Tuesday, January 13, 2009

IF YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN...YOU CAN

Loved how Vandy's women's coach Melanie Balcomb got her team ready to play Tennessee this past Sunday.  Instead of telling her players that it was "just another game," Coach Balcomb changed her strategy.

"I talked to some people in the offseason that said, 'It is a big deal.  What are you thinking? You're going to walk into your own gym and have a crowd that's the biggest crowd you're going to get all year.  It's going to look different, it's going to be orange.  They're bigger than any team you play and you better do something different.' "

According to this article, Coach Balcomb "made radical changes in the team's' preparation.  She played UT's fight song over the public address system, had the male students the players practice against wear UT uniforms, and had 'Tennessee' doormats made for the players to step on as they came onto the court."

The result?

Vandy upset the No. 7 Lady Vols, 74-58, for their first win over UT in nearly seven years and broke UT's 16-0 streak over them.

After the game Vols coach Pat Summitt summed it up..."I'm really disappointed in our team," Summitt said.  "I don't want to take a thing away from Vanderbilt.  I thought they did a super job.  They were a lot tougher than us defensively and a lot more aggressive offensively."

4:13

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