#1 Jordan ........#2 Shanotta.......#3 Hannah
#4 Grace ..........#11 Larrissa......#14 Meredith
#21 Abbie.........#23 Lindsey.......#24 Paige
Thanks, Girls, for an AWESOME Season!!!
Above: From tournaments on 4/13 and 4/19
Above: From tournament on 4/26-27
Above: From AAU District Championships on 5/10-11 (Please excuse the pic quality - poor gym lighting)
Above: From MYAS Spring Championships on 5/17-18
Above: From AAU Summer Jam on 6/14-15
Above: From Great Lakes Shootout on 6/27-29
Pics Revised: 6/30/2008
Site Revised: 6/30/2008
Personal End-of-Season Commentary
It was great to end the girls' season on such a high note, getting 3rd place in a 13U tournament and beating the opposition by one point. All the girls contributed to the game in various ways. It's always an important reminder to coaches, fans, parents, and players alike, that it's not only scoring points that makes the team successful, but in doing the blocking out, good passing, physical defending, etc. That could be said of the entire season, not merely one game.
Both Coach Nate Higgins and Coach Alyssa Mohr deserve a great big THANK YOU for the season. I was personally impressed with the overall improvement with all the kids and their defense. Such team-orientated, person-to-person defense is exciting to watch and will be a great foundation for the girls to build upon with their basketball careers. It also led to much of the team's offense, especially later in the season as the transition game became more and more a part of what the team did. Certainly Coach Higgins is a teaching coach. That paid off dividends not only with team defense, but with a lot of the little things with which he helped each of the girls. The game is often learned in the details, and those little particulars ended up in leading to big strides in individual and team improvement. I think many of you can join me in saying that such teaching of the game was exceptional, perhaps beyond what my daughter has ever received. Nate's professionalism, calm demeanor, and yet firm competitiveness is something one perceives over the course of time. Alyssa was also a critical piece of our team's success and improvement. Her youthful female presence was able to link the girls to the value of what both coaches were trying to teach. While using such presence in relating to the girls, she also exhibited the kind of personality that earned the girls' respect and attention. One can already tell that her desire to coach will lead a lot of girls to appreciate and love the game.
While understanding the game of basketball was likely the primary concern to most of us parents, it was also a wonderful experience that the girls were able to meet others that they have played against in the past. I'm sure this will make playing against each other in the future interesting, quite enjoyable, and entertaining. Before we committed to the Minnesota Stars, I had a phone conversation with the parents of Alycia Dahl of last year's 16U Mark Smith team. They stressed that one of the greatest unforeseen blessings of their season was the friendships their daughter developed with the other kids on the team. That went along with the parents as well. I'm sure our girls will continue their relationships and will monitor each other's success as they play on in the future.
As I was traveling back from Menomonie after our last tournament, I thought a lot about the parents and kids on the team. Perhaps it was sentimentalism, but I think it was more analytical in terms of my own perspective as a parent. Sometimes it's difficult to see the entire scope of things until after something is completed. I know for myself that I can sometimes tend to live in the moment and then fail to see the general thrust of what the moment does for the long-term. Before the season began, I thought a lot about AAU and concerns I have heard others express regarding what it does for basketball development, negatively and positively. My personal primary factor for deciding to allow my daughter to get this experience was simply to have the opportunity for my daughter to understand the game of basketball better. But sometimes getting caught in the moment one can lose that. Many can end up stressing the opportunity to get college exposure and to display the talents their children have. And with the experience, I think perspectives change. Having met all of the parents and girls, it was interesting to converse during the season to get various perspectives and get an idea of what various parental expectations and observations were. That's why in my travels back home from Menomonie, it dawned on me that all of us parents are simply after the best for our girls. After trying to put myself in some of the other parents' shoes instead of just my own, I think that I finally got it. We each see our girls as talented basketball players who are making great strides in improving in the game of basketball. They are likely to be stars on their traveling teams and school teams. And with that comes the inevitable that each will standout at various times and situations even on an AAU team. With the AAU experience and having such talented girls all on one team it can be difficult to play together as a team. I've even heard of some AAU 16U teams loaded with talent that do not play to their potential simply because of that. I think we all will readily agree that there were times our girls didn't play as a team, and times that they synced together like a well-oiled machine. That Rochester game during the Summer Jam was one of the best team-orientated games I've seen in AAU. I'm glad that Coach Higgins was able to conclude his season with the girls with that particular game. I firmly believe, as I heard others comment, that the girls could have beaten any of the teams they faced this season had they always played like that. Yes, even those pesky Minnesota Suns! Even one of the Metro Stars parents commented that they are glad that we didn't play that way against them that weekend. The girls certainly made a statement … as a team! Sometimes it will be that way, sometimes it won't. And that's just the nature of the game and the nature of having a lot of talent on one team.
That's why in spite of the hopes that we might have as parents, it's good to get back to the basics. We are all simply desiring to get the best experience for our girls in understanding the game of basketball. And putting things in perspective, our girls got it!!!
I'm looking forward to seeing each of you again as the girls move on. Hopefully our girls - and even the parents and coaches - can continue to build their relationships with each other. May the girls in particular each continue down the road of improving in the game of basketball from the foundation they received from Coach Higgins and Coach Mohr this season.
Thanks again, girls, parents, and coaches for a great 2008 season with the 12U Minnesota Stars!
John Hein, 6/30/2008
Both Coach Nate Higgins and Coach Alyssa Mohr deserve a great big THANK YOU for the season. I was personally impressed with the overall improvement with all the kids and their defense. Such team-orientated, person-to-person defense is exciting to watch and will be a great foundation for the girls to build upon with their basketball careers. It also led to much of the team's offense, especially later in the season as the transition game became more and more a part of what the team did. Certainly Coach Higgins is a teaching coach. That paid off dividends not only with team defense, but with a lot of the little things with which he helped each of the girls. The game is often learned in the details, and those little particulars ended up in leading to big strides in individual and team improvement. I think many of you can join me in saying that such teaching of the game was exceptional, perhaps beyond what my daughter has ever received. Nate's professionalism, calm demeanor, and yet firm competitiveness is something one perceives over the course of time. Alyssa was also a critical piece of our team's success and improvement. Her youthful female presence was able to link the girls to the value of what both coaches were trying to teach. While using such presence in relating to the girls, she also exhibited the kind of personality that earned the girls' respect and attention. One can already tell that her desire to coach will lead a lot of girls to appreciate and love the game.
While understanding the game of basketball was likely the primary concern to most of us parents, it was also a wonderful experience that the girls were able to meet others that they have played against in the past. I'm sure this will make playing against each other in the future interesting, quite enjoyable, and entertaining. Before we committed to the Minnesota Stars, I had a phone conversation with the parents of Alycia Dahl of last year's 16U Mark Smith team. They stressed that one of the greatest unforeseen blessings of their season was the friendships their daughter developed with the other kids on the team. That went along with the parents as well. I'm sure our girls will continue their relationships and will monitor each other's success as they play on in the future.
As I was traveling back from Menomonie after our last tournament, I thought a lot about the parents and kids on the team. Perhaps it was sentimentalism, but I think it was more analytical in terms of my own perspective as a parent. Sometimes it's difficult to see the entire scope of things until after something is completed. I know for myself that I can sometimes tend to live in the moment and then fail to see the general thrust of what the moment does for the long-term. Before the season began, I thought a lot about AAU and concerns I have heard others express regarding what it does for basketball development, negatively and positively. My personal primary factor for deciding to allow my daughter to get this experience was simply to have the opportunity for my daughter to understand the game of basketball better. But sometimes getting caught in the moment one can lose that. Many can end up stressing the opportunity to get college exposure and to display the talents their children have. And with the experience, I think perspectives change. Having met all of the parents and girls, it was interesting to converse during the season to get various perspectives and get an idea of what various parental expectations and observations were. That's why in my travels back home from Menomonie, it dawned on me that all of us parents are simply after the best for our girls. After trying to put myself in some of the other parents' shoes instead of just my own, I think that I finally got it. We each see our girls as talented basketball players who are making great strides in improving in the game of basketball. They are likely to be stars on their traveling teams and school teams. And with that comes the inevitable that each will standout at various times and situations even on an AAU team. With the AAU experience and having such talented girls all on one team it can be difficult to play together as a team. I've even heard of some AAU 16U teams loaded with talent that do not play to their potential simply because of that. I think we all will readily agree that there were times our girls didn't play as a team, and times that they synced together like a well-oiled machine. That Rochester game during the Summer Jam was one of the best team-orientated games I've seen in AAU. I'm glad that Coach Higgins was able to conclude his season with the girls with that particular game. I firmly believe, as I heard others comment, that the girls could have beaten any of the teams they faced this season had they always played like that. Yes, even those pesky Minnesota Suns! Even one of the Metro Stars parents commented that they are glad that we didn't play that way against them that weekend. The girls certainly made a statement … as a team! Sometimes it will be that way, sometimes it won't. And that's just the nature of the game and the nature of having a lot of talent on one team.
That's why in spite of the hopes that we might have as parents, it's good to get back to the basics. We are all simply desiring to get the best experience for our girls in understanding the game of basketball. And putting things in perspective, our girls got it!!!
I'm looking forward to seeing each of you again as the girls move on. Hopefully our girls - and even the parents and coaches - can continue to build their relationships with each other. May the girls in particular each continue down the road of improving in the game of basketball from the foundation they received from Coach Higgins and Coach Mohr this season.
Thanks again, girls, parents, and coaches for a great 2008 season with the 12U Minnesota Stars!
John Hein, 6/30/2008
Season Overview
|
Date |
Tournament/Location |
Opponent |
Score |
|
Record |
Comments |
|
|
MYAS-Eastview HS |
Buzzer
Beaters |
33-31 |
W |
1-0 |
Won in
overtime |
|
|
MYAS-Eastview HS |
Rosemount |
32-6 |
W |
2-0 |
|
|
|
MYAS-Eastview HS |
|
41-32 |
W |
3-0 |
Placed
1st |
|
|
MYAS-Hopkins
HS |
|
23-37 |
L |
3-1 |
|
|
|
MYAS-Hopkins
HS |
Metro
Stars |
45-27 |
W |
4-1 |
|
|
|
MYAS-Hopkins
HS |
North
Tartan |
47-39 |
W |
5-1 |
Placed
2nd |
|
|
AAU
Seeding-Cooper HS |
MN Stars-Farview |
34-32 |
L |
5-2 |
|
|
|
AAU
Seeding-Cooper HS |
Jam Girls |
55-35 |
W |
6-2 |
|
|
|
AAU
Seeding-Cooper HS |
MN Suns |
38-50 |
L |
6-3 |
|
|
|
AAU
Seeding-Cooper HS |
Metro
Stars |
47-44 |
W |
7-3 |
Won in
overtime, Placed 3rd |
|
|
AAU
District-Skyview MS |
Buzzer
Beaters |
52-41 |
W |
8-3 |
|
|
|
AAU
District-Skyview MS |
North
Tartan |
48-58 |
L |
8-4 |
|
|
|
AAU
District-Skyview MS |
MN Suns |
37-52 |
L |
8-5 |
|
|
|
AAU
District-Skyview MS |
MN Stars-Farview |
39-38 |
W |
9-5 |
|
|
|
AAU
District-Skyview MS |
MN Suns |
29-38 |
L |
9-6 |
Placed 2nd |
|
|
MYAS
State-Armstrong |
Buzzer
Beaters |
37-43 |
L |
9-7 |
|
|
|
MYAS
State-Armstrong |
|
58-40 |
W |
10-7 |
|
|
|
MYAS
State-Armstrong |
Saint
Paul Central |
35-37 |
L |
10-8 |
Lost at
the buzzer. |
|
|
AAU
Summer Jam |
All |
49-43 |
W |
11-8 |
|
|
|
AAU
Summer Jam |
Metro
Stars |
33-51 |
L |
11-9 |
|
|
|
AAU
Summer Jam |
Woodbury |
46-40 |
W |
12-9 |
|
|
|
AAU
Summer Jam |
|
59-28 |
W |
13-9 |
Placed
3rd |
|
|
|
|
36-30 |
W |
14-9 |
Played up
at 13U level |
|
|
|
Colfax |
54-20 |
W |
15-9 |
|
|
|
|
WI Swing |
26-40 |
L |
15-10 |
|
|
|
|
|
56-33 |
W |
16-10 |
|
|
|
|
So MN
Magic |
33-47 |
L |
16-11 |
|
|
|
|
|
42-41 |
W |
17-11 |
Placed 3rd
at 13U level |
Tournaments
|
Tournament |
Location |
Dates |
Main Website |
|
|
Eastview HS |
April 13 |
|||
|
|
April 19 |
|||
|
April 26-27 |
||||
|
May 10-11 |
||||
|
May 17-18 |
||||
|
|
June 13-15 |
|||
|
|
June 27-29 |
www.wiaauhoops.com |
Roster
Minnesota Stars Elite 12U Coach: Nate Higgins | |||
| Hannah Zerr #3 | 2013 | 5-4 | Shakopee, MN |
| Lindsey McAulay #23 | 2013 | 5-0 | Centennial, MN |
| Larrissa Lurken #11 | 2013 | 5-4 | Park Cottage Grove, MN |
| Taylor Loch #53 | 2013 | 5-6 | Centennial, MN |
| Jordan Jasper Coffer #1 | 2013 | 5-8 | Centennial, MN |
| Abbie Hein #21 | 2013 | 5-7 | Spring Lake Park, MN |
| Paige Waytashek #24 | 2013 | 5-2 | Centennial, MN |
| Shanotta Bawek #2 | 2013 | 5-8 | Apple Valley, MN |
| Allison Oyos #35 | 2013 | 5-4 | Centennial, MN |
| Meredith Lawrence #14 | 2013 | 5-0 | Prior Lake, MN |
| Grace Sawatzke #4 | 2014 | 5-5 | Monticello, MN |
Pictorial Roster
#1 Jordan ........#2 Shanotta.......#3 Hannah
#4 Grace ..........#11 Larrissa......#14 Meredith
#21 Abbie.........#23 Lindsey.......#24 Paige
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