Month 1 Coaches Update

Hello Everyone
A quick update on month 1 with the CAPERS. We came together on Sept. 6 to begin the new year. 

After the rough season we had last year I was looking forward to a change. I specifically wanted to change the culture. Without elaborating on the past year, I felt we slipped somewhat and needed to get back to what made us a very good program. Our recruiting efforts were focused on getting high quality people first and I feel we accomplished this task. 

Our first few weeks have been spent getting familiar with offense and defense but more importantly, learning the pace and work ethic needed to succeed at this level. We have shown some great strides so far. While we certainly have a long way to go, I am relatively pleased with where we are at this point. I am unsure of how many games we will win but I am guaranteeing we will work harder and be a better "team". We have a very athletic bunch of players who are really trying to learn the university game. 
We have struggled to do a lot of 5 on 5 competition in practice which can be frustrating but it is a long season and we will focus on the process along the way. 
What I am most pleased about is the way they are representing the program and what it means to be part of CBU Women's Basketball. I have seen signs of "buy in" every day. 

We will continue to progress as the year goes on and hopefully, by the end of the year, we are a playoff team and are a difficult team to play against. Our exhibition season begins in a few weeks with an exhibition tourney at Bishop's University on Oct. 18,19,20 and then we tour Ontario with games at MacMaster (Oct. 25), Toronto (Oct. 26) and York (Oct 27). Perhaps we will see some alumni and friends at the games. 

In the coming days I will post roster information, our schedule and perhaps some player profiles. We will also update on other team happenings along the way.

Thanks for following and please pass along any comments

Coach

Lumiere Art Festival

Each year Sydney hosts the Lumiere Art Festival which is an art-at-night festival. On Thursday there was a workshop held where groups could design flags that depicted their connection with each other. Our team was divided into 2 groups and created 2 very unique flags. On Friday evening at dusk, the team was involved in the flag parade to kick off the festival. Below are some pics from the event.

Sam and Keshia getting creative

 

Tanira doing some prep work

Jalynn and Tanira getting things ready

Alison and Yasmine laying out the design

The Girls getting ready

Keshia, Jalynn, Val and Sam trying to decide

CAPERS Flag

Rasheeka and Alison loving their creation

Team Retreat

On a mid-September weekend, we embarked on a team retreat to Aspy Bay. I hadn't done a team retreat in a number of years and thought this group would make it an interesting experience. The weather cooperated in a BIG way and we had a fantastic weekend. Some of the topics we discussed were  communication, trust, teamwork and we did a lot of activities to emphasize these aspects and many others that are important in building a team. 
Below are some of the pics from that weekend. 

Overlooking St. Ann's Bay

Looking to the Future

Marshmallow Time

Can Keshia sing? Hmmmmm.....

Teamwork on the beach

Trust and Communication are the key 

Cape Breton is a beautiful place

Sam and Tasha using their heads

Rasheeka takes the fall

Ladies on the beach

CAPERS IN THE COMMUNITY

On September 5th, our team was out in full force helping with the CAPERS in the Community Initiative. Our players split into different groups at different locations to help raise money for local charities. We raised just under $400 to go to the cause. Here are some pics from the day.

Tanira McClurkin getting ready to help out at CBU

Keshia Lespoir, Tasha Roach and Alison Keough at the Mayflower Mall

Sam Minicucci encouraging people to stop at the car 

wash on Grand Lake Road

Sam Minicucci and Rasheeka Gunn with CBU students at the Car Wash

CBU ALUMNI DASH

On September 8, the CBU Alumni Association hosted their annual Alumni Dash. Here are some of our CAPERS who came out to help with the event.

Tanira McClurkin, Kayla Gardner, Sam Minicucci, Rasheeka Gunn, Keshia Lespoir, Tasha Roach and Colleen Keane with a group of future CAPERS

Welcome

Welcome to the official blog of the CBU CAPERS Women's Basketball Program. Throughout the season we will be posting information and pictures about what is happening within our program. We hope you enjoy the year and always BLEED ORANGE!