 Welcome to Sports Talk. In this installment of our series, we're gonna be talking about Girls' Basketball. Joining me on the set will be Tim Crowns and Amy Salk from South, and Susie Runes and Kayla Tetchelog from North. We're gonna talk about basketball at North and South, how it relates to the community, and talk a little bit about the recruiting process and how you can get better as a Girls' Basketball player. When we come back, I'm gonna have Tim and Amy on the set, so stay tuned. We'll be right back with Sports Talk. Tick. Massive heat waves. Tick. Heat waves. Tick. Severe droughts. Tick. Tick. Tick. Devastating. Devastating hurricanes. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Our future. Tick. Tick. To you. Tick. Go to FightGlobalWarming.com while there's still time. Joining me is Tim Crowns and Amy Salk. Tim, let's start off with you. You and I coached together over at South a number of years ago under Pete Peterson, and now you have the head girls job. What's the difference between coaching boys and girls? Well, girls really work hard. I mean, I'm not saying that boys don't, but they really try to improve, and they'll listen to you how to get better. A lot of boys come in, and they already think they know how to play, and they are very skilled. You have a lot more boys that are skilled at that level, and when the girls come in, they really want to get better. They really listen to what you have to say. I coached a girls basketball over at Kolar for two years, Amy, and one of the things that I found out is sometimes, you know, when you're trying to teach them something, they just break down. You ever get that, Tim? No, I didn't get that. We have never had that, but I did have that come back when I coached in Florence. I had a girl that was yelling something out there, and she just stopped and put the ball down, and she had enough. She didn't quit on you. No, she didn't understand the point I was trying to get across. Amy, your first team-all conference and big-time score, you know, really a talented basketball player, and teams really focus their defense on you. How do you handle that kind of pressure? Well, actually, I try not to think about the teams' defense. If I get a down-low, and I'm double-teamed or even triple-teamed, I try to kick it out to my teammates because I know that they can hit the open shot or pass to get the person who would get the open shot. One of the things I think that makes a player a cut above maybe than the others is not just their ability to score, but also play defense. How's your defense? My defense is all right. It's always room to improve. Probably my quickness and just looking at their waist and not trying to follow when they shoot if they're in full trouble. You had a little bit of full trouble in that Usper game, and we were talking about this before we came on the air. They called a couple of charges on you that probably weren't, or pardon me, where you took the charge. How do you handle that kind of situation? Maybe the calls aren't going your way, and the teams come back on you and that kind of thing. Well, you just have to learn to play the game and you can't worry about what the rest make. You can't change the rest's decision on the call. You just have to keep playing and not even worry about it, and hopefully the game will go in your favor. Tim, you had a young team this year. Unlike North, they're going to be graduating a lot of their ace players. You got a lot coming back, Amy being one of them. How's it look for self-high basketball next year? I think it looks very good. Like you said, we have a lot of players coming back. A lot of players that have played a lot of time, and it depends how much time they put in off-season, and I know Amy's going to put the time in, and I think the other girls are hopefully going to, too, because we really noticed Amy stepping forward this year. One of the things I think that separated boys from girls years ago, I don't think it's like that anymore from what we've talked about is the off-season program. What do your kids do during the off-season that somewhat mimics maybe what the boys have done over the last couple of years? Well, we play in summer leagues. In fact, last year we had to play at least 60 games, and this year we're looking at probably getting more games. We also play in the elite tournament in Wausau. Last year we finished sixth in that tournament. We hope to do better this year. There were 80-some teams in that tournament. We also play in a Cedarburg summer league. We're hosting our own summer league this year on Monday nights, and we also have open gym every day. Amy, who inspired you to get into basketball and to work as hard as you do at your game? Actually, it was a former Red Wing player, Jessica Murphy. I always loved watching her play, and I remember just going to the games with my friends on Friday nights, and she was just a fantastic ballplayer. Her three-point shot was amazing, and actually I wanted to have her number, but a former pair, Erica Gussison, took it from me. I heard that wasn't the case. I heard that Tim didn't want to give it to you. No. There was a baseball player. His name was Joe DiMaggio, and he said, somebody asked him, why do you play so hard every day? I never know when somebody might be at the ballpark. It's their first time watching me play. Now, taking that into your ballpark, when you play every night, do you understand that you might be inspiring somebody like Jessica Murphy inspired you? Actually, I really don't even think about that. I'm sure I do, and that is very awesome for someone to look up to me, but it just, I guess, it really came into my mind. We talked about this before, too, and that is you work very hard at your game, not just the on-court aspects, dribbling, shooting, that type of thing, but also the off-court kinds of activities. Tell us a little bit about those things that you do to help your game. Well, the off-court stuff is weight training, getting in the weight room every day, and just physically getting stronger at your legs and your upper body. Also, to increase your speed and ability by doing the ladder, and jump roping is another thing that I try to work on. You may have touched already on this next question, Amy, but if you had some suggestions to give to young players for them to develop their game, what would be some things you'd tell them? I would just keep working, set goals for yourself, because that's what I did when I was a freshman. Be determined and try to be the best ballplayer you can be. Now, Tim mentioned before that you're taking on a leadership role with the team, and what are your responsibilities in that role as a leader? As a leader, I try to get all my girls in and just shoot 20 minutes a day. I always try to check up on Tia, for example. I try to see if she shot 20 minutes. Also, in the classroom, I want to see if all the girls have their grades up, because that was a problem last year. And just basically trying to get them into the gym and the weight room as well. Tim, as being Amy's head coach, she's obviously getting interest from a number of colleges in the area. I don't know if it's up to Division I, but probably is, but what is your role in that process? Well, I've contacted about eight or nine colleges. I gave Amy a list of nine colleges, or 10 colleges, and then I contacted those colleges. And we sent out, I sent out videotapes on Amy. There's some good interest from Butler and Valparaiso, and UWGB came to watch her play. So we are getting some interest. You're getting a pipeline going there, aren't you? Well, it depends with how Borseth gone. Right. We'll see. Amy, any colleges that Tim mentioned interest you? Is there any place that you'd like to go? I think GB would be wonderful, close to home, Division I. But we'll just find out. We have to have a good summer year and a good senior year. All right, guys, thanks a lot for stopping in. You really did a great job here on the interviews. And when we come back, we're going to have Suzy Runas and Kayla Tetchlock. So stay tuned. We'll be right back. August 9th, 1999. I was raped. I felt dirty. And I lost sense of security. Victim assistant helped me with counseling. They helped me write a victim impact statement. And because of that, my rape has got 20 years. With the right help, you can move on with your life. Joining me on the set is Suzy Runas and Kayla Tetchlock. Thanks a lot for coming in, guys. Suzy, you just finished your fourth year at North and went to state for the second straight year. When you took the job four years ago, did you realize the talent you had coming in? Well, I knew there was talent. And actually, before I took over the varsity position, I was at North at the freshman and JV levels. And obviously, part of that and being part of the coaching staff was watching the younger kids and being a part of the youth programs and knowing then that there was obviously some talent coming to North. And as far as expectations, obviously at the state, you always hope that it's a dream for any coach and any player to reach that level, and we were fortunate to do that twice. But as far as the talent goes, there was talent there, but then you look at freshman girls coming into high school and they're in that in-between stage where they're not coordinated at the time or they're still growing into their bodies. But I don't know so much the talent was there, but just the maturity already at that level was impressive and their work ethic. And they already had goals at that time coming into high school of what they wanted to accomplish before they left. And I think that was probably more impressive because I feel like I can teach them how to dribble and shoot better and pass better and all the things that are part of the game, but it's just the package that they came in with with that mentality was huge. When did you realize you had a team that was bound to go to state? Well, it's something we had talked about. Kayla was with me that first year that I came into the coaching position. She was up adversely at the freshman level and obviously she's a very special player and by the end of the year, when we got into the tournament run that first year, I brought three or four more freshmen up so they got a taste of it already and over the summer, between that freshman and sophomore year, just to see them develop, they weren't freshman girls anymore, they were developing already then and it's something, as a coach, you hope you have these goals but you hope that everything goes right and I thought it was realistic that we could achieve that to go back to back was amazing and just unbelievable experience that I'll never forget and like I was just talking to you before, it's something you wish that all coaches could go through because there's a lot of hard-working coaches out there that don't get the opportunity, as well as players, but just a neat experience but I knew we had the potential but you always, you know, if there's injury here, injuries, things like that, there's so many factors that go into it. Kayla, you come from a basketball family, your brother plays and your younger sister is a player and your dad was an excellent player in college. Who inspired you to take up the game? Well, I think it started with my family, I think it started with my dad and we went and watched all of his games, his rec department games even. I think Kyle came along and I went in middle school to all of his games. He played JV, his freshman year of university, his sophomore year already, so we were watching all of his games and a lot of driveway practice, a lot of two on two. It was usually Kyle and I against my dad and Carly and they got my shot blocked a lot and I learned how to head fake. I think that's where that started but yeah, definitely from my family. I mean, I hope to pass it on to Carly. I mean, we'll see. One of the things I mentioned is to Amy, I think one thing that cuts one player above another is their ability to play defense. We know you can do that but then there's another thing that enters in to cutting one player above another and I think that's the ability to pass the ball. Where'd you learn that? Passing the ball. Probably my dad too. He actually plays at Kohler High School Sunday mornings and I've gone along a couple of times and... I'm envious. I've wanted to go there for years but you know, I'm just kind of afraid to ask. Well, come along. It's fun. And yeah, my dad passes incredibly well and just like, he sets all of his teammates up, he sets screens away from the ball and gets other people open. I think that's where I learned a lot of that from. And when Kyle comes, of course, nobody wants to guard him so that's how it goes. Kyle and I were playing on the same team one Wednesday night. It was about two years ago and we were both going for a loose ball and he nailed me right in the ear. I went to the hospital because I needed stitches and I said, well, the guy that hit me had three stitches in his mouth. I wanted at least four. So I got the four. Hey, Susie, when you look back over the past four seasons, I mean there's just a ton of good memories and you could easily point out the different games and things of that nature but what are some of the memories outside of the games and the trips to Madison, you know, kind of wipe that away. What stands out in your memories of this group of seniors that are leaving you? I think, other than the obvious ones you mentioned, just, you know, one of the things coming in the program, it's one of my goals was not to be just about X's and O's. I wanted it to be a learning experience. Things these girls could take on after basketball, after high school, after college. So with that in mind, I think it's really the off-court things that we did. We did a lot of team bonding things. A lot of things, team dinners, team outings. We did some community work together, which I think is real important. Just getting away from the basketball court and getting to know the girls more on a personal level than just a coach player. And with those, there's so many to mention that. I think I just have to group them together because it was just, you know, sitting down with these girls and able to have a mature adult conversation has just been amazing and just learning more about them as a person and their families and really that's one of the things our program and our team has come into it. We consider ourselves a family because we do spend a lot of time together. Kale, you've gone through the recruiting process now and it looks like you're headed towards Green Bay. That's a little bit up in the air since Coach Borseth left. But as you look back at the process of being recruited and going through that, what are some suggestions you could give to our viewers, maybe Amy Selk, you know, as she goes through the same thing? Well, it's not all about your in-season. I think a lot of it happens in the off-season, getting in the weight room and having great games during the summer. Going, I mean, I used to play in tournaments all over the state. We went to Chicago. We even played down in Orlando, Florida for a week and just getting all over the place, check out your options. I mean, if you want to stay close to home, the coach obviously is a huge factor as I've learned and the team chemistry is just huge, meeting the team and seeing how well you fit in. Susie, how have you helped in this process? Well, Kale, I did a lot of traveling in the summer in the off-season, which was huge for exposure, and I think that is important for your elite players to do that. But I think playing a lot in the off-season and getting some different exposures, I do think the coach, the high school coach plays a role in that. I've had a lot of communications with coaches at, you know, different levels and phone calls, e-mails, that sort of thing. Wanting to know where we're playing, that sort of thing. I think in the in-season, your non-conference schedule, I think helps you a lot to play in those quality teams where college coaches like to come and see those quality games. I think that's a big part too, but I think just playing a lot and getting your name out there and combination that high school coach, you know, writing a few letters, making a few phone calls and sending out videotapes is a bonus. Kale, we've got about 30 seconds left. If you were to talk to our viewers, what would be some suggestions you'd give to young girls that are watching and what they could do to improve on their basketball? Well, not just basketball, but anything, set goals and try to achieve them by working hard, put in the extra time because it pays off. And yeah, just continue to work hard in whatever you do, whether that's sports or music or drama or whatever it is. All right, thank you very much for stopping in. Great interview. We're going to step out and we come back. We'll have Susie and Tim on the set. Global warming. Some say irreversible consequences are 30 years away. 30 years? That won't affect me. And Susie Ruins joining me on the set now for our last segment of the show. And what do you see as the biggest development in girls' basketball over the years? Tim, like we mentioned earlier, that we had coached together and that was quite a while ago, actually, and girls' basketball wasn't then what it is now. No, that's true. I still remember when my daughter was really young. I couldn't find players, girls that wanted to play. I think there's more kids that want to play at a really level. I think there's more things offered for them. And I just, I think girls really want to be good and they put a lot of time in. Susie, what do you see as a difference? I think just the athleticism in the girls these days, unlike years ago, even when I was playing, which was a long time ago, it's just the girls aren't afraid to get into the weight room nowadays. They're playing in one, two, three sports. And like Tim mentioned, they want to be out there and they want to work hard and they're not afraid of working hard. And I think it's more accepted these days, too, for girls to be athletic. Susie, I think you ran, bring up another issue as you're giving your answer and that is sometimes you get complaints about kids going out for one sport and focusing on that. And you had mentioned, it's nice about having kids in different sports and sometimes the coach likes to think, well, this is my sport and we want you to focus on this. And you did have a kid who was better in soccer and got a D1 scholarship in soccer. Laura Hayward, how do you handle a kid who loves basketball but maybe that's not their number one sport? Well, I encourage all my girls to, I think it's great that they're in multiple sports. I just think that helps them not only in athlete, but just a lot of their basketball teammates play in those same sports. So it's great for continued team bonding and to obviously experience different coaching. I think that's important and obviously it helps with everything just being involved in a team sport. And I think we could probably do a whole segment on team sports, what that brings to an individual. I think it's huge for, it'd be great if all kids could participate in a team sport. It's just a great learning experience. It's a great high school experience for a well-rounded high school experience. I've often commented to people. I said, I'm glad I don't play sports now. I liked it better when it was back because you could do all these different things. You didn't have to, you know, if you're out for a certain sport. We had to be like a full-time athlete in just that area. I think coaches and other sports really work with each other. You know, there's open gyms. I agree. You know, if it's a volleyball season, for example, I don't want to see my girls in the gym. You know, I tell them I don't want to see them because it's volleyball season or softball season or whatever. But I think the coaches have a good understanding with each other that, you know, they are involved in multiple sports. And I think in girls basketball, or girls sports, there's a lot more ball players that do different sports. I mean, I don't know many that aren't in multiple sports. We've established that, you know, the basketball from years ago on the girls side, you know, has really developed over the years. But as we look at the state of girls basketball, we'll start with you, Tim. What do you think needs a change? Well, it would be... It may not be just girls basketball. It might be, you know... I think in Shiboy, you know, it really would be nice to have middle school sports the way it was when I grew up. I mean, we're going to be going into a new conference against Ashbabana and Deepir and Bayport. They all have that. If you go and play in their tournaments with the young kids right now, they're awesome because they've had that. And we're going to be a little bit behind. We're going to find that out. Susie? I'd pretty much agree when you're talking locally, you know, just the feeder programs and just getting that school spirit developing already in the middle school levels, I think is huge to come into the high school. You know, as far as statewide goals, I think girls basketball has come a long ways. I mean, obviously there's going to be those issues of, you know, where the state tournament is held, for example, those types of things. But, you know, that's the big picture. And, you know, to get to that point where we're complaining about where we're playing the state tournament game, I think we've come a long ways. And I tell you from our experience, you know, if you get to state, I don't care where we play, but, you know, that seems to be the hot topic. If you could change one thing about girls basketball, what would it be? And it may not be an on-the-court issue. It might be something that's off-court. I really don't. I think it's fine the way it is. I really like it. Rules? Rules are fine. You know, there's been talk about a shot clock and that in high school basketball, I think you should see it the way it is. I agree. I'm pretty happy with how things are going right now. I don't think this is the case anymore. And as I've talked to you and your players over the last couple of segments, you know, one of the things I used to hear is that commitment wasn't there. That, obviously, is not the case anymore. No, that's not. Not in Sheboyan. I can speak for North and it appears to me the same way it's off, but I haven't had a problem at North and that's just, and I think it's a reflection of the coach. It's got to start from the top on down. Expectations, communication, respect. It's all those incidental things that go above the X's and O's. I've been real blessed with my group of kids off-season workouts. I mean, they're after each other to get into the weight room, whether it's six in the morning or traveling to Milwaukee, getting home at 10, 11 o'clock on a weeknight. But I've been real happy with the commitment and just the leadership from our upperclassmen. I agree. It's the same way. I really like the commitment and it helps that I think, you know, North has done real well in the past four years and I think our girls are really looking to get better too and to get to that level and so it helps bring their commitment level up. One thing that we touched on in each segment was the idea of recruiting and who's responsible for that and how has it gone, that type of thing and you both are very fortunate to have athletes that are gonna be recruited. One of the things that does happen, however, and I don't think I've heard about it with girls basketball so much, but you do hear about it with the guys sometimes as the underhanded practices that go on with some of the college coaches. Anything that you've heard anything like that? I haven't heard any of that in high school. I haven't from colleges looking at high school kids. I haven't, but maybe Susie has because, you know, you had Kayla this year that was awesome, did a great job and was a senior, so I don't know. Yeah, my experience has been everything's went very well with communicating and even in the process of Laura, hey, we're getting looked at by GB. I mean, that was, it's funny how that happened. It was an initial letter sent by your mother. GB contacted me about the basketball position and I said, well, if you don't have something for basketball, how about, you know, she's an excellent soccer player, so it goes back to my mentioning before how the high school coaches can really help the kids, but the process with Kayla has been great. I've gotten to know the GB coaches very well and just communicating with other coaches inquiring about some of the other kids has just been totally up front and very honest about what they're looking for and those types of things. I'm going to put you guys on the spot a little bit and I hope I don't make you too uncomfortable with this question, but is there some recruiting that goes on at the high school level? I mean, look down into the grade schools. I really haven't seen a lot of it. You know, I don't know. I haven't seen a lot of it. I think that's more of an issue in the bigger areas in Sheboygan. It's pretty cut and dried. You may be in your more metro areas and may get into that, but I don't see that or be in an issue here in Sheboygan. We talked a little bit about girls basketball camps. I think it was in your segment, Tim. How is the camp business going? Because I know you do run some camps. Is girls basketball in terms of camps in the summertime a pretty big deal? Do girls have a lot of options in that respect? I think it's getting bigger. I remember, like I said back when my daughter was playing there weren't many camps at all. I remember sending her to a camp where there were 10 girls at the camp. Now Todd Decker has a camp. He has over 100 kids. I have a camp. We have over 100 kids. I know you have a camp during the season. In the fall, yeah. In the fall, right before the season. You have a good number of kids, too. I think the options are out there. I think WCSS has some good camps for girls. Okay, we've got about 20 seconds left. I'm going to have you each give an answer here. What's the best part about coaching? Susie, let's start with you. Well, just the relationships with these young ladies, and just to see them developing to come in as girls and develop into young ladies, I should say, and just real proud of them, not only on the basketball court, but the student athletes. I mean, having honor students as well as great basketball players. But I think relationships is probably the one thing for me. I think I agree. How they take it along with them and also see how hard of work they put in it. That's great. And how it turns out. Coming in, thank you. Go out to all of our guests tonight to the crew for the fine job they did. That's going to do it for our segment of Sports Talk. I'm Mike Martin saying thanks for watching, everybody, and we'll see you down the road.