Let's Make it Happen!

Hey everyone I hope all is well with you! 

I can’t believe we just finished our seventh practice, it feels so surreal because I have been waiting so long for the season to start and now it’s finally here. For me these past two months have flown by and I still can’t believe last week was midterms and I’m already meeting with my advisor to schedule spring classes, where has this time gone! In just about three and a half weeks we’ll be starting our first game in the Rochester tournament in New York and I can’t wait for the team’s hard work to finally pay off. Throughout the entire conditioning everyone was killing the times and pushing themselves past their limits in preparation for this year. I couldn’t be any more excited or proud of my team for all the hard work we have put in and I can’t wait to see the outcome of this season. This year has been awesome so far, between volunteering at Camp Cheerful’s Halloween dance and having the opportunity to work the concessions for the Cavs Wine and Gold scrimmage held in our gym. Also, this is one of my favorite times of the year because this is when my brother Ryan, my sister Alysa, my friends Tina and Anthony and I go to haunted houses. In the past two years we have traveled all over in order to find the best haunted houses and I have the top three that we must always go to every year, which are the Mansfield Reformatory, The Fear Experience and Bloodview. The Mansfield prison is the best because you get to actually walk through the entire prison which takes approximately 45 minutes to an hour to get through as they have people jumping out of cells and props set up everywhere. We always have a fun time going to the haunted houses and we look forward to going every year. My second year at BW has been awesome so far and I can’t wait to see what the rest of this year has to hold for me!

Marissa Hellisz #22

 

you're gonna hear us, ROARRRR

hello everybody. I hope you are all having wonderful weeks. I know here in Berea, we have all had really exciting, very mentally and physically hard, and absolutely crazy weeks. End of conditioning, Midterms, First practice, fall break (with 2 practices)...so many emotions flowing I think we could all fall over. However, I think the excitement of the beginning of a great new season of a sport we all love, with out team by our side is what keeps us standing. 

 Currently I am sitting in the library with my two best buds, they are working very hard beside me but I am on a little study break so I could talk to all you avid readers of this blog. This year has been great so far, everything from team bond trips with personality tests to volunteering at camp cheerful's halloween dance. I would like to comment, not to toot out own horns, but pup, erwin, aud, sheri, and I had some pretty awesome costumes. take a look...

nothing like the good old mystery gang. 

Well that is about it for now, stay tuned for many more memories to come. As for my fellow yellow jackets lets get out there and work hard, work together, and win! 

Have a wonderful day friends

Awwww JACKETS,

Steph #12

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."

2 Timothy 1:7

It's time!

Hey everyone! It has been an interesting year so far! I've been busy with classes and conditioning, but weeeeeee maddeeeee it! We finished our 33 20's Friday morning! We all killed the times and we are ready for the season to start! I can not wait! Besides conditioning and classes, I started an internship with YouthChallenge! YouthChallenge is an adaptive sports program for kid with disabilities. It is such a great experience, and I love that we can get kids active, no matter if they are in a wheelchair or not. And to go along with getting kids with disabilities a change to be "normal", the team went to Camp Cheerful and helped the kids there for the weekend camp get all dressed up in costumes for a Halloween dance! We danced the night away, and the kids had a blast! In other news, I met Anderson Varejao at the Wine and Gold scrimmage that was held in our gym. It was perfect. He is my favorite basketball player of all time! (P.S. He makes me look like a midget). I would add a picture, but whenever I try to post it there is just a bunch of words and numbers....so just imagine me looking like a small child next to him! Annddddd that's all folks! Here's to a great season with great people! AWWWWWW JACKETS!! Lexi Rohrbach #45

One More Week

Hey everyone! ONE MORE WEEK. We have one more week of conditioning, and one more week until our first practice. Time is literally flying by. It feels like we just started boot camp, but we're on the home stretch. I am so proud of how hard everyone has been working. The definition of toughness can be seen during our conditioning. People are pushing past their limits and I couldn't be more proud to be a part of that kind of team. I cannot wait for the season to start! -Audrey Smolik #24 Mark 9:23 "Everything is possible for one who believes."

Hola, cómo estás!

Hellooooo there! Hope all is well with everyone, all is going pretty well over here. Currently watching Love and Basketball with my two best buds, so can't really go wrong with that! My little Spanish tid bit up there is because I am taking my first Spanish class EVER here and it is super hard so Spanish is pretty much dominating my life right now. Basketball-wise though we are about a month into it all and a week done with the dreaded boot camp. Boot camp is the ultimate love-hate relationship ever. You hate it but you love it, ya know? It's exhausting yet exhilarating and punishing yet rewarding. Just baffling. It's definitely a lot easier when you have your team there though. I couldn't be happier or more proud of how everybody is doing. We are crushing the times and pushing ourselves and each other to get every last bit out of each other. It is so amazing to see how hard people are going and it will be even more rewarding when it all pays off. Season is coming upppp and I'm pumpedddddddddd. But I can't talk about allllllll of it, I gotta save stuff for other people to blog about tooooo! So just know that all is swell up here in Lang 317 and that I am one happy camper and that I love my team and that I love (and hate) boot camp and that I love this movieee! So adios amigos! Ally "Pup" Dehart #34

Helllo again, It's Gabrielle blogging. Wellll, where to start? It's hard to believe I've been in college for more than a month! It is so surreal to think I'm actually in college. Schools been going well, and so is basketball! I cannot wait for the actual season to start! It is a stuggle adjusting my schedule with class, work, basketball, and you cant forget about eating!!! but I'm getting use to it! It's such a change from highschool...like im growing up. Well I really am not much of blogger if you havent already figured that out sooo yeahhh. Hope everyone is enjoying their classes this semester! Keeps hitting the books and studying hard! See you alll soooon :) -Gabrielle Grace Vitez

Lexi Rohrbach

Hey everyone!

My name is Lexi and I am a senior! I can't believe I am about to start my final year of basketball.  I am from good old Tiffin, Ohio.  That is where my mom and my dog (cutest thing in the entire world) still live.  I also have a brother, and he is a freshman here at BW! (AWWWWW JACKETS!!!)  I am so excited to have him here! To round out my family, I need to include my Aunt Debbie and Uncle David.  They have been a huge part of my life, especially during the last 5 years.

This summer has been a busy one! I started the summer with summer classes, Anatomy and Speech Clinic.  Clinic lasted the whole summer, and I was in charge of therapy for 9 clients! It was very intimidating, but I learned a lot! I also spent the summer lifeguarding for Hastings Waterworks. I made a ton of friends, and actually got tan for once! (Usually I am a pale freak). Lifeguarding has definitely been a life-changing experience. During my second shift, a little girl was found at the bottom of the pool, and we....saved her life.  It might have been the scariest thing I have every experienced.  The rest of my time I spent working out, shooting, and doing all those fun things that were in our summer binders.

Along with the "normal routine" things I did this summer, I also took some fun weekend trips! I went to Chicago to see Bon Jovi! (I may have a small crush on him even though he is old). My brother and I had floor seats and it was the best concert I have ever experienced. He rocked hard for a solid 4 hours! The other trip I took was to Washington DC. I went to the Spy Museum and learned everything there is to know about spies and James Bond.  I also went to the zoo (WHICH IS FREE!) and saw giant pandas!

And that about rounds out my summer! I am excited to meet everyone and to start pre-season. We are on our way to become the best team the Jackets have ever seen!

Lexi Rohrbach #45

P.S. I was going to add pictures........but I seem to be having difficulties! Sorry!

Hey everyone!

I'm Marissa and I'll be a sophomore this year. I'm the second oldest child in a family with four kids. I have an older brother who graduated from BW in 2007, a younger sister who is a freshman this year at BW and a younger brother who is a Junior at Normandy High School. I'm a dual athlete who participates in both basketball and track, while having a double major in Pre-Physical Therapy and Exercise Science. My summer was great I definitely enjoyed it and I can't believe classes start tomorrow already! I made the most of my summer between preparing for the upcoming season and having fun hanging with my friends. I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of the freshmen and I can't wait to see everyone again!

Marissa Hellisz #22               

Random Thoughts and Movie Quotes

Well hellooooo there everyone! I am Ally Dehart and will be a sophomore this year. Feel free to call me Pup if you so desire considering that’s what most people on the team call me! Doing this makes me think about how nervous I was to do this last year, and looking back on it mine was so weird because I talked about cats like the whole time… Whatever. Hopefully I’ll do better this time. 

Anyways, speaking of doing this last year, you have literally NO idea what to expect coming in as a freshmen, well at least I didn’t. Literally my only idea of what to expect came from the numerous amounts of sports movies that I’ve watched over the years. Unfortunately however, those movies lead me a stray a few times and didn’t always give the most accurate representation of what to expect. So I have decided to put together a few misconceptions that the movies left me with to start the season, so the rest of you won’t be as thrown off as I was. So here we go…

White Men Can’t Jump

Well first off, white men, and women CAN jump. More than likely you will figure this out while you’re unsuspectedly swatted by Lairson, Alissa, or Tali. Or at least we can watch them block each other, cause that tends to happen frequently which is always exciting to watch. 

Coach Carter

This was one of the ones that was most deceiving to me. Whenever I did one of my first visits at school, I remember my parents asking how the players manage their schoolwork along with all the work that comes along with playing a sport. So Coach was telling them about study tables which we do in order to have specific time set aside to ensure that we get our work done. So as she is explaining this to them I begin to zone out and imagine what my study tables will look like… which I later found out was very wrong. I imagined study tables being like the scene from Coach Carter when they are having their lockout and they have all their school desks piled into the middle of the gym and they’re all sitting there doing their homework. But, as cool as this would be, we don’t do our homework in the middle of the gym…. Very deceiving, and a bit upsetting I will say.

High School Musical

This one is pretty simple, when you stay after practice to shoot, your life doesn’t become a musical. I’ve tried. 

Okay so those are a few semi-serious things that sports movies do not prepare you for. (Not joking I really wanted to have a basketball flash-mob moment but that never happened). But for those of you who are a sports movie junky like myself, they won’t always leave you empty-handed, and in all honesty can pump you up for what to expect as a Yellow Jacket. Remember the Titans represents the bond and sisterhood we exemplify as a team, especially in the difficult times of adversity. These movies show us the feeling when life is in slow-motion when waiting for a buzzer beater shot to fall (Hoosiers), or the pain that comes after a hard loss like in Friday Night Lights or Richmond High (Rich whaa?), to the joys of a Rudy or Rocky-like celebration. The most important thing that these movies demonstrate in my opinion, is people’s unending love for the game they play, and all the highs and lows that come a long with it. THAT is what you can expect from Yellow Jacket basketball.

Okay but now I’m rambling and my blog is already late (sorry Coach!) But I’m really excited to reunite with everybody and meet the other freshmen! See you all soon!

“At the end of the game, in my book, we're gonna be winners.”

-Hoosiers

Ally (Pup)

             #34

                                      

Hello everyone!

My name is Gabrielle Vitez and I am an incoming freshman. I am beyond excited to attend Baldwin Wallace University but at the same time I am very nervous! I met some of the teammates when I attended an open gym in July. I was extremely scared coming in not only as a freshman, but also not being able to play due to recent surgeries I recently had. I felt so welcomed by all the girls, and really enjoyed everyone's fun loving attitudes. Well, a little about me now... I am 1 of 3 children. I have an older sister named Emilee who graduated from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. I also have an older brother named Nate, who is 20 years old. I am the youngest of the family. My creators, Rachel and Joe Vitez, are my rock. They are so supportive and loving. In 2008 I suffered a traumatic brain injury in basketball that still affects me today. Without their constant love and support I don't know how I would have gotten through that time in my life. Even though it has been 5 years since my injury, there are still good and bad days. I try my best to always have a positive attitude and outlook on life now. Due to my injury it really gave me a different look on what life and basketball really means. Hope everyone has been enjoying their summers! I am really looking forward to getting to know everyone better and growing as a person! I am really looking forward to getting to know everyone better and growing as a person! I am really looking forward to getting to know everyone better and growing as a person!

Gabrielle Vitez :)

Hiii everyone! 

My name is Laurel Thomas and I will be a junior this year. So hard for me to believe how fast time has flown - but I have met many new people and made great friends and even better memories! That being said I can't wait to meet and spend countless hours with all the new freshman!!
A little about myself, I am from Canton.  I have two sisters - 1 older, 1 younger (we look absolutely nothing alike). I am a Human Resource Management and Healthcare Management double major. I had an amazing HR internship this summer and am looking forward to what's to come! I hope you all are having a fabulous summer! Can't wait to see everyone in a couple of weeks!

Laurel 

Summer Fun

Hello hello!

I'm Audrey and I will be a Junior this year. Just an FYI, when people tell you that time flies as you get older, they aren't kidding. It's a bitter sweet feeling. But I hope everyone is having a great summer :) Mine has been one of the best ones so far. I got to go on an amazing vacation  to Virginia with the family that I work for. I babysit 2 girls, Megan and Taylor. Love them to death. I also have had the privilege to be an assistant coach to a SMAC team. SMAC is an aau organization for those of you who don't know what it is. Our team name is SMAC ICE (Intensity Chemistry Energy). Shoutout to the girls and Jocelyn (the head coach)! It has been a challenge being on the the "other side", that is being a coach not a player. I never realized how hard it is, so props to all the coaches out there. You truly have a hard job. Especially coaching us girls. 

I am so looking forward to going back to school and getting ready with the team for the season. I can't wait to meet all the Freshman so they can see what a bunch of goof balls we are all :) But also can be very, very serious.....sometimes. Random fact....SHARI MANGAS is my best friend. I am also a Middle Childhood Education major with Math and History minors. I'm obsessed with dolphins. I have an older sister and younger brother. My parents come to all the games...even when I tell them not to because there is 5 feet of snow on the ground. Least to say they're very supportive :) Welp, that's all I got. Be safe and enjoy the rest of your summer!

Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart".

Audrey #24