at it. Our family believes in hard work and knows the biggest reward is who we get to celebrate it with. We look out for each other, believe in each other and respect each other. Each player in our program was recruited to fit into our system, which boasts strong values and putting the team above anything else."

Spring Eval

2011-04-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

Three days to catch how many kids? What a rollercoaster.

Left Thursday for Phoenix- really do love having to wear sunscreen from gym to gym. Saturday flew to Seattle- really don't love avoiding the puddles from all the rain. Sunday flew home to see my family who caught the flu- really don't love cleaning up throw up but do love taking care of them.

Highlights of my trip.
1) In N Out Burger of course with Peg from Portland State.
2) Sushi with my brother-in-law Ryan from Northwest Nazarene, Peg, and Jordan from University of Idaho. It's the only time I get to eat sushi as the rest of the Binford's like their food cooked.
3) Conversation with Scott on my flight from Phoenix-Salt Lake. He does Independent Films and will write one of the Glee episodes some day.
4) Finding out that Vitamin Water has caffeine. No wonder people just "feel better" drinking it.
5) Getting a Jeep at the Thrifty Car Rental. No offense Kia, but the Jeep was cool.
6) Seeing my friends from Boise State in Seattle after 15+ years. Sham and Tasha, you look exactly like you did in the dorms.
7) Watching Montana Hoops and Big Sky Hoops. Way to represent our GREAT state!
8) Last but certainly not least, opening the door of my garage and hearing the feet of my kids run to hug me. It's my favorite part of the day.

I guess I could have done without the throw up to clean up, but that's just part of life isn't it?

Coach Bin

FINAL FOUR MVP

2011-04-07T15:23:00.000-07:00

The Events at Indy!

Wow, what an exciting and compact weekend of events.

Friday

Mandy ate all of Frontier's cookies on our flight to Indy. Yes, she is excited when we fly Frontier. She and I left on Friday, Justin Saturday, and Amy-she stayed home as she is now very pregnant with baby LaByron.

Saturday

Mandy finished 3rd in the 4Kay Run, and I helped out at the NCAA Yes Clinic. The station I helped run along with coaches from Utah State, Fullerton, and Nevada was the "BRING IT ON" station. Yes, we took charges, dove for loose balls, and Allyson from Fullerton even got a floor burn during demonstration. Way to take one for the team!

After I got back from my clinic and Justin arrived the three of us went to the Sport Tours party to go over our upcoming tour to Costa Rica in May. It is going to be jam packed with river rafting, zip lining, visiting an orphanage, putting on a clinic, and hopefully coming away undefeated.

Sunday

What energy at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes service hosted by worship leader Jami Smith and guest speaker Dr. Charles Ware, President of Crossroads Bible College. As Dr. Ware began his sermon, he told us a story of a young boy who had just seen Michael Jordan hit a game winning shot. With excitement the boy asked if he had seen Jordan with 6 seconds to go, separate from his defender hang in the air and hit the shot at the buzzer. The boy was in aww of Jordan's unbelievable hangtime when Dr. Ware replied, "Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins so we can be saved, three days later rose from the grave, and 2000+ years later still hasn't come down yet. Now that's HANG TIME!" In Dr. Ware's words, "JC is the MVP of ALL TIME!"

Justin, Mandy, and I watched the semi final games that night and they were amazing. This Final Four was all about defense, although it was still exciting to see Maya Moore put on a show! The only critique I have was that the second game didn't start until after my bedtime.

Monday

I attended the Division I Business Meeting, and after four hours of legislative discussion by conferences and voting, I think our voices are directing our game in a very powerful and positive direction. I am proud to be a part of this game and can't imagine how incredible it will be ten years from now.

Mandy and Justin were able to see a ton of on court programming and were staying for coaching roundtables. For me, it was the end of important business meetings and time to get home to my family.

As I walked through the Indy airport, a man from the store Brookstone was flying a plane through the terminal. The day before was my son's 7th birthday, and although we weren't celebrating it until the following weekend, he wouldn't let the fact I wasn't with him go. The perfect mom wouldn't bribe love, but the good news was that the plane was only $30. I got home, gave Justin the present, and guess what, I was the best mom in the whole world again.

Coach Bin

2010-2011 RECAP

2011-03-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

Where to begin?

I will begin with our preseason schedule, the hardest in school history that included nationally ranked Baylor and UCLA. Also on the schedule were other post season tournament teams Little Rock Arkansas (neutral site), BYU, and UC Riverside.

Our preseason schedule included 10 away games compared to our 4 home ones. This wound up being critical for our team finishing third in conference because we were able to win on the road which not a lot of teams have learned how to do. Our strength of preseason schedule paid huge dividends.

I believe from the beginning, our team knew that success must be determined by daily commitment, and individual and team improvement. Enjoyment of the moment and recognition of team improvements are more important than focusing on the win/ loss column. Teams must focus on who they are collectively and individually and demand the very best in what that group is capable of.

For example, facing Baylor who has the most game changing player in 6'8 Brittany Griner was not an evenly matched contest physically. However, my team's strengths came to the table when we stepped on their home floor; strength of character, effort, and most importantly, unselfishness. Celebrating the moment for me was watching 5'11 Semansky score over Griner the first two possessions of the game. It would have been amazing to pull off an upset, but what we took away instead was how much tougher and stronger we need to be from a rebounding perspective. If you saw the way Lyndi Seidensticker was rebounding in March, it was because of games like Baylor, UCLA, and Little Rock.

I should also mention the injury challenge that we were faced with the entire year since this is what all of our readers, fans, and media have been tracking. When our season began, with our first scrimmages and exhbition games, we had a lot of things clicking as a team. I was more excited about this team's ability than any to date.

Right around the end of October/early November I remember having a feeling of "worry" that one of my players was going to get injured. Let me be clear here. I know coaches worry about injuries, foul trouble, shooting well, etc, but this was different. I felt like God was preparing me for something to happen so I would be ready to lead our team through it.

And then it happened. Ashley Albert tore her ACL the Monday before our season began. She was starting at the point and rotating in at forward and was averaging over 13 points and 6 rebounds a game. Some may think I had "jinxed" her with my "worry". However, I believe difficult & unfortunate things just happen, and dealing with adversity is one of the most important lessons you can learn in life.

In December, I had a touch decision to make regarding the direction our team would be heading due to other circumstances that were out of my control. Coaches have to make decisions quickly with as much fact as possible, but I also believe you follow your instincts. My instinct was to start Ausha Cole (a freshman who had played very limited minutes) and move Tish Adams over to a supporting role at the point guard spot so we could improve our defensive intensity and put our other players like Katie Bussey and Sarah Balian in their natural positions and strengths. My staff believed they would rise to the challenge, but none of us knew how well.

We won two in a row that week before heading to Christmas Break. Break is an interesting time for coaches because the commitment is all in the hands of your players during this time. When the team came back, it was like the season had just began with new fire, hope, and determination. We headed over to face BYU and Utah Valley. We completed the week with two more wins in a row and a major upset against BYU who is typically unbeatable on their home floor.

Something was happening to this team. They were taking on a whole new defensive personality thriving off the success of getting stops, forcing opponent into mistakes, not that as a staff we haven't always stressed these values, lol, but in the past we have just been known for putting points on the board.

What better way to begin conference with some momentum, a couple wins to build our confidence. Then we broke 100+ points for the second time this season opening up against Sac State. However, Chelsea Banis was lost for the season with an injury halfway into the game. I sat down in the lockerroom after the game with my team and told them how proud I was of their team play. Then I told them we had another challenge once again to step up with our character, our positivity, and our commitment to one another as Chelsea was done for the season.

Coaching is one of the most rewarding things I have ever been a part of. I am so thankful and blessed I have the opportunity to stay in the game I loved to play, and have the passion to be around it everyday. But I will say the hardest thing as a coach is seeing your players, or should I say daughters, go through pain. Chelsea had 15 points in her first conference game in about 15 minutes on her way to being a great candidate for Freshman of the Year in conference. She had redshirted last season, put so much time into growing, and then this. That's life isn't it?

After the game I remember telling Gidal our local reporter it was the worst I have ever felt after a 100 point victory. Yet, the word that kept popping in my head was "resilient', and in the list of my limited vocabulary (just ask my staff and players) what an amazing word.

The team was just that! We bounced back like we always do mentally. My job, however was to make sure we could still do this physically now that we were down to 8 players. So my incredible staff and I sat down to brainstorm ways to "add" to our roster. We were still on Christmas break. Who could we get in a week before school started, who would help us? We already had some scout guys, but not enough. What if we had another big lead like we did against Sac? We don't have enough bodies to rest our kids who are playing.

In the limited time frame we had, our staff was able to find three full time MSU students that had played basketball in high school. My staff took them through some drills, our compliance began the paperwork, and once they were cleared, our team made the sacrifce. They came in early nearly every day to teach Mary, Carrie, and Mariah the plays, and get them up to speed.

Put yourself in Carrie's shoes. She was going to school full time and working part time. Then she has an opportunity to be a part of a Division I program for a semester and has to make a decision in less than 24 hours. The next thing she knows she is heading on her first road trip AND first Division I game against University of Montana in Dalberg Arena. We won that game too. We all had a blast, but I can't imagine what it felt like for Carrie to be on our bench that day.

We were able to get Mary Anderson's paperwork through by our next home game against Idaho State. She went through her first shoot around, pregame meal, and then with about a minute left in the game was playing her first collegiate minute. Then she caught the ball in transition and SCORED!

At the buzzer our team accomplished what only one other MSU women's basketball team has done and won 10 consecutive games. How many teams can say that? Our team did that in the middle of losing our center, playing in the two most difficult road atmospheres (BYU & U OF M), and having added three players to the team in the meantime.

As all seasons of life attest, the rollercoaster never stops. We would lose again, we'd win again, but our attitudes and focus would stay consistent.

One moment I will never forget was at the end of practice and we were doing a drill called "Free Throw Challenge". If you are the first to make 2 in a row at all four baskets then you are the winner. If you miss the first you go backwards. It gets competitive, the players sprint between baskets, try and cut in front of each other, you name it. Well, Ashley Albert was to the point of her recovery from her injury where she could shoot, but only stationary. I told Ashley she could shoot all of hers at the same basket. Lyndi, being a competitor, and most dominating FT challenge shooter, piped up and said, "That's not fair!" I chuckled and replied, "After what you've seen this season, I thought you already knew life isn't fair." We both laughed.

Our last regular season road trip came down to the wire. We were able to walk away from Cheney, WA with a win which put us in position to host or make the top 2 in the conference. We were focusing on the top 2 as the other outcome was all up to whether or not UNC won or lost. We had perfected focusing on what was in our control.

As a coaching staff we knew that if UNC lost, and we beat PSU we would host the Big Sky Tournament as we had the highest RPI. Our team got behind early in the game but as our character consistently showed throughout the season, we didn't give up. We were able to get ourselves back in the game and tie it with 24 seconds left in the game. PSU responded and the Big Sky MVP drove the length of the floor to the basket. Rather than give up an open lay up, we fouled, sent her to the line, and she made both free throws.

On our final attempt by Katie Bussey at the buzzer and just past half court, the ball bounced off the front rim. We headed down the stairs and heard the announcers announce PSU as the Big Sky Conference Champions. At halftime the entire crowd knew that UNC had lost, but neither us or PSU's team knew or wanted to know because we wanted to focus on this crucial game.

The next four days would be a whirlwind trying to fly back to Bozeman for two days and fly right back to Portland for the Big Sky Tournament. We caught Eastern Washington for the third week in a row, and yes it is hard to beat a team three times in a row. Our Cinderalla Story finished without the golden slipper, but what it did finish with was an unbelievable beginning, middle, and end.

Our season was incredible and the future is bright. I can say that because I was able to hug both of my seniors at the same time and tell them how I will be bragging about them for the next 20 years. I have three injured players that will be suiting up for us next season, an amazing returning class lead by Katie Bussey, and one of our best signing classes to date.

More importantly, when you focus on the things that matter most, the relationships you make, the lives you can change for the better, making a positive impact in our world... our team has that, they are doing that, and my staff has the priveledge of being a part of their lives every day. How many coaches say they want to get better as a coach, be a better person, make a more positive impact because their players challenge them? I hope a lot of us do!

Oh, I forgot to tell you what I also said to my seniors when we hugged. We get to finish the 2011-2012 this May in Costa Rica!

Coach Bin

WHOOPS

2011-03-08T09:05:00.000-08:00

Whoops,

I forgot to blog didn't I. Last weekend in between our Eastern Washington and Portland State games my former teammate/roommate Lisa came to our hotel to give Amy Starr, our trainer Ashley a product run of Mary Kay. Lisa originally said we were going to have facials which I thought was a perfect relaxing remedy for the road trip, but she tricked me in that I was giving myself my own facial.

If any of you know Lisa, she is organized, task driven, and passionate about life. When we were roommates she would leave my other former teammate Lyndsie and I a list of chores on the whiteboard in the house. You can laugh about it, but Lyndsie was still messier than I was if there is a pecking order.

So for Lisa to be selling Mary Kay product is a perfect fit, and for me the best gift ever so she can just tell me what I need and how I need to apply it.

The night of facials, excuse me, self application of Mary Kay product, was SO much fun but intimidating to those of us not as confident in the world of skin and makeup. As we began, I was expecting a cat fight between Lisa and Amy as Amy is quite the connoisseur of makeup also. Lisa was like "who is running this show here?" Just kidding. She didn't really say that.

Ashley and I however, were rookies in the makeup department. I am a perfectionist so I was concerned about the application process. How much do I put on my face? Do I put it on my eyes? Do I put it on my whole neck? Who would of thought there was so much to taking care of your skin anyway.

The most understandable term of the evening came from Lisa's husband Toby who called one product "Spackle" as it simply does to your face what "Spackle" does to your walls.

Once we got to the eye makeup, it was all over for me. I felt like I was back in elementary art school painting in the box to match the number except whoever designed these paint cards did NOT pass Kindergarten.

As the evening wrapped up, and I bought my new face wash and other essentials that I don't even know what they do, I think I will just have my son apply my makeup for me. I mean, he's a much better artist than I am anyway.

I have to admit, my skin feels wonderful. I still don't know how you can apply it up rather than down and what the purpose of that is, but with more repetition I will get better.

Coach Bin

Awards of Excellence

2011-02-23T08:56:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Lyndi Seidensticker as she was recognized last night as one of 40 MSU senior students to win the MSU Awards of Excellence. Winners were nominated by their faculty for their academic excellence, campus leadership, and community service.

We are so proud of you.

Lyndi was also the third in a row MSU Women's Basketball student athlete to win this honor.

The pressure is on underclassmen.

Go Cats!

Coach Bin

Slip, Slop, Slap

2011-02-14T12:59:00.000-08:00

I learned this phrase at dinner with our team at PF Changs in Sacramento. I had the luxury of sitting next to Emily Allen and Rachel Semansky, so I was asking them why they got interested in elementary education.

Emily began talking about basketball camps and how she loved working with the Kindergarteners and then said I could make a "career" out of this. Rachel mentioned that her grandma told her she'd be good at it. Well, in both rights they both will be exceptional teachers and definitely have the energy for that age.

We then talked about what you teach a Kindergarten age student. I told them Justin had learned how to be independent and how to put his winter clothes on before the bell rang. That's when Emily jumped in about

Slip, Slop, Slap!

There isn't snow to deal with in Queensland, Australia, but instead the sun. So the advertisement they use is to slip on the swimsuit, slop on the sunscreen, and slap on the hat to protect yourself from the sun.

Now try and imagine Emily telling the story as fast as the Tasmanian Devil himself. It makes for quite a fun story.

We'll attach a few photos this week from our last road trip and some rules of the road thanks to Katie Bussey. Make sure to keep checking in because there is something we can all learn from these rules.

Coach Bin

Camryn's Birthday Party

2011-02-08T10:18:00.000-08:00

Coach Scanson's daughter just turned four, and we were invited to the big bash on Sunday. Don't worry, it was well before the Superbowl.

So we headed to Target to get the perfect gift. Justin already knew what to get her, a Transformer (level 3) as she already had the level 2's. The level determines how difficult it is to transform it. Justin said he would teach Camryn.

When we arrived to the Transformer section Optimus Prime, the leader of the Transformers, was right there in front. That was easy.

While we were in the checkout line, we saw Tyler (our radio guy) walking by to get his gift for Camryn. I guess we are all last minute shoppers.

I am pretty sure Justin sat with the Optimus Prime in his lap the whole ride over to Camryn's sizing up the gift. He then said, "I really want this one."

As we pulled up to their house, Brooklyn had just fallen asleep. Isn't that always the timing? Like any 2 year old arriving at a birthday party however, she has the senses of a hound and woke up 1 minute later as we walked in the entry way. She was ready to PARTY!

Camryn and Justin began playing with Camryn's race track and raced cars down it until Brooklyn joined in trying to send Pony hairbrushes down the track. They don't go quite as fast.

We all ate some pizza and praised Coach Scanson's great cooking ability from Papa Murphys and then got ready for the opening of the presents.

Camryn began opening some very exciting toys until she got to mom's wrapped socks. Camryn looked at them, tossed them aside, and went to the next box. That's when the winner was opened, the Pillow Pet from Grandpa and Grandma. She squeezed the pillow tight and said repeatedly "I always wanted this. I always wanted this."

The grandparents were in the winner's circle with Camryn but not necessary Coach Scanson and his wife Shannon when the next gift from them was a harmonica.

To Mike and Peggy Scanson, I just want to say, GOOD ONE.

That's unless it ends up on the bus next week for our road trip to Idaho State.

Coach Bin

The Bench

2011-02-02T12:44:00.000-08:00

When I am a spectator rather than a coach on the sidelines I love to watch the bench because every bench is as unique as a team's offense.

Timeouts-most coaches will talk with their staff first before going into the huddle. Some teams have players talk to them first, some have a coach talk defense, then another talk offense. My favorite joke, though, is when a friend of mine told me I needed to get a stool to sit on when I was pregnant because she was worried Brooklyn might deliver early.
Trainers-they probably have the most stress of anyone. They have to be ready to clean up blood in under 30 seconds at any moment of the game as well as pop back a dislocated finger (2 years in a row for our team). They have to have everything in their trainer's bag for any situation that could come up (just like any women's purse), AND they have to take care of every athlete, coach, and PREGNANT coach.
Athletes-the good teams have focused athletes on the bench and in the huddles. They aren't looking around waving to their friends (or their daughters- Coach Scanson, lol). They are learning from their teammates on the court ready to make the adjustment when they go in. The good teams also have great energy on the bench whether it's cheering, jumping, high fiving, etc. Their energy is electric.
Coaches-you have the Tara Vandaveers who don't get up often, sit there calmly watching their team execute their plays with ease, to the Kim Mulkeys who will entertain you with animations from start to finish. I find myself in between the two but also know I coach a lot better when I don't get caught up in the entertainment or should I say- juggling of the officials.

Obviously it is a lot of fun to lace your shoes up and step on that court and get into the action, but don't underestimate the excitement of the sidelines who have the best view of the game.

Coach Bin

New Recruits

2011-01-25T13:34:00.000-08:00

When you are down to eight players because of unfortunate season ending injuries, your active players get very little rest in practices, if any. One adjustment is to shorten practices, but when you still have an entire conference season left to play, it's time to brainstorm some new ideas to improve your ability to move forward.

One solution is getting "scout guys" to help out. We currently have 2 to 3 regular scout guys, and they are awesome. Our coaches have also helped out. Coach Scanson and Coach Close have stayed extremely fit by jumping in, but with Coach Starr pregnant we continue to utilize her services on the sideline (and possibly offer her an extra snack or two to keep her happy).

Unfortunately, 2 to 3 scout guys still doesn't allow our athletes to get reps off, and I lose the services of two of my coaches coaching. So we decided to recruit students on campus. Here are some questions that had to be answered:

Who is a full time student that we know played basketball in high school?
Who played basketball in high school on our other sport teams that might be interested?
Most importantly, who WOULDN'T be interested in joining our squad now that preseason conditioning is over?

Thankfully we added three members to the roster over the past few weeks. Two of them have already made it through the Clearinghouse and got to suit up for their first contest last night against ISU.

Here are a few highlights of the game.

Emily Allen- Shoots a step back three, misses but gets fouled. She immediately looks over to the bench and says "my bad" as to her decision to take the shot. She walks up to the free throw line for 3 shots. Makes the first, two claps for herself, then makes the second. She then remembers she forgot to go through her FT "routine". So she does, and misses.
Kelsey Roben- Dashes to the weakside block as Rachel Semansky feeds her a pass to the rim. She looked like a Giselle!
Our new recruits Carrie Feenstra and Mary Anderson get in a DI collegiate game. We have a baseline out of bounds play and Coach Scanson is screaming to tell them where to lineup as they don't really know all of our plays yet. They look confused, I call a timeout.
Time is running out, and Emily Allen sees Mary Anderson open on the weakside, she passes and Mary takes her first collegiate shot, 2 points.
The most entertaining highlight, however, was watching Katie Bussey hustle all over the floor like the Energizer Bunny. She has never looked so fresh.
Todd attending the game WITHOUT the kids. When I asked how it was, he responded with a big relaxed smile, "It was everything I thought it would be." I think he'll leave the kids with the babysitter more often. Thanks Cassie!

I think the extra rest and having additional bodies in practices does help! Emily, however, is just Emily.

Coach Bin

Don't Rush

2011-01-19T14:24:00.000-08:00

Doesn't that advice hold true to so many things?

Driving- Avoid accidents, tickets, etc.
Eating- Avoid heartburn, enjoy the bite.
Playing Basketball-You can play fast with execution, but rushing leads to mistakes.
Communicating- This personally is hard for me when my adrenaline is at its peak. For example, after our win over Weber State I pointed out how well Kelsey Roben was moving on the court and said she ran like a Giselle. No, I didn't mean the super model... yes, I meant gazelle.

Slow Down!

INJURIES

2011-01-13T10:09:00.000-08:00

Let me first start with my disappointment for all of our Montana Blog readers. I drew a cowboy and still didn't win the drawing contest? I can't believe that! LOL

Let's shift gears to what is going on with our team. Last week we opened up 2-0 conference play in the Fieldhouse. In Thursday's game we broke the 100 point barrier for the 2nd time this season and it's the worst I have ever felt after a victory. That's because Chelsea Banis went down for a season ending injury. This is our third season ending injury to our team this season.

As coaches, we go through a million emotions. The worst of them, though, is when a player gets injured. I'ts out of your control. You can't fix it, coach it, change it. It just is what it is, and you HAVE to maintain your positive outlook on what you can take away from it.

That leads us to two scenarios to deal with.

1. My "Great Eight" as Lori Bussey (Katie's mom) came up with. These are the ones adapting to our situation, persevering, stepping up in other's absences. These kids are as mentally tough as any group I have ever coached.
So what are we working through with them you ask? We focus on what is in our control number one. We focus on each day and how to get better. We focus on execution, making up certain pieces now that our pieces are shaped differently. We control our practice times better so we don't overtrain with limited numbers. We bring in some additional practice players to help relieve some reps in practices. We consider having some additional players on our roster so we can rest our eight with hopefully some leads during the year. Most importantly, we maintain our vision and believe we can still accomplish everything we want to this season. We have a lot of talent, but our weapon is only as strong as our fight with it, and we have that!

2. Second scenario is making sure our injured athletes are still our glue, don't feel removed because there has been so much discussion on our "great eight" and what they are accomplishing. We are doing this all together. Our three perseverant souls will get through this stronger than ever. Ashley, Chelsea, and Kate each have competitive spirits, and long careers ahead of them. We keep them engaged by utilizing their eyes, their voices, and their experience with their teammates. We continue to rehab them well by being involved in their daily and weekly goals.

As we put these two scenarios together we create the most unified team I have ever coached. I have no idea what tomorrow brings, but I do know I have a Championship Team because of their character, focus, and work ethic. This is why I love team sports.

It's so much more rewarding when you get to share your experiences with others.

Coach Bin

Macaroni Grill

2011-01-04T12:46:00.000-08:00

Here is a recap of our latest trip to Utah.

Bus-Yes we took a bus and will NEVER do that again as you can't count on the weather. We left at 10:00am and arrived at 10:00pm. Our athletes didn't seem to mind as they slept for most of it in between the Princess and the Frog and Sherlock Holmes
Games-I told our bus driver Tom he is our bus driver for every bus trip we have as we went 2-0 with him. He took good care of us throughout the blizzards and traffic.
Rehab-It was important for me and our team to have our redshirt players travel with us. Ashley Albert is coming off an ACL reconstruction and Kate Webb had her pin removed from her stress fracture. We utilize both athletes on the bench during the games to take stats, chart opponent runs, and communicate on the bench. In between games they do rehab with our trainer during practices, pass for teammates, and focus on getting healthy!
Entertainment-This can include celebrating the New Year at the movie theatre, but most importantly eating well. I have included some very artistic drawings from our dinner at the Macaroni Grill. See if you can guess who drew the picture and most importantly your favorite artist.

Happy New Year!

Coach Bin

Elmo's portrait of Sarah Balian

Ausha Cole's love and basketball

Someone's attempt at tic tac toe

Rachel's sunny day
Coach Bin's Cowboy
Someone else's Cowgirl

Resilience

2010-12-29T08:50:00.000-08:00

We have had our share of injuries this season. Since we are in Montana I won't say when it rains it pours but maybe when it snows it blizzards!

The good news, however, is that you can't build a Frosty the Snowman without enough snow, and you certainly can't enjoy skiing without fresh new powder. It's always how you look and respond to it.

Yesterday was a perfect example of our resilience when we finished practice with seven players after beginning the season with twelve. As they were getting a water break, one of our captains Katie Bussey said the good news is that we get extra reps!

This group is tough and positive. They have fought through a lot of adversity and been able to stay focused on what they can control. We just broke a school record with 107 points last week so I think our kids haven't lost their edge.

We already have a million stories on the season so far, I can't imagine what stories we will finish with.
I suppose after a bus trip to Utah this week we might add to it. Let's just hope the new stories are of healing!

Coach Bin

Genius

2010-12-26T16:38:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

In between the Star Wars Lego sets and the dolls that Brooklyn didn't want, I was glad to hear my son still knew what this holiday is about. He told me we were celebrating Jesus's birthday, everything he has done for us, and giving to others as well. Next is getting Brooklyn to understand that as she thinks it's to play with Justin's presents.

My family spent this year's Christmas with Todd's family in Idaho, and every year it just goes by too fast.
Todd and the kids are staying a few extra days while I fly home for practice and a road trip to Utah.

So my travel continues back to Bozeman as today I started in the Boise airport. It began with the entertaining security guard looking up and down my photo ID, chuckling before he said "Binford Tools" hugh?

As I entered my millionth bathroom to shut the door, it just continued to slide open despite numerous attempts on the switch. I thought to myself, how can the geniuses in our world who invent the I pad, French Press Coffee Mug, disposable diapers NOT create door handles that actually stay shut? Instead they create the motion sensor which makes the toilet flush at random times possibly while you are going to the bathroom.

I do know that I am not a genius as I tried to blog off my blackberry. A real genius gave us the internet and wireless.

So please forgive me for my sarcasm as I am using it now in the SLC airport. Icould always drink less water to solve my other problem.

Coach Bin

Stay At Home Dads

2010-12-22T12:18:00.000-08:00

People ask me all the time how Todd and I do it, raising two kids, with me being at work all day.
It's simple, give and take. You won't do everything exactly how your spouse would like them done and they won't do everything exactly how you would have them done.

Few examples:

1) Groceries-When Todd goes shopping we end up with a lot more candy and frozen meals. When I go shopping we end up with more food period.
2) Dress-This one is from yesterday when I met Todd and Brooklyn at Justin's school for his school's holiday program. I had picked out a nice red sweater for him the day before to wear. When I get there Brooklyn is still in her pj's with tube socks over them pulled up to her knees and Nike shoes on. Her hair is a mess. When Justin's class takes the stage I ask Todd if he can see him. He says to me, "just look for the kid in the orange shirt."

Yes, it's true. My son was standing there in the middle of red, green, white, girls in Christmas dresses, boys with ties, and my son's orange shirt with a football on the front.

The good news is that he was really easier to find!

Coach Bin

Experience

2010-12-13T07:50:00.000-08:00

Every coach knows how important experience is to the success of a team, and I can't think of a better example than watching Carrie Underwood in concert last night.

If any of you are avid blog readers you will recall my husband and I going to her concert two years ago in the Fieldhouse when she came out for her encore in an MSU Women's Basketball jersey. It was an unbelievable concert. In the Big Sky Conference she would have been named Freshman of the Year.

Two years later Carrie has taken her game a whole new level! Last night she sang one song while swinging herself back and forth on a swing, at an uncomfortable height I might add. My players can't complain when I demand them to sprint back on defense AND communicate AND see the ball all at the same time. If Carrie can swing herself, hold on, and sing amazing then we can play great transition defense. Can I get your ab workout for our team?
Underwood has also shown to have strong endurance, another sign of a champion, when she told us she was on concert 94 and eventually breaking 100. I did pray for her voice however because that is like playing in three overtime periods. May I suggest a ten minute ice bath.

The most impressive strength of Carrie's besides her vocals was her balance. Great athletes have great balance and I did also pray that she not walk so close to the ledge in center of the stage that brought her out at the beginning of the show. It looked like she was tip toeing in those high heels inches away from a sudden drop off.

Speaking of heels, Todd and I brought the binoculars so I got to see up close all the wardrobe changes and the shoes ROCKED! I especially liked the blue "bling" ones not that my favorite color is blue or anything. She made it the entire concert, too, I might add without getting taped.

Last but certainly not least, the highlight of the show was when she came out in the back of an old pick up truck suspended in air over the crowd. She was singing John Denver's "Country Road." Yes, I am from Colorado.

Other tidbits:

To the "Son's of Sylvia" who opened up the show, it's actually pretty warm right now in Bozeman. You should have been here 3 weeks ago.
Whoever schedules the shows, please next time don't have it the night before finals begin. Half of my team was at the show.
Billy Currington-Are you trying to start fights with spouses when you get the crowd to scream singing "WOMEN" are crazy? Todd wasn't sure if he should join in or not.
Carrie-Thank you for donating part of every show to charity. You are a class act.

Thank you Carrie Underwood for BRINGING IT a second time and for surpassing your previous perfomance. You are an amazing performer, a gifted singer, and I am thankful that God answered both of my requests last night for your voice and your balance!

Coach Bin

Buffalo Wild Wings

2010-12-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

I forgot to tell you of our latest story on the road following our football team's post season run. Coach Scanson was able to find us a Buffalo Wild Wings in California that put the playoff game on so we could watch during lunch.

If any of you have watched a football game, however, they last a little longer than one meal. So we had some appetizers, drank a lot of water, shifted our seating positions often, and went to the bathroom on more than one occassion.

As I exited the restroom and saw the sign on the door I was fairly optimistic about our viewing conditions. Yes it would have been nice to be at the live game with our sold out home crowd, but when you see the player's breathe and realize it is freezing cold outside, my 70 degree inside chair wasn't all that bad.

Congrats to our boys who had a thrilling season and a big thanks to Buffalo Wild Wings for their hospitality and EXTRA napkins!

Coach Bin

Home Sweet Home

2010-12-06T15:59:00.000-08:00

Our team has been on the road the last four weekends in a row playing 8 of our first 9 games away from the Fieldhouse as well. Needless to say, we are all glad to be home in our own beds.

Now that we are travelling experts I thought I'd share with you what I appreciate when I travel.

Bozeman Airport-It only takes 15 minutes to get there, and probably less than 15 minutes to get through security. We also do NOT have the full body scanners yet and the first 30 minutes in parking is free! Drawback-the magazines are a week behind.
Hotels with great workout facilities-I probably get my best workouts on the road because I seem to have more free time than I do at home. I especially like the equipment that has the t.v. on it so you can watch something besides yourself run in motion. Drawback-When they are next to the pool. I feel like I lose 5 pounds just from sweating.
Amenities-My guest bathroom is stocked with the soaps and shampoos I bring home. Don't worry. I am not as bad as Ross on Friends when he filled a whole bag to get his monies worth.
The flavored water near the reception area. My favorire is the cucumber.
I couldn't finish without my favorite restaurant as I took the team to In N Out Burger last night. Thank you Marshall for the In N Out t-shirt.

Glad to be home!

Coach Bin

Bobcat Football Big Sky Champs!

2010-11-22T15:27:00.000-08:00

Congrats go out to our football team who had a heart thumping victory at U of M this Saturday.

Our staff prepared for our team to watch this game as we knew we'd be in the Salt Lake City Airport during the second half. We brought the projector and hooked it up to the internet to show the game via Big Sky TV on the wall at gate E65. Unfortunately the internet connection wasso low that every play was buffered to our scrutiny. It seemed like the only time it was in real action was when they were showing crowd shots.

Back up plan came into play as Tyler, our radio guy, hooked up the radio feed and held the radio speakers in each hand as the team crowded around. It felt like we were getting a reading of the Night Before Christmas, yet without the fireplace or the narration so to speak.

Instead, we clapped, cheering, gasped when the Griz did something well. In the midst was one poor Griz fan surrounded by Blue and Gold in all seats. He was a good sport and tried to hold his emotions in as he was obviously in the minority.

As the final seconds ticked away and we were now boarding our flight to Bozeman, the final confirmation came through Shannon Scanson by text as Justin repeated the interception by our own Mike Ryder to seal the W 21-16.

Go Cats and good luck in playoffs!

Coach Bin

BAYLOR

2010-11-13T19:17:00.000-08:00

Here's a great question for all coaches around the country. How do you play a team who has a 6'8 post player, and athletes bigger or faster than yours?

MSU Offensive Answer-Add an extra shot fake, spread them out, and light it up from 3!

MSU Defensive Answer-Pack in the Paint, and rebound your guts out!

One of our goals going into this game was to force Baylor to take the first timeout. We accomplished that goal when we went up 4-0 with 6'0 Rachel Semansky scoring on Griner twice. I am not sure if she was aloof to the fact she was being guarded by 8 more inches or just attacking aggressively like she always does. Whatever the answer, I was proud of our team's first half effort and execution. Griner still got 5 blocks.

The second half wasn't as solid for us. Part of it was just running out of gas keeping up with that level of physicality and athleticism, and part of it was just putting two halves together.

I think tomorrow morning we'll eat a few more Wheaties to challenge the boards stronger, and then keep the game simpler for ourselves.

The answer for that-Put Two Halves Together!

Coach Bin

OVERTIME

2010-11-12T21:17:00.000-08:00

It's nearly 11:00pm, and I just watched our first game back vs Rice University. After writing 2 pages of improvements in my notebook and losing our first game in overtime, I couldn't be more optimistic.

See, only four days ago we lost our starting point guard who also rotated at the post to a season ending ACL injury. As any coach or player can attest to, losing a member of your team for the year is hard, but you have to regroup, adapt, and have players step up.

The good news is that we get Ashley Albert back for three years, she didn't lose a year of eligibility, and we have the preseason to work out the kinks with our new rotation before we hit conference. Injuries are part of seasons, and as all teams know, very rarely does one day, let alone one game go exactly had you expected it to.

Winners focus and are consistent on what is in their control-attitude, effort, execution. The list can go on.

So that leads us to today. Ally Schmitt started for us at the point who is gritty, tough, and physical. We rotated a variety of lineups, some due to foul trouble and came back from a 16 point halftime deficit.

Down 2 wiith 2.5 seconds remaining on the clock freshman Emily Allen got a steal and was fouled in the process. As she gingerly got up off the floor the official thought she was hurt and asked if she was ok as she was walking to the freethrow line. Her reply. "No, I am just nervous."

She then steps to the line nails the first freethrow as the bench jumps up in a roar. Emily then looks over at the bench and rolls her eyes nervously again, steps up and then nails the second. Tie game. Rice inbounds and we go into overtime.

We didn't have the happy ending tonight with a victory as we fell short 86-83. However, I had a team respond with great character to adversity from an injury, a huge deficit, and two starters foul out with a perseverant fight that only comes from within.

Tomorrow we tip off with Baylor who is ranked #2 in the country with 6'8 Brittany Griner. I am anxious, excited, and can't wait for the opportunity our team has to compete with one of the best teams in the entire country.

I just hope Emily Allen doesn't tell the officials she's nervous again before she drives to the basket against Griner. Then again, maybe she'll get a 3 point conversion out of it.

Coach Bin

The Bling Is Back

2010-11-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

We had our first exhibition game yesterday, and with that, shootarounds. Last year we started the shootaround bling ritual which means our players can shoot around in their jewelry.

Yesterday did not disappoint as this year's squad was as sparkly as ever. We got our first game jitters out against the tenacious Montana Tech and finish off our exhbition schedule on Saturday before we leave for Texas.

I am not a believer in superstition, but it sure is comforting to keep a consistent routine on game day even if it requires you to wear sunglasses.

Here a few kinks we had to iron out for the first home contest.

Tyler-our radio guy couldn't find his microphone for our interview. I hope he finds it by Saturday.
Pregame clock management-Rachel Rehbein pounded on Coach Scanson's door asking why the clock hadn't yet started for their warmup.
Substitutions-As the official told me we only had four players on the floor, Ally had replaced Ashley at the one spot, but Ashley was now supposed to play the post. Whoops!

Game Days sure are exciting!

Coach Bin

Happy or Horror Halloween

2010-11-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

Depending on your age is whether you love or hate this holiday.

Look at who shows up to the Haunted Houses, dresses up in gory costumes, or goes to the horror movies, the teenagers and college kids. They love to get scared and LOVE this holiday.

Then take the parent of a young kid. We are ready for November 1st so our children don't get spooked by the costumes, commercials, or freaky decor on neighborhood homes. To me the holiday is a little too Gothic.

Don't get me wrong. I love many aspects of Halloween, including pumpkin carving and the always eventful trick or treating.

Last night while trick or treating my daughter walked up to a door, turned around, grabbed a candy out of her bucket and began to eat it. The owner tried to give her a candy around her shoulder, but Brooklyn was too interested in what she already had.

After our kids crashed for the evening after their sugar highs I thought of another group of people that probably don't love this holiday either, dentists!

Coach Bin

Positive Reinforcement

2010-10-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

Positive Reinforcement is extremely powerful in coaching confidence and performance in our athletes. However, I do believe some coaches, parents, and teammates can misuse positive reinforcement when it hasn't yet been "earned".

Let me be more clear. As a coach with a certain level of expectation, it's important for my players to understand what the level is and we should only reinforce what we want to see repeatedly. Rather than "cheering" on finishing a workout subpar, or celebrating a win by 2 when you should have won by 20, we need to reinforce the details that raise the bar to the expected standard.

Sometimes as a coach you have to stop practice to address the detail you are looking for so everyone sees what it looks like, or you clip it in your self scouts. Once they have seen what is expected, the next step is for them to find the focus, desire, and pride in doing it the same way, again and again in order to achieve success we are looking for.

Coach Bin

CLARIFICATION

2010-10-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

I received a comment today that there was confusion on who wore silly bands in my recent blog.

My reader thought I was talking about Assistant Coach, Justin Scanson, rather than my six year old son. So for those of you reading about silly bands, Justin Scanson hasn't yet shown them on his wrist although I wouldn't put it past him.

I also wanted to note, that one helpful tip for those of you wanting to save some money on the silly band purchases can also include rubber bands. My two year old daughter has two rubber bands mixed in with the silly ones and hasn't yet noticed the difference.

That's just plain silly isn't it?

Coach Bin

Silly Bands

2010-10-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

Plain Silly or Plain Remarkable?

At Justin's school silly bands are the "in" thing right now. It's not just his school, however, as college students are even wearing them.

The question is why are they so cool?
#1 They are cheap so everyone can afford them
#2 They are creative and shaped in all kinds of things; cartoon characters, ballet dancers, boats, etc.
#3 They are universal so everyone can wear them

What is NOT silly is that kids as young as Justin's age are giving them to other students without expecting anything in return. If we continue the culture of just feeling good about making someone else happy then I think it may be the best invention ever.

Excluding In N Out Burger of course,

Coach Bin

Monster Award

2010-10-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

Halloween is approaching so I thought this topic would be fitting.

The Monster Award is a ugly little bobble headed green monster that my staff gives to the most aggressive and consistent performer for the week of practice.

The first week senior Sarah Balian received the award because everything about her is just competitive. Sarah doesn't know how NOT to compete at everything she does and has a habit of going above and beyond in everything she does.

For example, Sarah is in the top of her class in Nursing, currently doing her clinicals, and also married.

This past week senior Lyndi Seidensticker received the monster for just plain getting after it. She also had a great performance against our scout team in our first scrimmage and has the back door cut down to a science.

Lyndi is also a great student in Education as she is going on to be a Math teacher and basketball coach down the road.

Our two seniors are both great examples of females raising the bar for the next generation that you can do it all and do it well.

Coach Bin

Happy Anniversary!

2010-10-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

Todd and I have been married for ten years and it seems like yesterday he picked me up in his old GMC pickup with that awful "Vandals" sticker in the back.

It just goes to show you shouldn't put bumper stickers on your vehicles. It nerely prevented an amazing ten years from beginning.

All joking aside, I love you Todd, and thanks for celebrating yesterday since we have practice tonight.

See what sacrifices he makes!

Coach Bin

What Do Sushi and Basketball Have in Common?

2010-10-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

There is a Head Coach who makes the decisions and you need to trust them. My latest trip to Shiro's Sushi in Seattle proved just that. I was in town recruiting so I went to dinner with my former BSU teammate Janet Soderberg. The waitress gave us some suggestions on what to order and we ordered exactly that. By the way, those of you who ask for suggestions from your waitress or waiter and then don't order what they suggest are just like a basketball player running a different play than what the coach calls out. Coach knows best.
The teams that play aggressive and are not afraid to take a risk end up on top! Sushi-Don't be afraid to try something you've never tried before. The "POKE" is SO good and the best sushi I have ever had. If I would have stayed with my "usual" order I would have never tasted perfection. The same applies to those of us on the court that don't push ourselves through our comfort zones.
There is a towel to clean up afterward, or at Shiro's you have a hand towel before you eat. Janet and I weren't sure what they were initially for. I thought I was in first class on an airplane.
You have winners and losers. You can find great sushi restaurants and bad ones just like you can good and bad teams. My rule of thumb is if they don't have wasabi at a sushi restaurant then probably try someplace else.

When you are in Seattle, however, you will win every night!

Coach Bin

The Free throw

2010-10-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

I was just reading an article on the physical consistencies of some of the best free throw shooters in the NBA, those who shoot over 90% from the line.

I cannot begin to fathom how many free throws I shot in my career. I would assume, however, that the majority of college and professional basketball players have shot enough at the line to be great.

So why is it then that 90% is so rare? If the 90% shooters have consistent physical attributes then what prevents everyone else from having these at the line when they shoot so many?

My opinion,

1) The free throw shot is at a dead point in the game. You have time to think. You now become a golfer on the putting green or a field goal kicker with no time left on the clock. It is a very different mentality than the typical fast paced game of basketball. Therefore, the mental ability to focus on your routine and block out the pressure becomes that much more important.

2) The ability to simulate a consistent shot every time you release belongs to those who have great focus and attention to the details. I know my great shooters will be the ones that I don't have to repeat myself on a correction to the problem. Some people put in the quantity but quantity is wasted when the mind is absent from appplication. In one word-consistency.

You will only be able to shoot as good as your self belief. We have all heard this before, but when you step to the line, when you step on the court, when you step on the field, I would think 90% of the time the game has already been won or lost in the mind.

Coach Bin

Fundraising

2010-09-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

Fundraising is something all of us have done at some point in our lives. Whether it's something important for your job, your church, your community, fundraising impacts all of us. So why is it so hard to ask for money?

I found out this weekend it's not. My son now in Kindergarten began his first fundraiser with his school called the Fun Run. They each have to run around the track and donors can either donate per lap or just give a flat donation.

My son didn't know what to ask at first, but after asking a few people it became pretty simple. He said "grandma gave me $4 so I think you can give me $10."

As in perfecting any talent, the more repetitions the easier it becomes.

Coach Bin

The Greatest Generational Challenge

2010-09-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

FOCUS

We aren't in the days of Little House in the Prairie. Technology, although having advanced our world tremendously, has made it difficult for our younger generation to stay focused on one task for a long duration of time.

Take #1 distraction, the cell phone. I remember having calling cards or spare change to use the pay phone if I needed to make a call. With the cell phone on our hip and instant communication, we are addicted to looking at it every second of the day. I am just as guilty as the next person. Just ask yourself the last time you turned your phone off.

Distraction #2, the internet especially Facebook. Now we have instant access to the world not just our next door neighboor. Does anyone have pen pals anymore? How many people do you know take the time to put deep thought into a letter, take it to the post office, and mail it? That's because it takes too long, apparently.

What about our entertainment? Growing up I used to play in the woods with my brother and neighboors swinging from tree to tree and doing "tick checks" at the end of the day. Now we bring the outside world indoors in the form of the Wii and other video games.

This generation is able to accomplish A LOT. They can do a million things at once, but is quanity better than quality?

Successful people and successful teams are very good at applying the details. They also have the ability to focus for a long period of time.

My challenge to this generation is to limit the distractions of the world as much as you can. Create an environment that allows you to focus for longer periods at once. The ones who can learn this skill, whether it's learning a shooting technique, footwork on closeouts, will be able to apply it to their game.

Now instead of putting in the "time" on your development you will start to see "RESULTS."

By the way, if a coach had to choose between "potential" and "results" they will choose results every time.

Time to Focus!

Coach Bin

Sacrifice

2010-09-15T09:03:00.000-07:00

If you want to be great at something, you learn how to apply this word, SACRIFICE!

The challenge for all of us is how we mentally takes the sacrifices we make in order to benefit ourselves or someone else. If we are resentful about it or feel good about it will determine its value.

Take last night for example. It's the 2nd game of the WNBA Finals. I get home after my team's conditioning workout around 6:45, 15 minutes before the game starts. I fix some dinner, get a coloring book out for Brooklyn so she doesn't continue to steal Justin's, and sit on the couch for the game.

Todd clicks on the game and Justin says, "turn it to Wipeout!" What's a parent to do? I got to watch the game during the Wipeout commercials, folded some laundry, colored with my daughter, and then got the kids ready for bed.

Todd and I did watch the fourth quarter, and that was enough as the evenings with my family are far more rewarding.

Coach Bin

Resources for Your Daughter

2010-09-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

Yes I have blogged on this topic before, but it continues to come up every year.

I was talking with my sister last night about my niece who is in the sixth grade. She lives in a small town, is fast, fiesty, plays basketball with the boys, among whichever sport is in season. She is going to be good (not that I am biased), so we started talking about resources that are out there to develop her besides summer camps with Auntie.

Let me begin with some mistakes parents make:
1) Choose just one sport to focus on
2) Require her to train
3) Move to a bigger school

The best practices are
1) first ask your daughter what she wants. My mom and dad never asked me to go out in my driveway and shoot all night. That was what I was driven to do.

2) Ask if she wants some resources? If she wants to be trained or join a summer team then go for it. Some athletes want to go to the next level but they don't want to put the work into it. You'll waste your money if it's not what she wants.

3) Does my daughter enjoy playing the other sports or getting involved in other activities? I really believe multi sport athletes make for great basketball players at the next level because they have so much room for growth. They don't have as much concern for chronic injuries & may not get burned out as early. My senior year in high school I played three sports, was in a school play, and played on a summer team. That load prepared me well for college life.

4) Whether it's a bigger or smaller school may not matter. Sometimes players get to play on the varsity team earlier at the smaller school than they would at the bigger. Before I learned the value of nutrition when I was a freshman in high school I used to sit on the end of the bench during the J.V. game eating a hot dog before playing in the varsity game.

As parents our jobs are to offer, not force resources for our children to be successful. Finding what they are passionate about is the first step. My niece LOVES basketball and she is good at it. Step number two is to make sure she is a BOBCAT and all other college coaches-hands off!

Coach Bin

Compete In All You Do

2010-09-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

Our team is going into our second week of preseasoning training. This is the time we target all of the areas that will improve our athletic performance on the court such as weight training, conditioning, nutrition, mental preparation.

I have seen at every level of competition, even the professional level that most athletes still do not compete or challenge themselves in every area that affects their performance. If you could choose to be faster, stronger, have better endurance, and stay healthy wouldn't you?

I think most people are naturally selective and work at the things that come easy to them. The athletes that separate themselves have three common components;

1) focus-they know how to simplify, put their time in the things that have positive impacts, remove the rest
2) they compete in everything, not just the areas they are good at. It's their habit
3) they aren't afraid to fail

Yeah, failure hurts, but at least you can feel that you're living! You have a weakness? Go attack it. Don't run from it.

I love the preseason because it is a great educational opportunity for us to teach our athletes how to take their game to the next level even if we only get 2 hours a week with a basketball. Just imagine once again if you could be faster, stronger, have better endurance, feel better.

Let me rephrase it. If you could crash the boards every possession rather than every other, be the first one down the floor on a consistent basis, defend for a longer period of time, have the legs to shoot the same way every shot, wouldn't you?

I guarantee the answer is yes. The question for everyone's preseason is are you willing to work hard enough, push yourself hard enough to get there.

Or better yet, can you answer yes to the three questions,

Coach Bin

Erica Perry Going International!

2010-09-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

I received a great call this morning from Erica who was just getting settled in her new home in Spain for the next seven months.

She lives in a condo with three roomates, has a television in Spanish (watching basketball and Animal Planet), and lives only minutes away from the gymnasium.

I asked her how the food was and the bright surprise for Erica was that cereal was the same but cheaper. Although she isn't used to seeing the pig's head or the entire fish, Erica loves new experiences and has always made herself at home whereever she is.

Those of you who want to follow Erica's professional career can follow her on the euro basketball world. She plays for the Pabellon Ourense in the Spanish pro league. Here are the links to Erica's team - Pabellon Ourense, and Rebecca Mercer's team in Australia - West Coast Waves .

Good luck this season to all three former Bobcats (Erica, Rebecca, Mara Hoefer) who are taking their basketball careers to the next level.

Go Cats!

Coach Bin

MSU #1 in recruiting bright Montana students

2010-09-02T11:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/article_3cf01ef8-b561-11df-8bc2-001cc4c03286.html
This article was taken from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and was printed on September 1, 2010

By GAIL SCHONTZLER, Chronicle Staff Writer

The Grizzlies may have bragging rights in football, but the Bobcats are kicking it when it comes to recruiting Montana's best and brightest students.

The trend has been true for more than a decade, but was highlighted recently in a Missoulian report, headlined, "Most of Montana's brightest high-schoolers head to MSU, out of state."

Number-crunchers at the Montana State University and the state higher education office in Helena confirmed the latest statistics.

Of the Montana high school students who earned high scores (30 or better) on the ACT college-entry exam last year, 99 enrolled at Montana State University's Bozeman campus.

That was more than all other state campuses combined, and double the 40 who chose the University of Montana in Missoula.

A perfect ACT combined score is 36, and only four Montana high-school students did that well. Two of them enrolled at MSU.

The other perfect-scorers apparently went out of state for college, as did the majority of the 365 Montana high-school students who scored 30 or better on the ACT, which put them in the top 6 percent statewide. Just 165 of those top grads or 45 percent chose to attend Montana state colleges.

When it comes to students bright enough to receive free tuition through the Montana University System's Honors Scholarships, 122 chose MSU - again more than all other Montana colleges combined. Each year the system awards only 200 or so of those scholarships; 57 picked UM.

Joe Fedock, MSU's interim provost, wasn't surprised when he read the Missoulian report that more bright students choose MSU.

"This has been shown to be the case quite a few years," Fedock said. He attributed the trend to "our historic strengths in engineering and sciences."

"Montana State is really an outstanding undergraduate institution," said Ilse-Mari Lee, MSU Honors Program director.

This fall a record 312 students have applied for MSU's Honors Program - a big jump from last year's record of 238, Lee said. The honors freshmen arrive with an average ACT score of 29.4. The new arrivals will expand MSU's honors enrollment to 949, surpassing last year's record of 801.

Jim Rimpau, MSU vice president for planning and chief information officer, agreed that the Bozeman campus has historically attracted bright kids.

"A lot of really good test-takers go into engineering and sciences," Rimpau said.

The average ACT score for all MSU freshmen last year was 24 vs. 23 for UM.

Things haven't changed in 11 years. The Bozeman Chronicle reported in a 1999 article (headlined "Rivalry on the football field not the only way to decide who's Numero Uno") that the average ACT scores for all MSU freshmen was 23.1 vs. 21.9 at UM.

MSU's record in research and stress on undergraduate research also helps attract students. Fedock pointed out that MSU undergrads have won a large number of national Goldwater Scholarships to help them pursue science and math studies. Over the years, 51 MSU students have earned Goldwater awards, the 14th highest record in the nation, ahead of colleges like the University of Washington, Purdue and University of Minnesota, said Greg Young, vice provost for undergraduate education.

Young added that MSU being named by the Carnegie Foundation to its list of 96 top universities with "very high research activity" also has an impact.

"We've had parents from New England say, ‘I thought you were just a skiing college until I saw the Carnegie classification,'" Young said.

MSU scientists have also been featured in prestigious journals like Science and Nature, Young said.

Students know that at MSU they can do "neat things" like research in Yellowstone National Park, said Tyler Trevor, associate commissioner of higher education for planning and analysis, who put together the statistics on ACT scores.

Trevor said while more than half the Montana students with top ACT scores are heading out of state, university leaders aren't worried about a brain drain.

"They have opportunities around the nation," Trevor said. Attracting nearly half those students is good, he said, "particularly given their mobility and scholarships offered across the nation."

Gail Schontzler can be reached at gails@dailychronicle.com or 582-2633.

First Day of School

2010-08-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

First Team Meeting Tonight-Mission Statement

"Put your university, your team, and yourself in every possible situation to be successful and persevere in those situations."

Sounds simple right?

Our mission statement breaks into three categories:

1) Preparation: education, good decision making, time management

2) Practice: Repetition, good habits, consistency

3) Perseverance: focus on what is in your control, strive for goals in spite of difficulties, pride in all we do

Well, the 2010-2011 season is off! Now we know what our mission statement means. It's time to start implementing it.

Coach Bin

6 Days Until the First Day of School!

2010-08-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

Needless to say it's getting busier. My staff has been meeting this week to cover preseason goals, fine tune our offensive and defensive philosophy, and complete our fall schedule for our student athletes.

As anxious as my staff is to get started and see the improvement of our players over the summer, our athletes seem to be just as excited.

Let me tell you a few things you may not know about our student athletes off the court.

Ally loves the movie Transformers and likes to slip and slide. Yes, she is a good baby sitter.

Ausha learned how to fly fish this summer in class. I wish I would have gotten to take that class.

Lyndi writes with her right hand and may be the next American Idol (JK-we have video)

Katie is one of the best "groundskeeper's" in Bozeman. The manager at Valley View Golf course told me.

Chelsea is our tallest player at 6'4 but the most afraid of the Flathead Monster "getting" her.

Tish drives a red Monte Carlo, and her favorite conditioning workout is anything BUT the pool.

Kelsey always wears a side pony tail. I still can't remember which side but it's always the same.

Sarah is now Sarah Balian and had to make a freethrow before her dad would dance with her at her wedding. Congrats to Sarah and her husband Aaron.

Rachel replaced Lyndi for most gullable on the team and will inherit the earliest wrinkles on the team for her scoul impressions during workouts.

Kate benches more as a freshman than I did in my pro career. (At least she told me. We'll see next week,lol)
Emily may be the first MSU Women's Basketball player to graduate in comedy. Just watch the video.

The Aussies also wanted me to tell you that a few words here are different:

ketchup = sauce
truck = ute
sweatshirt = jumper
mosquito = mozzy
Buff = tank