(Class of 2014)
Once again we have been blessed with an incredible class of freshmen, Anicia Dotson, Margaret Spaulding, Kirklin Kirkpatrick and Erin Bratcher. Like most fall semesters, the fear and anxiety of the freshmen year causes homesickness and bouts of tears, but the great part of being a collegiate student-athlete is that you already have an inherent family on campus from the very beginning. Our affable upperclassmen have been very hospitable in welcoming our newcomers to the family.
With a swift introduction to college, we have overloaded our freshmen calendars with full class loads, even some night classes, early morning conditioning on the track and in the gym, strength training with Coach Tobi Jacobi, treatments with Tuesday Patterson, laundry duties, individual skill development with our staff, chapel, study hall, hosting recruits, etc. Their organizational skills and collective teamwork have enable them to handle all of their responsibilities so far.
After completing their fifth week of college(yea!), our freshmen class enlightened me on their perspective on “life as a freshmen basketball player” at Charleston Southern. The consensus was that CSU basically “rocks” especially the women’s basketball team. Anicia does miss her momma, while Kirklin misses her whole family and the family dog. Margaret misses face to face conversations with her family as well as her boyfriend. Erin actually spent the month of June with us so she has not been quite as homesick as the others but she does miss her high school friends and her family.
The freshmen acknowledged that time management has been the most difficult transition from high school to college. Staying organized with class assignments, team workouts, and meetings, while having to do laundry and run personal errands without the help of their parents, occupies most of their time. Taking an accelerated night class has been a new challenge for Kirklin and Margaret, however they agreed it has been a great investment since the class will be completed about the same time basketball practices begin. Though their free time is sparse, this group has enjoyed eating in historic downtown Charleston, shopping at the outlet mall, and hanging out at the beach. Everyone has preconceived notions about beginning new chapters in their lives, especially something as monumental as starting college. Some of those thoughts have been dispelled since the freshmen became residents at CSU. Besides the pleasant surprise that the cafeteria food is really good, Anicia believes that her classes are much better than she anticipated. While Erin and Kirklin are really pleased with how well they are getting along as not only teammates, but also roommates, the personable and caring attitudes of the professors has been very appreciated by Margaret. The group all agreed that the upperclassman have made the adjustment to a new team very easy.
When asked about the best and the worst parts about college, the players commented on only two items that they deemed negative, which were study hall and missing loved ones. The extensive list of positives included awesome teammates, genuine Christian atmosphere on campus as well as in our locker room, beaches, challenging basketball workouts that make you feel good about the work you are investing, friendly professors, and a team that is all on the same page and focused on working together and winning together.
I love these ladies and am so excited to be their head coach and am anxious for our fans and the CSU community to embrace them and support them as they represent their families, CSU, and God on the court this season. GO BUCS!
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