Underclassmen Underrated

Numbers look like trouble for the Gordon women's basketball team as it prepares for the winter season. The roster lists just eight players, zero seniors and only one junior.  Coach Julie Brown sees the upcoming season as a challenge, but does not loose heart over the young team.  Though small in numbers and experience, the women’s basketball team, according to Brown, “Has huge potential.”

Coach Brown, a 46-year-old former division I Basketball coach at Florida State University, came to Gordon to coach the women’s team last year.  When she arrived in July of 2010, she had just three returning girls on the roster, plus few seniors planned on returning after quitting two years prior, because they didn’t want to play for the previous coach.  The team needed some help and Coach Brown was ready for the challenge.

“I love building something,” said Brown, “I love all of it: the game, the players, the coaches, the strategies; it’s like a giant puzzle.”

Just days into practices, the mainly freshman and sophomore team is just beginning to gel.  When asked what strengths and weaknesses the team anticipates for the year, Coach Brown couldn’t give a definite answer.

“I’m still learning my team,” she said. “It’s going to be a different game than last year, with different goals and strategies.  We need to take it one day at a time, focusing on being one percent better than yesterday. It’s going to be a challenge, but we need to focus on now.”

Coach Brown said that adjusting to college ball is tough for a young team because it’s so different from high school.  She said that it is emotionally and mentally more draining, the players are bigger and faster and it takes a lot more work. 

After spending the majority of the 2010-2011 season on the bench due to multiple injuries, 20-year-old Laura Cande ‘13, the sole returning upperclassman contemplated not coming back for the 2011-2012 season.  However, love of the game kept her from giving up. 

“I personally chose to come back because I adore the game of basketball and because I love Gordon Women’s Basketball,” said Cande.  “I love my teammates and they are my family. To be honest, the thought of leaving the team because of the potential for adversity and the challenges that could happen this season didn’t even cross my mind.”

Coach Brown values Cande as the oldest player, recognizing her leadership and experience.  Cande also sees this as an opportunity to influence the underclassmen on the team.

“I see my role as one of quiet leadership,” she said.  “I do have a responsibility as the oldest member of the team to be a strong and consistent example to my younger teammates.  That means encouraging them on and off the court, being available for conversations and playing as well and hard as I can consistently.”

The women’s basketball team has been preparing for their season since September 1^st.  On and off the court they have been engaging in drills, games and devotions together.  Over quad break Coach Brown took the women to New Hampshire for a retreat in order to plan, strategize and bond. 

Cande said the retreat helped the team set goals and commit to them together. “We also grew a lot closer as a team,” she said.

The women’s basketball team may seem to have some disadvantages, but this does not seem to faze Coach Brown or Cande.

“People are going to write us off and think that they can walk all over us,” said Cande.  “If we work hard and come every day with the mentality to get better, I think we will surprise a whole lot of people.”

Elements of Journalism

"The newspaper was not only part of the community but also in a very concrete way was a place for the community to gather and talk." (pg. 171)   Journalism is so important for a community in so many ways!

"Independence from faction suggests there is a way to be a journalist without either denying the influence of personal experience or being hostage to it." (pg. 134)  The journalist must see the situation from all angles AND have an interest/passion in the subject, caring about it.

Tea by the Sea

Pleasant Street Tea Co. & Coffee Bar aims to please each customer who enters.  This hidden gem, located on the north shore of historic downtown Gloucester, is a great place to get off the Grapevine and try a taste of the local flavor.

Downtown Gloucester hosts a variety of cafes, shops and restaurants to choose from, attracting tourists and locals alike.  When Pleasant Street Tea Co. opened four years ago, they immediately attracted local visitors, who discovered the ambiance and fare to be charming.  Gordon student from Gloucester, Abby Quinn ’15, remembers the opening of this café and still visits often.

“I love to go there,” she said. “When it first opened, no one knew about it.  It was so great to go to a quiet little café.  Now it is so popular; everyone loves the place!  It’s still the best.” 

Owners and operators, Allison and Glenn Varga, first decided to open the café simply because they loved tea and the local people.  They and their two young daughters love calling Gloucester their home.  The welcoming vibe of the Pleasant Street Tea Co. is enhanced by the joy with which the owners run the place. 

The atmosphere within the café is warm and inviting.  Offering comfortable couches, window-side café tables and plenty of space, the Pleasant Street Tea Co. has a homey feel to it.  Whether setting up camp in the cozy café with a book, journal or laptop, customers agree that this is the perfect place to pass the time. 

Serving over 100 varieties of teas from around the world, coffee beverages, soups, sandwiches, pastries and other treats, this café is sure to suit anyone’s tastes.  Unique menu options include the Baked Brie, Apple and Cinnamon-Strawberry Jam Panini, the Ham and Cheddar Croissant with Kadota Fig Mustard and Romano Cheese and Truffle Popcorn.  Specialty teas are constantly featured, including their famous seasonal drinks: Pumpkin Spice Chai and Mulled Cider. 

Bethany Schundler, an elementary and special education major from Gordon’s class of ’13 plans to make this café a regular stop after her weekly church service at East Gloucester Community Church.

“This is the cutest café with the most amazing food!” she said.  “I need to bring my family here next time they come, they’ll love it.” 

Less than 15 minutes from Gordon’s campus, the Pleasant Street Tea Co. & Coffee Bar, open seven says a week, offers college students a chance to study or simply get off campus for a break.  Harbor side scenery compliments the interaction with the local staff and customers at the corner of Pleasant Street in downtown Gloucester.

“Who needs Panera?” said Schundler, “This is my new favorite place.”

Tom Lake

Having Tom Lake, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, in our class and interacting with us was a really special experience for me.  I was so encouraged to hear his testimonies of how he progressed to his position at SI. It wasn't magic.  I learned from him that it takes a lot of hard work and curiosity.  You need to have a passion for journalism in order to be good at it.  As I listened to him speak with us, my passion and determination to find great stories and uncover them was growing deeper and deeper.  I learned that it doesn't also end well.  Not every story is going to be used but it's always worth pursuing your interests.  If you are curious about something, find out more about it!  Tom talked about listening to the "tingle."  When he asked us to remember and write about something that really made us tingle, I realized that there are many stories to be told, I just need to be aware of what's going on around me and go after it!

Scots On The Sideline

Gordon men’s soccer team began their 2011 fall season full of strong returners and promising new talent.  With one-third of the season gone, 11 players are currently out due to injuries or illness, including 9 starters, forcing Coach Jake DeClute to dress goalkeepers, the team manager and even players previously cut from the team.

Concussions, strains, broken bones, torn ligaments, pulled muscles and mono are some of the ailments that have come upon the Fighting Scots within the last few weeks. 

“To have so many injuries in a team is a tricky situation,” said DeClute.

The injuries began for the team during their mission trip to Brazil late in the summer. 

“They have been dropping left and right ever since,” said DuClute. 

Travis Masters ’12, Ryan Daley ’13, and John Mulligan ’14 each have been benched due to concussions.  Ryan Coil ’13 broke his fibula during last week’s Wentworth game, ending his 2011 season. Elton Chingapa ’15 is out for the season with a fractured tibia and a torn ACL, while Evan Crocker ’15 is currently suffering from mono.  Andy Guthrie ’15 has a strained spine and Noah McGarr ‘12, who sat for most of last season due to a shattered patella, injured ligaments in his foot during preseason.  Although McGarr is now on the field, he is still slowly recovering.  Strains, pulls and other minor injuries keep a handful of others.

“It’s been difficult,” said Daley, “but you have to love the struggle. Injuries are a part of the game. That's just how it goes sometimes.”

In the meantime, DeClute has recruited from outside the program, including basketball player, Jonathan Himottu ’12.  Although he hasn’t been on the soccer field since high school, Himottu willingly joined the practice field.

“It was fun.  They're a great group of guys and it was great to help out the team any way I could,” said Himottu.

The team manager, Nick White ’13, was brought in to play against the 5^th rated team in the country, Amherst.  DeClute has also invited back 3 players whom he originally cut at the start of the year.  As daunting as the season might seem, DeClute does not loose hope.

“We had really high and lofty goals at the front end of the season,” he said, “so to have really high expectations, and then to be crippled with injuries, it hurts.  But the truth of the matter is that all of this is out of our control.”

DeClute said he tries to make sure the team remains positive and focused.

“The things we can control are our attitude, our work ethic, and our purpose,” said DeClute.  “Our attitude has to be to pull together tighter and push ahead.  Everyday we have to make a decision whether we are going to help each other or splinter and turn away.  Our work ethic has to be to work as hard as we possibly can, whoever is playing.  And our purpose is that God would be honored and glorified, whatever happens.  We can do these three things…no matter whom is playing on the field for us.”

DeClute acknowledges it’s been a rough season. 

“It’s a good wake up call for us as men, to be quite honest,” he said.  “If we push thru this time, we will be better for it, whatever record we have.”