Just Being Frank: Fun in the Sun Breakdown

Here is the third edition of "Just Being Frank" from women's basketball assistant coach Brett Frank.

By Brett Frank / Fresno State Women's Basketball

Well folks . . . It's that time again! Let me knock the dust off my ol' PC and start banging out some words. Inspiration for this segment comes from a very close friend of mine (love ya JG!) who brought up Hall of Fame rocker Alice Cooper. As many of you loyal viewers of American Idol (AI) saw on the season finale, Cooper led off an amazing show filled with unbelievable talent!

author's note: Apologies go out to all you Mama Sox fans. I had to go with my boy Lee even though she out sang him on the final night of competition.

author's 2nd note: Love or hate the guy, I think we're all going to miss Simon!

author's 3rd note: I promise no more author's notes in this blog starting . . . . . NOW!

While not a diehard fan of Cooper, I do appreciate his ode to that age old cherished last day of classes ballad, "School's Out for Summer." While typing away, I just can't seem to get the lyrics of that song out of my head "No more pencils, No more books, No more teacher's dirty looks."

I began contemplating what goes on in the summer. Unless we're taking to the hardwood, most of you have no idea what makes up the days of our student-athletes and coaches outside of the traditional school year. Well that all ends today as I give you the official 2010 Bulldog Women's Basketball Fun in the Sun Summer Breakdown.

On May 21 final exams were concluded thus completing the Spring 2010 semester.

May 22, 2010 was a very special day as four Bulldog Women's Basketball players dressed in cap and gown, walked across the stage to the tune of "Pomp and Circumstance," and received their diploma! Congrats go out to Shay, JoJo, Lil B, and J!!!

Which brings me all the way to May 24, 2010, the first day of summer classes! That's right, a mere few days after completing their coursework, our gals are back in the classroom readying themselves to one day rule the world.

Typically, our players will stay on campus until approximately the first week of July completing six units of additional academic coursework. The summer units allow them to keep up or get ahead of their academics The three semesters of summer helped J to graduate as a junior and begin her Master's degree during her senior season. Likewise, H is on track to begin graduate school next year as a senior as well. Graduation is the goal and our players are succeeding at an amazing level!!!

So how about the newcomers? Our future Bulldogs will begin courses during the second summer session which is slated to begin June 14. Like the returnees, we enroll our newbies in six units to help acclimate them to their new college surroundings. It's also a chance for the new and old to begin to bond and develop crucial team chemistry. We're can't wait to see Lei, Alex, BG, and Ki in the 'No!

The strength and conditioning facilities at Fresno State are state of the art and that's where you can find the team when they are finished with their daily classes. Our Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Andy Bennett, does a fantastic job at keeping the ladies motivated for voluntary workouts. When not lifting weights or working on their cardio, you may also find them in the North Gym or Rec Center working on their individual skill. As former Bulldog great Erica "Grandmama" Henry will attest, it's not much fun when August rolls around if you haven't put in your summer time! (love ya E!)

So now you know what the players are doing, let's talk about the coaching staff. Sometime in the next few weeks we all try to get a few days off and recharge the batteries. For Coach Jones, it's a trip to a sunny locale to meet up with old friends. Coach Wiggins has Disneyland on his mind. Coach Parrish is looking a traveling a little with one of her close friends to an unknown destination. As for me, it's a chance to go see the fam in Oklahoma for a couple of days before heading off to Costa Rica with two very great friends!

The little vacay's come quick and end WAY too quickly as we just catch our breath before July hits with a vengeance! From July 6-15 and again July 22-31, you will catch the Bulldog staff all over the United States watching tournaments and evaluating future Bulldogs. Some of the stops along the way include: Portland, Dallas, Costa Mesa, Chicago, Murfreesboro, Santa Ana, Nashville, New Orleans, Stockton, Augusta, San Diego, and Marin, CA. Once the July evaluation period ends we all hope to get a few more days away before starting up again with the 2010 Fall Semester.

So there you have it . . . a quick rundown of what happens during the summer and where we will be keeping ourselves during our loosely termed "time off." We hope you get some time to enjoy your summer with friends, family, and loved ones!

Here's what some of the players are looking forward to this summer:

V - "I am looking forward to spend a bunch of quality time with my family! I can't wait to play outside with the little ones while they jump on me and hangout with my older brothers. Maybe go bowling and play basketball and go to my brother Matthew's wedding!

Nique - "Going to Georgia and spending time with my family!"

Taj - "Looking forward to having my first complete summer and hanging out with my teamies."

"Just Being Frank" is part of a recurring series of blogs written by Fresno State assistant women's basketball coach Brett Frank.

3 Comments

Richard Beaver | June 15, 2010 2:50 PM | Reply

Brett,
I love your blog and this issue was really good. I often wondered what took place over the summer and now I know. Good luck with your recruiting and keep the info. coming.
Your "Okie" friend from Panhanle,
Richard

Rennie Goldberg | July 14, 2010 5:40 PM | Reply

Was wondering when the new schedule will be available?

Stephen Trembley, Fresno State Athletics | July 14, 2010 5:58 PM | Reply

@Rennie, We are waiting for 2010-11 schedule to be finalized. We are hoping to be able to publish it in the next few months. Thanks for your comment and make sure to also follow Fresno State Athletics on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/fresnostateathletics.

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