July 19, 2007

By Charlene Curtis
TheACC.com

Even for the student-athletes, summertime is no vacation.

While ACC coaches are generally focused on prospect evaluations during the month of July, not too far from the coaches' thoughts are the student-athletes who are currently members of their respective programs. So, just what are ACC basketball players doing during the summer months?

Most are on campus taking summer classes. Some are training and competing with USA Basketball teams. Many work basketball camps. And a few even attend basketball camps to improve their skills, knowledge of the game, and leadership qualities.

FOCUS ON ACADEMICS

Smaller class sizes, more one-on-one attention, and daily contact with professors give freshmen athletes a head start on other incoming freshmen and a chance to get acclimated to college life without the rigors and demands of the basketball season. Jane Caldwell Wake Forest

In the ACC, summer classes for returning players and incoming freshmen are paid for by the respective athletic departments. The NCAA instituted the summer school policy for incoming freshmen a few years ago in order to boost graduation rates in the sports of football and basketball. According to Jan Boxill, academic advisor for the University of North Carolina basketball team, allowing colleges to bring their incoming freshmen on campus for summer school is "by far one of the best things done by the NCAA."

Wake Forest's Jane Caldwell, assistant athletic director for academic counseling, echoed Boxill's sentiments. "Smaller class sizes, more one-on-one attention, and daily contact with professors give freshmen athletes a head start on other incoming freshmen and a chance to get acclimated to college life without the rigors and demands of the basketball season."

While the incoming freshmen use summer school to get a head start, returning players view summer school as a chance to get ahead and stay on track to complete their undergraduate degrees in eight regular term semesters. With summer school, most players are able to lighten their loads during the regular school year. Some participate in special academic programs during the summer, a few may study abroad, and many enhance their educational experience by adding a minor course of study or even a second major.

Florida State's academic advisor, Aaron Vause, stated that with proper planning and some Advanced Placement credits, a few Seminole players will complete their undergraduate work in three years and start graduate school studies during their fourth year of competition.

Virginia's Jayna Hartig (standing) and Lyndra Littles (seated) work on the computers in the academic center.

And for those players who anticipate being selected in the WNBA draft, taking summer classes is a must. Because WNBA teams start practicing in April prior to the end of spring semester, strategic academic planning coupled with summer sessions allows those players drafted to participate in WNBA training camps and still complete their degrees on time.

A typical summer daily schedule will include meals in the college cafeteria, about three hours in the classroom, two hours of study hall or tutorial sessions (usually four days a week), two hours of strength and conditioning workouts (four days a week), and at least one hour daily on the court playing pickup basketball. And if a student-athlete is rehabbing an old injury, she spends another hour or so working with the sports medicine trainers. Now, you can throw in a little time to relax and a phone call home, and then it is back to studying, reading, writing, and preparing for the next day's classes.

FOCUS ON STRENGTH GAIN

Rising junior Corey Rusin (left) helps incoming freshman Lauren Whitehurst (right) with the summer lifting program at Boston College.

The athlete part of the student-athlete is also governed by NCAA regulations during the summer months. Basketball coaches are not allowed to work with their players on the court during the summer months. Nor can they be present at strength and conditioning activities. In other words, nothing that is defined as a practice may be conducted by the coaching staff during the summer. However, all the players, including the first-year players, may participate in voluntary strength training and conditioning programs that are supervised by strength and conditioning staff members.

FSU assistant strength and conditioning coach Dave Plettl works with sophomore Jacinta Monroe.

David Bass, assistant strength and conditioning coordinator at Wake Forest University, said that the players' top priority for summer workouts is getting stronger. Bass stated that today's freshmen players generally have some experience at weight training prior to their arrival on campus, but the use of proper technique is still the focal point in early workouts.

In addition to strength training, summer school participants spend time improving their overall agility, speed, and quickness. So the time spent with the strength and conditioning coaches may start in the weight room, but it generally ends outside with short sprint work, footwork drills, and other speed and quickness training activities.

Georgia Tech's strength and conditioning coach, Brandon Johnson, emphasized that the summer months are critical to the overall development and success of the basketball team. Johnson explained, "The summertime is when the athletes get their biggest gain in strength, speed, and quickness, because it is the longest stretch of uninterrupted time spent on improving their overall athleticism."

Players also use the summer months to rehab injuries. Strength coaches work closely with sports medicine personnel and sometimes nutritionists to ensure that the athletes are in the best condition possible when practices reconvene in the fall.

FOCUS ON SKILL IMPROVEMENT

Some players spend their own money attending specialized summer camps to improve their basketball skills and to better prepare for the next season. The two most popular camps are Pete Newell Tall Women's Basketball Camp and Dena Evans' Point Guard College.

Former ACC players such as Alison Bales and Mistie Williams (Duke), Candace Sutton (North Carolina), Amanda White (Clemson), and Lynette O'Reggio, and Jocelyn Logan-Friend,(Virginia) honed their post position skills at the Pete Newell Camp. Former North Carolina player, Ivory Latta, attended the original Dick DeVenzio/Dena Evans "Point Guard College." Three current Tar Heels -RaShanda McCants, Heather Claytor, Trinity Bursey - and Terrapin Kristi Tolliver worked on running the point in that same camp this summer.

AND THE GLOBAL ACC CONTINUES

Competing with USA Basketball teams also helps prepare the players for the next season. Crystal Langhorne and Laura Harper of Maryland joined Abby Waner of Duke to lead the U21 USA team to a Gold Medal in the 2007 FIBA U21 World Championship. On the 2007 USA Basketball Women's Pan American Games Team are Marissa Coleman (Maryland) and Erlana Larkins (North Carolina). The U19 World Championship Team includes first-year players, Italee Lucas (North Carolina), Jasmine Thomas (Duke), and Krystal Thomas (Duke), and second-year player Monica Wright (Virginia). (See www.usabasketball.com/women/ for more details.)

A Typical Summer Day Schedule 8:00 Eat Breakfast 9:30 to 1:00 Attend Classes 1:00 - 1:45 Eat Lunch 2:00 - 4:00 Attend Study Hall (tutorial sessions) (Monday - Thursday) 4:30 Strength and conditioning workouts 6:00 Play Pickup basketball 7:00 Eat Dinner 8:00 - 10:00 Study, Read, Prepare for next day, Relax

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In short, June, July and August are no vacation for the players who make up the 12 ACC basketball teams. But what the players do know (or will learn in the case of the first-year players) is that the opportunity to become the best student-athlete possible is afforded each of them by their respective institutions.

So, if you have ever wondered out loud just what ACC women's basketball players do in the summertime, now you know. The high quality of basketball that you see during the season and the successful graduation rates of ACC players is truly a year-round endeavor.

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Charlene Curtis is a women's basketball analyst for Fox Sports Net and ESPNU. She is a former head coach at Wake Forest, Temple, and Radford and was an assistant at Virginia, Georgetown, and Connecticut. She also served as an assistant with the WNBA's Charlotte Sting and several USA Basketball Teams. When not analyzing the game, Curtis can be found instructing future collegiate players on the hardwood.

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