Vita's Voice

Senior guard Kavita Goss will be blogging throughout the summer and school year to give an insider's perspective on LMU women's basketball. Check back in regularly to see what Kavita has to share. If you would like to comment on one of Kavita's entries or have a suggestion for a future blog entry, you can email her by clicking here.

February 23, 2010

Hey Lions fans! It's good to be back in California. It was a rough one up in Spokane- we didn't play our best... at all. And you can't really do that against a team like Gonzaga, and what you saw on national TV was the result. I felt like if I was back in the 3rd grade playing against the 6th grade boys- after they frazzled us, they took our lunch money to boot. After that episode we hopped on a plane to Portland where our team really showed some resolve and rallied from a halftime deficit to come back and get the win. We really needed that one- it sets us up for these last two games of conference (and my last games at Gersten!).

While unloading our bags at the curb at PDX, Sarah Silverman (a comedienne) weaved her way through all our traffic. She brushed by Monica, who looked at me (by the way we all LOVE her) and said frantically "that's... uh, uh- hey that's...". I did the only thing I could think of and yelled "I love you! `Jesus is magic'!" I was referring to the title of her stand-up special, of course. She turned around, smiled and waved. That alone made my day. As it turns out, she was on our flight- so while we were checking our bags I politely asked if she would pose for a picture- she happily obliged. Monica then asked her to sign her plane ticket and it reads, "To Monica, keep on poopin! - Sarah Silverman"

In other news, Keith Goss has just set a world record as he recently broke his like, 15th iPhone. No, that's not a joke. 1-5. Fifteen. I don't know how he does it- he's all thumbs when it comes to handling his personal items that he `cares' so much about. I think it's about time he gets a $20 flip phone since he's bound to drop it in the toilet or accidentally toss it out of a window.

Like I said earlier- this week Jenna, Lisa, Maggie and I will be playing our last games in Gersten Pavilion- hope to see you there!

Until next time... GO LIONS!!!

January 27, 2010

Greetings from San Diego!  Today was a busy day starting with class in the morning (for me), practice and weights, and then we bussed down here and had a nice team dinner at P.F. Chang's.  With our stomachs full, we're now all in study hall.  Being a second semester senior, I don't have any work to do (yet)- so I had to choose between watching Harry Potter and writing this blog.  I reasoned that the two hours allotted for study hall wasn't long enough to watch the whole movie, so here I am, typing away. 

Last week we had two close games, starting off with Portland.  With two minutes left down by 12, Monica DeAngelis came off the bench with a hot hand knocking down three triples to help bring us back.  Unfortunately, we ran out of time and the game ended at 94-91, Portland.  But we couldn't let that get us down- we had Gonzaga coming up, and they had just trounced Pepperdine by 40.  So far, the Bulldogs have been winning conference games by an average of 35 points- so our coaching staff stayed up all night to come up with a game plan.  In practice the next day we put in a brand new zone, just for the Zags, which ended up being really effective for us.  That along with some great team basketball made it a very close and exciting game to play (and watch, I'm sure).  Towards the end of the second half, they pulled away and we ended up losing the contest 91-77.  And although we lost, we gave it all we had.  There was no doubt in my mind that every player left it all out on the court, and I'm very proud of the way my team played.  If we can keep playing like we played on Saturday, we will have a very good week.

After the Gonzaga game, my family and I jetted up to Santa Barbara for the UCSB men's basketball game.  During half time, family friend and high school club coach Carrick DeHart was honored as a `Legend of the Dome' as they unveiled a 15-foot banner featuring an action shot of the young DeHart in his playing days.  If you've ever seen Carrick, he looks exactly the same as he did 20 years ago.  He was part of a squad that beat top-ranked UNLV during the 1989-90 season where they beat the eventual NCAA champs 78-70 (Carrick led all scorers with 22 - check out the highlights on YouTube here).  He is in the Hall of Fame and holds a bunch of records, but you would never know that because he is the most humble man I have ever met.  He has so much passion for the game and is always sharing his knowledge with those who are willing to learn.  I would not be where I am without him.  Carrick has been a huge part of my life and I'm so glad that I could be there with him for that moment. 

Today marks Alex Cowling's 20^th birthday- no longer a teenager!  Former Lion Mandy DeCoud had a funny way of starting practice when it was someone's birthday.  In her `Miss DeCoud' voice, she would ask with raised eyebrows, "is today a special day?" as if she was talking to a bunch of six year olds.  So in honor of Mandy, many of us came up to Alex and asked her, "well Alex, is today a special day?"  We had good luck in the Bay during Coach's birthday, so hopefully after last week's battles, we can get a couple of wins this week to even things out. 

I don't know how many of you keep up to date on all the new gadgets that come out, but Apple has come out with a new one called the iPad.  I don't know too much about it, but from what I've seen, it's just a really big iPhone.  My brother Keith, a sucker for anything `elegant' (meaning, anything he thinks that will make him cooler than you) put this as his Facebook status, "I would buy a sack of turd from Steve Jobs... and all he'd have to do is name it iTurd."  Right when I had dried my tears from laughing, his friend suggested that he name it `iPood'.  Funny stuff.

Well study hall is just about over, so send us some good vibes Thursday night and Saturday afternoon!

Until next time... GO LIONS!!!

January 6, 2010
 
Happy New Year everyone!  Due to the whirlwind of the Fall semester ending and our game schedule I took a little break from blogging - I know you all (aka Mom and Dad... ha!) were desperately awaiting the return of Vita's Voice.  We finished 2009 with a `W' against a scrappy Seattle University team and right now we are 7-7.  I know that's not exactly where we'd like to be, but we played some really good teams that challenged us and that will prepare us for conference coming up this week.  Since finals have been over, we have been living the life.  Without having to worry about school, all our focus is on basketball- we eat, sleep, and play ball. 
 
In between games we had a nice little Christmas break where we were all able to go home and spend some time with our families.  My brother Denis graduated and received his MBA right before Christmas so we had a full house at the Goss residence.  It was nice being at home with the fam.  Of course my big brothers show their affection for one another with a little friendly arguing, you know, just to make sure things don't get too quiet. While I was on my four-day break, I saw Avatar with my family and I really, really liked it.  My brother Keith liked it too, but he called it "a three-hour Fern Gully rip-off in 3D".  Although he tends to be a little melodramatic at times, he is kinda right.  But I definitely recommend that you see it! 
 
This year for we had Christmas dinner with our good family friends, the Cassmans.  Alan and Mary Ellen were good friends of my grandparents, and their son Ken and my Dad (also named Ken) were partners in crime back in the day and attended good ol' Westchester high together.  They prepared a lovely dinner, and whenever you put the Gosses and the Cassmans together, it's bound to be a great time.
 
One of the great things about going to school in LA is the weather that we are having right now and how close we are to all the things southern California has to offer.  On one of our days off, Lisa and two of her friends from Arizona came out and we went to Disneyland.  Even though we're all 21 and 22, we felt like giddy 10 year olds.  That's the magic of Disneyland though- no matter how old you are, you're going to have a great time - when you see Mickey you get just as excited as the little girl in a princess dress with mouse ears and a ring of chocolate ice cream around her lips.  We spent the whole day at the theme park going from ride to ride - only stopping for churros and a quick dinner.  It was a very fun trip and we had a blast.
 
Okay back to business now.  We have been prepping all week for our conference opener at Pepperdine.  Nothing like playing against your biggest rival to start WCC play!  It will be a good game- suiting up for the Waves this year is Doris Park-Sherman, my old teammate at Newbury Park High - it should be a fun reunion!  Hope to see you guys in Malibu on Saturday!
 
Until next time... GO LIONS!!!

November 24, 2009

Well here we are  four games into the season already and your Lions are sittin' at .500 with a 2-2 record.  After SMU handed it to us in Texas, your ever so resilient Lions rebounded with a win on the road at Long Beach State.  Last week was our home opener, where turnovers and a much-too-rushed pace gave a scrappy UC Irvine team a win.  It was a wake-up call - not to take anything away from Irvine, but there were a lot of things we could have done that would have won us the game.  After a lengthy but necessary locker room talk, we caught a few Zs and returned to the gym the next day for a very productive practice.  After that we hopped on the bus to Santa Barbara and on Sunday we came to play, and blew out UCSB 65-40 - it was a great team win. 

Although it was a good win, Jessica Vargas went out with an injury in the first half - the UCSB team physician diagnosed her with a torn Achilles tendon.  She had an appointment with the doctor on Tuesday and surgery was scheduled for Wednesday.  Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.  She's one of the toughest people I know, but it breaks my heart to see one of my best friends deal with what may be a season-ending injury.  She's hangin' in there though - that girl somehow manages to turn every crappy situation thrown her way into something positive - and she does it with a smile on her face.  Simply amazing.   

A lot of you may be wondering how the Rhodes interview went... Jess didn't get the Rhodes Scholarship, much to everyone's surprise.  She told me she gave it her very best and she had and awesome, amazing time.  The two scholarships (2 from this region, 32 nationwide) went to a couple of talented young women, one who is an astrophysicist/cross country runner from the US Air Force Academy, the other - I don't remember much (something to do with changing the world for the better,  world peace or something like that) - but she attends UCLA.  Jess said it was an incredible experience and she bonded with all the other candidates - well, everyone except for the kid from Pepperdine.  Ha!  But seriously.  I cannot express how proud I am of my teammate, she is truly an extraordinary person and I know that Jess' resolve and passion for everything she does will unquestionably guarantee success in her future.  No doubt she'll line up something great for next year.  Plus, being a Rhodes Scholar finalist won't look too shabby on her résumé. 

Coming up this week is our annual Thanksgiving Tournament!  So after you stuff yourself silly come out and watch us kickoff the tourney against St. Louis University on Friday, 1pm at Gersten!  Hope to see you there! 

Until next time... GO LIONS!!!

November 12, 2009

Hello from Dallas!  I'm going to try to keep you guys updated every time we hit the road, so everyone can check in and see just what we are up to.  We arrived in Texas last night (but not in time for GLEE...) and checked into our hotel and immediately hit the hay.  I have to say, and I think everyone will agree with me, being on the road is the best.  Like thee best.  1) We don't have to go to class, 2) Paid meals (and Coach takes us to some pretty nice places too), 3) BIG BEDS.  That last point is my personal favorite part of road trips.  After being accustomed to sleeping in twin-sized dorm beds, it's like sleeping on a big cloud - it's heaven! 

Anyways, we had team breakfast at our hotel this morning before we took off for practice at SMU.  We spent a good 2 hours reviewing our offenses and defenses along with going over the scout.  SMU went to the NIT last year and are returning four starters (like us)- they are a good team and it will be a good challenge for us tomorrow.  We grabbed some lunch at Chipotle (one of my favorites) and as of now we are in study hall.  Being the committed student that I am, I already finished my schoolwork before we took off, so I'm writing this edition of Vita's Voice while everyone is hard at work.

After study hall we'll have a nice little break to relax in our hotel rooms before we take off for dinner.  I don't know exactly where we are going, but knowing Coach, it will be somewhere really good.  After that, Coach is taking us to see the new Michael Jackson movie - I've heard it was pretty good and everyone is excited to see it, so we should have a good time tonight.  After that we'll come back to the hotel and get a good nights rest- game day tomorrow!  5:30 pm - stay tuned on GameTracker!

Until next time... GO LIONS!

November 5, 2009

Happy Fall everybody!  Even though summer was supposed to officially end back in September, southern California didn't get the memo until last week.  It's been a chilly 65° for the month of November, and all I can say is thank heaven I don't live on the east coast or somewhere where it actually gets cold during the Fall and Winter seasons.   Anyways, basketball season is officially underway!  Midway through October we had our first official practice.  Usually practice is something that you don't particularly look forward to, but this year it is different.  Everyone arrived at the locker room a bit earlier than necessary, and you could just feel the energy bouncing off the walls of the gym.  Everyone was excited, worked their tails off, and had fun- I can honestly say it was the best first practice that I've had here at LMU. 

Because our first day of practice was a school holiday, we held Madness at Midnight the following week after our first practice - yes, the event marking the beginning of basketball season occurred after the season has already started. Ha!  Nevertheless, it was awesome.  Athletic teams and on-campus dance crews performed their own dance numbers throughout the night while Coach Wilhoit, Coach Good, and the Cowbell Guy rallied the boisterous student body that packed Gersten to encourage them to come out and support our respective teams. Madness is always one of my favorite events because the energy in the gym is electrifying - loud music, loud cheering, rowdy crowd, and it's all for LMU basketball! 

Happy Halloween!

Another event that took place last month was the annual LMU women's basketball pumpkin carving contest.  The teams were split up by class and each had 30 minutes to clean out and carve their pumpkins.  Given that the members of my team were the defending champs, Jess, Lisa, Maggie, Jenna and I knew we had to come up with something spectacular.  We decided to carve out the face of a lion - a task that seemed out of the 30 minute time limit.  But with our arts-and-crafts aficionado Maggie, anything is possible.  Lisa and I made the initial cuts and Jess and Mag followed us with some actual pumpkin carving.  Oh yeah, and Jenna did an amazing job providing light from her cell phone as the sun went down.   The final product was a masterpiece and a direct result of teamwork and some serious jack-o-lantern savvy by your LMU seniors.  Obviously, it was the hands-down winner of the contest. 

Starting this month our women's basketball team in taking part of the LMU Family of Schools College Connection Program at Orville Wright Middle School. We are mentoring a 7^th grade class and we will be visiting them monthly to hold discussions to get them to start thinking about college, setting goals, and the importance of a college education.  At the end of the program the students will spend a day with us to experience a day in the life of an LMU student-athlete.  I think that it's a great way for us to get out in the community to talk to these kids about their future or answer any questions they have about college.  At first some were a bit shy, but who can blame them - remember how awkward Junior High was?  It's a little disheartening to hear some of the kids say that they don't know whether they'll go to college or not, so if we can get one of those students to think differently and more positive about going to college, I think the time spent there will have been worth it.   

I have to take a minute to brag about my roommates now.  Lisa Helmers had been named a Lowe's Senior CLASS top-30 candidate!  In case you were wondering CLASS stands for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School.  Because if it were based on pure class, obviously I would have been the number one choice. (whoa... that's a joke!) All jokes aside, Lisa has truly earned to acknowledgment.  Homegirl has a 3.88 GPA, has amazing leadership skills (she has captained our squad the last two years), a great work ethic, and take it from me, she's an all-around great gal.  She exemplifies everything that a Lowe's Senior CLASS candidate is, and I would love to see her be selected as a finalist.

Next is Jessica Vargas, who was just recently selected as a Rhodes Scholar finalist.  That's right, my roommate, is a Rhodes Scholar FINALIST.  What can I say, I taught her everything she knows.  The Rhodes Scholarship is the oldest international fellowship, and it's one of the most prestigious post grad programs that you can get into (but only if you consider Oxford a `prestigious' university... Ha!).  Only 30 applicants nationwide are accepted into the program, and to be a finalist in itself is a huge honor. If she gets in she will be the first Rhodes Scholar to come out of LMU.  Jess has worked extremely hard over the last four years on and off the court, and there is no one else that deserves it more than her.  She has an interview for the program coming up, so everyone keep her in your thoughts!

I am so proud of both these young women.  Congratulations are definitely in order to Lisa and Jess - my teammates, my roommates, my best friends. Absolutely awesome achievements for the both of them!!!

On a final note, after weeks of intrasquad scrimmages, everyone is stoked to finally play a game against another team.  We start the season off with an exhibition game against Master's College this Friday, followed by our first game on the road at Southern Methodist the next week.  I can't emphasize how excited I am for this season, and it's not just because it's my senior year.  It's this team.  There's something special about this group of girls, so much so that I find myself at times excited just to go to practice - to play with them, learn with them, just be with them.  I hope you all can come to as many games as you can - we have a great shot at winning a championship and I hope you can all be there to experience it.

Until next time... GO LIONS!

October 9, 2009

Hey Lions fans!  Let me get you guys up to speed on what's been going on at good ol' LMU.  Last month former Lion Bronwyn Evans (class of 2008) paid us a surprise visit.  Bronwyn is continuing her education in Oakland at Samuel Merritt University, where she is studying toward a DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy).  She says she enjoys living in the Bay (along with the night life), and that while grad school is tough, it is going well.  I had the privilege of being Bronwyn's teammate for two years, she was very much like a big sister to me so it was really nice to see her and catch up- come back soon Bron!
 
It's hard to believe we're already six weeks into school.  My schedule has been pretty busy as both my Ecology and Biology of Mammals labs love to go the full four-hour time slots that they are allotted.  A few weekends ago I went on a field trip for both these classes to the Alpine Buttes (desert in the middle of nowhere) to study populations and diversity in a desert environment.  At first the scorching heat got to me, but as it cooled down and the evening came, I settled right in.  Dr. Houston, my advisor, came along to give us a mini astronomy lesson with his uber cool telescope fit with GPS.  The GPS allowed us to plug in any star or planet and the telescope automatically tracked it.  It was pretty amazing. 
 
Six weeks into school also means it's time for midterms!  I had all of mine last week and spent plenty of time in our brand-spankin' new library.  The William H. Hannon Library sits right on the Bluff and has spectacular views of the marina.  It's almost impossible to get any work done during sunset.  It's well stocked with all the newest technologies that include touch screen directories at the entrance, numerous workstations equipped with the newest Mac computers, and practice presentation rooms where you can rehearse and video record your presentation.  The new study room walls are made out of whiteboard material so you can mark them up with all your thoughts and notes.  My favorite part of the library however is the café on the first floor that is open all hours of the day and night - so when you need that extra kick at midnight, you can go ahead and get yourself a latte.
 
This year we have a new addition to our coaching staff, Torrey McKnight.  She holds the graduate assistant position and will help out the staff with administrative duties while studying towards a Master's degree in School Counseling. She is a graduate of UCLA, enjoys all sports, and has experience coaching both high school basketball and volleyball. All of us look forward getting to know Torrey better this year. 
 
So that's what's been going on at LMU.  I do have a new favorite T.V. show... GLEE - and I highly recommend that you guys watch it.  It's fantastic and it's funny.  Although my brother Keith has a different opinion: "Don't get sucked in... It's just a re-branded high school musical for adults!!!"  Does High School Musical cover Queen, Beyonce, or Journey? I don't think so.  Trust me, it's waayyy better than HSM. 
 
Last week my Pops took me to the Dodger game where they clinched the NL West.  It was an awesome game to watch except I spent (or should I say, my Dad spent) like $30 on a Dodger Dog and a drink.  My favorite player to watch is Manny, but not because of his offensive ability.  I like watching him when he's out in left field.  He's a spectacle out there with his oversized uniform, or as my old man says, "his pajamas".  It's hilarious to watch him make a dive for a ball that's ten feet too short or jog after one that's been hit his way with a look on his face that says "Well, that's a double".  Don't get me wrong, I love Manny Ramirez, it's just funny to think that my brother Keith who quit at T-ball could probably do better out in left field.  But the Doyers are ahead of St. Louis in the series, 2-0!  Can't complain about that- Think Blue!
 
Until next time... GO LIONS!

September 3, 2009

Welcome back!  Though I didn't hear much from you over the break, I'm betting that all the `Vita's Voice' devotees out there were lost without their favorite blog for the last month.  I'll start off with the events of the last week of summer school.  As always, we ended the session with the LMU Girls Basketball camp, which proved to be a challenging, yet fun task.  It's amazing how much energy those young girls have.  After four days of pleading and begging, I finally gave in and went in the pool with the campers on Friday.  Big mistake.  Well, going in the deep end was the mistake.  As soon as my toes touched the water, I had about four of five girls climbing all over me and I was fighting for my life trying to keep my head above the water (I'm exaggerating a little of course).  I'm sure the other counselors supervising poolside had a good laugh, but after I got out of that mess I stayed in the shallow end where I could safely stand without fear of drowning.

When I was telling my parents about this particular episode my Mom said "Don't you remember going to camp and bonding with your counselors like that?" To which I replied "Well, yeah- but I never went to pool time.  I always stayed in the gym to shoot."  But that's just me. J   My loving Mother reminded me how much of an impact that I could make on these young ladies.  And boy, whether you realize it or not, it is so true.  I remember when I was about 9 or so, I went to a camp (a rival school's camp, which I won't name...) where Duke standout Nicole Erickson was a counselor.  I remember talking and hanging out with her all week and she told me that if I put in the work, one day I could play college basketball.  I've been working hard ever since.

After camp, I had a nice `break' at home for three weeks.  While continuing the daily workouts on my own, I spent time at our family's beach house at Silverstrand Beach.  We enjoyed the company of family and friends, highlighted by brother Denis' return from London.  One of my Dad's Westchester High buddies- the adoring Rudy Pakes, his wife Mary, their daughter Rachelle, and their four-year-old granddaughter Nya came down from Tahoe to visit us.  Needless to say young Nya stole my heart and we became best friends.  We bonded over spending time at the beach, watching her favorite movie `Hannah Tana' and coloring in Disney princess magic marker books.  It was sad to say goodbye to them, but Uncle Rudy is a big supporter of the LMU Lions and regularly attends the Bay area games- so I'm am looking forward to seeing the Pakes come WCC play!

LMU alums Chris and Kristie Bowers along with their two kids Christian and Alexis also visited us.  They were already staying at a nearby Ventura beach and came over for the evening where we barbequed, chatted, and cranked out homemade ice cream (a Goss family tradition)- we had a great time.  The Bowers are past residents of Flagstaff and know Jessica Vargas' family very well.  Over the past 3 years, they have gone above and beyond to make the Lions feel like family  We often joke that we are their adopted kids, but they are without a doubt a huge blessing.  The Bowers are truly a gem in the Westchester neighborhood, and many of us love them like family. 
 
And that was my wonderful break at home.  Now it's back to the grind and we're almost through with the first week of school.  So far workouts have been really great- tough, but great.  We have a new Strength Coach, Bobby Harmston (Ciara is still assisting).  He is awesome - right now we are learning all the technical aspects of various Olympic lifts.  There are many different parts to each lift so he is breaking it down for us step-by-step.  We are practicing with PVC pipes, which may sound wimpy, but believe me- it is far from it.  Coach Bobby doesn't play around so before we add the weight, we are repping these exercises to death so we get the technique down and don't injure ourselves.  He really knows his stuff and I can't wait to work with him for the rest of the year.  NCAA rules only allow the Coaches to work with us in groups of four for 2 hours a week.  These workouts focus on each group's set of skills - honing the strong ones and improving the weaker ones.  So far from the feedback I've heard, everyone is keeping their nose to the grindstone.  It's only the beginning of pre-season, but I am stoked for my senior year- it should be a great one!

 Until next time... GO LIONS!!!

July 28, 2009
 
Greetings avid readers!  I was happy to hear from those of you who e-mailed me.  Mary Ellen Cassman, a prominent figure in the Westchester community and a very dear friend of my late grandparents sent this in:
 
"This oldster - who never played BB - would try cartwheels to distract Obama.  Surely he would miss his shots.  When in doubt, contrive."
 
While Mrs. Cassman may call herself an "oldster", she hardly has the spirit of one. J 
 
After mentioning Denis in the last few blogs, my other brother Keith, the oldest of the trio, was feeling a bit neglected.  So much in fact that he posted a link on his Facebook profile to this page with the comment, "Kavita! Put me in your blog!!!!".  I told him he would actually have to hang out with me so I can write about it.  He thus bought his way on here by taking me to see Harry Potter, which was an offer I couldn't refuse.  All jokes aside, we had a great time.  He's been living under a rock so he was taken by surprise at the end of the film.  I won't give it away to all you Muggles who haven't seen it yet- I would hate to be the one to spoil it!
 
The coaches are in and out of the office this week for the final stretch of the summer tournaments and have left me a few odd jobs to complete in their absence.  One of them I had mentioned before- converting old VHS game tapes to DVD format.  My first task was to first figure out how to get the recorder to work.  The remote broke last week so we had to bring out an older DVD/VHS player off the bench to do the job.  Apparently the staff never figured out how to use it, so it was my responsibility to figure out how to get it to work.  After looking at the thing for like five seconds, I saw a `DUB to DVD' button and pushed it and... voilà!  What can I say, I'm a genius.
 
Good news for former LMU 3-point extraordinaire Amanda Patton - the WCC has announced that the conference tournament will be held in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena through 2012. We'll do our best to ensure that Amanda and the rest of our loyal fans enjoy a nice long stay through the championship game. 
 
Today's last word comes from Denis Snow, my Old Man's best bud and my brother Denis' Godfather/namesake:
 
"BTW, I must take issue with you referring to your Dad as the "Beach Bum." That is soooo waaaay disrespectful man! In my book, he's the, "Big Kahuna", or at least, "The Kahuna", or at the very least, "The Beach Dude" as in "The Dude" in the movie The Big Lebowski, which I'm sure you've seen (or maybe slept thru) at least once or twice since I know the CD is at the beach house.
Had to say my piece man... lol
-Uncle "moon-doggie" Denis"
 
My apologies to both these Beach Bu- err, I mean Beach Dudes.  I've never really seen my Dad as a White Russian kind of guy, but if you say so, then I guess `the Dude abides'. Ha!

July 21, 2009

Bonjour fans de Lions!  I hope everyone is enjoying the month of July and soaking up the sun as much as I am.  Last Friday Jessica, Maggie, Courtney, Camille and myself made our way down to El Porto, a nearby beach in Manhattan where we enjoyed the warm weather, played some Frisbee and took a dip or two in that warm South Bay water - a great way to start the weekend.  I guess I could bore you with how amazingly AWESOME Harry Potter was, but I'll just tell you to go and see it for yourself.  You won't be disappointed.  Unless you're my brother who was less than satisfied by the ending - and to that I say dear brother, you can't fit everything in a movie (especially one that is already two and a half hours).  Anyway, just go see it.  

Besides all that, things are going well.  I hit a minor snag in the road last week when I strained my quad while running some sprints.  Joe, our team's athletic trainer, has me on a schedule to check in with him throughout the day so I can heal properly.  I've had to sit out of some workouts, which is a bit frustrating, but I guess it's better than getting injured in the middle of season, right? 

After the coaches spent a few days regaining their strength and energy during the `dead period', they are right back to the grind this week.  They are doing a fantastic job this summer, per NCAA rules I can't say much, but just know they are getting the job done.

So while shooting the breeze with the Beach Bum this weekend, he came up with a great idea for me to write about.  He suggested that I ask for everyone's game strategy if they played Barack Obama one-on-one.  My old man came up with a classic answer saying that he would use his signature Charles Barkley keister to back down the Commander in Chief and score all his points in the paint.  Ha! He's always good for a laugh.  Coach Flanny said she'd muscle him out, which I have no doubt she would.  No one messes with Flanny.  Coach Brian (with a smirk on his face, of course) said that he would keep the President on the outside and make him "earn his shot"...  I don't know B-Ro, I hear Obama has quite the jumper.  Coach Z had a similar answer to my Pop's - first on defense she would keep the scrawny lefty to his right, and on O back him down so she could use a signature MZ post move. 

Coach Wilhoit is on a plane right now so we were texting back and forth earlier about her strategy.  In classic Julie A. Wilhoit style, her answer extended over more than a few text messages that would have fit better in a e-mail.J  I wouldn't do it justice by paraphrasing it so here is her answer in its entirety:

"For me he will never believe my outside shot will go in and after I hit 3 or 4 J's he will finally come and guard me - then I will expose his weak lateral movement by just driving by him and relying to my fade away J.  Defensively, I will guard him very physically - he will not like it and will only take J's on me - and he is not capable of beating me with an outside game. Kavita I am serious. Tell Obama to bring it on- there is no way." 

And there you have it folks.  Of course Coach was having a good laugh with it as well, but never underestimate that woman's competitive drive.  It's quite remarkable.

In the style of T.J. Simers, today's last word comes from Lisa Helmers, captain of the LMU women's basketball team.  This is what she wrote on my Facebook wall a few days ago:

"WOOOOW - just stumbled across Vita's Voice - by far the best blog on the internet these days. Keep up the hard work intern :) P.S. you can put that in the "what people are saying about the Blog" section or "Blog Reviews". Hahaha."

Glad to know my parents aren't the only ones reading this thing. If there are more of you out there, I would love to hear your feedback.  Or, if you have a good game plan for one-on-one with Barack, I would love to hear that too.  Just click on the link at the top of the page to e-mail me.

July 14, 2009

Greetings Lions fans!  Not too much exciting news since the last entry, but I'll give you guys a few updates on what's been going on so far this week at LMU.  We have a beautiful new gym floor in Gersten that looks and feels great.  I liked the old floor, but apparently there were problems with the foundation. In the spring it was all was torn up, and the new gym floor was completed about a month ago.  The new foundation is supposed to have a new technology that helps prevent injuries- so far so good!  Since the Kobe Camp has vacated campus, we are very glad to have our gym back!  This means that open gym will resume- which usually means we get to see and play LMU alums which always proves to be a good time.  Hope to see you guys there!

This week in the office I began converting old game tapes to DVD format- it may sound a bit dull but it looks like there are some good games in the stack, and every now and then I see a play that one of the Ziemann twins make that either amazes me or makes me laugh.  It's good stuff.  The coaches are still out recruiting, but towards the end of the week they will come back for the "dead period", which lasts for about a week.  During the dead period the coaches get to enjoy a well deserved and much needed rest before they take off to watch the remainder of the summer tournaments.

For me personally, this is a very exciting week.  I'm a pretty big Harry Potter fan and the sixth movie in the series is coming out tomorrow!  Jessica Vargas, (fellow Harry Potter nut/nerd in general) Mel Ysaguirre, and myself have already bought our tickets and are planning to go tomorrow night.  My brother Denis (who is in London getting his MBA in International Business) is seeing the midnight show across the pond, which means he's probably watching it right now.  When I told my father I was going to see the movie, he amusingly asked if I was going to go dressed as Gandalf.  That ol' beach bum has quite a sense of humor.

Until next time... GO LIONS!

July 10, 2009

Hey Lions fans!  My name is Kavita Goss and I will be a senior on the LMU women's basketball team this year.  As of last week, the whole team (sans Lauren Wilkins, who's at home in Portland, Oregon) is here on campus for the second session of summer school.  While the  youngsters are studying hard and taking classes, the upperclassmen are keeping busy doing internships at various companies near or at LMU.  I happen to be conveniently working in the women's basketball office (I have connections) where I assist the coaches in miscellaneous office tasks along with working with the Scoutware program, and keeping this weekly blog.  

While the coaches have been away this week recruiting, the team has been hard at work.  We workout together every morning at 7 am where we lift weights, work on our quickness and agility, and of course cultivate our skills on the court with a dizzying amount of drills that our coaches bestowed upon us in the spring.  Being the young and able Division 1 athletes that we are, we're are able to complete these exercises within a few hours before we take off for work or study hall.  It is safe to say that everyone is putting in a lot of effort and working very hard.  The coaches are putting in countless hours and tons of energy this summer to find the next members of this team, and the girls and I are getting our butts kicked (in a good way) by Coach Ciara, our strength and conditioning coach.  

While so far I've talked about all work and no play, we here at LMU are enjoying our summer.  For the Fourth of July the team escaped to Melanie Ysaguirre's aunt's "loft" in Santa Monica.  It was a beautiful two-story apartment near 3rd Street Promenade with great views of the beach and city.  Mel's parents Francis and Rita cooked us up a fantastic lunch, and the team was able to relax and enjoy each other's company for the day.  Being the daughter of my father, the beach bum, I like to get to the beach whenever I have spare time.  The weather here in Westchester this week has been gorgeous, with the water being in the high 60s/low 70s, so I'm definitely enjoying my summer.  We have a few upcoming birthday- Camille Buckley, the newest member of our squad becomes a legal adult as she turns 18 on Friday the 10th.  Renahy Young leaves her teen years behind and turns 20 on Monday, July 13.  A very happy birthday to these two awesome young ladies!

Speaking of new members of our team, joining Camille is Courtney Collishaw, a very able guard who transfered in this year.  This summer I am rooming with the two and I am having a blast getting to know them.  Both have no problem with the elbow grease it takes to be a Lion and are fitting in great at LMU.  Like all newcomers, they are adjusting to the new workouts- Courtney says that "the workouts keep you honest".  Very true words spoken from a smart girl :)

Needless to say, everyone is pumped about this season.  We graduated only one senior- Cassady Moore who is off to Germany to play in the pros! Congrats Cassy! Returning to the hardwood healthy this year are Jenna Sybesma and Monica DeAngelis- two great players who will no doubt make this years team just that much more exciting to watch. 

Until next week... GO LIONS!

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