Julia O'Connor is a freshman on the NYU women's basketball team. She shared her thoughts in this space throughout the 2011-12 season.
Written February 29, 2012
Although this season was not as successful as we all aspired for it to be, not one of us is leaving with our heads down. We fought in every game, for every possession. We fought together.
Our last road trip up to Brandeis felt so surreal. As we sat around the dining room table at Tana Bertino’s house for diner, it was strange thinking that this was the end. We were losing five core contributing players who were also amazing teammates. We didn’t want to say it out loud but this was the last time we were going to have a team meal together.
The next day, after our game against Brandeis, it was hard to watch our five leaders reach the end of their basketball careers. Even though we were not successful against Brandeis, we still fought as a team and it was crazy to think about how far we had come in just one year.
Seniors, thank you for making this year one we will never forget. We will really miss you all and wish you luck in your futures.
To the rest of the team, time to get ready for next year!
Julia O'Connor is a freshman on the NYU women's basketball team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2011-12 season.
Written February 13, 2012
This season has flown by so quickly! We have three UAA games left and no more trips to the airport.
Last weekend, we were in Cleveland to face Case Western. The night before the game, we went to a NBA game, and saw the hometown Cavs play the Dallas Mavericks. It was a pretty exciting game, and we all enjoyed the opportunity to get out of the hotel and take advantage of the city.
This past weekend we were in Atlanta to play Emory. While there, our team visited the Coca-Cola Museum, which was only six blocks away from the hotel. We watched a 4D movie about a scientist trying to find the secret ingredient of coke and got to taste the different Coca-Cola products from all over the world. It was fun and was a nice way to get our minds off of basketball for a little while before our weekend took off.
When we flew to Rochester we were welcomed by a decent sized snowstorm. It was nothing huge from an East Coast perspective, but big enough to surprise our West Coast-ers. Some snowballs were flung (especially by Melissa Peng, my fellow frosh from San Diego).
Even though the snow was pretty, we are all glad to be back in the city and looking forward to this Friday for our Think Pink game against the University of Chicago. Wish us luck!
Julia O'Connor is a freshman on the NYU women's basketball team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2011-12 season.
Written January 25, 2012
This winter break has gone by in a flash! At first we had to get used to living here without classes (which was awesome), and now we have to adjust back into balancing school and basketball.
But, before I get into that…our break was great! Each day was a mix of basketball and watching “She’s the Man” or random TV shows. Can’t forget the popcorn! Although we did not venture very much into the city, we enjoyed each other’s company and loved having the time to kick back and relax without running to class or putting the last-minute touches on our essays. At the same time, however, the break was a great time to work on our basketball. Because we had so much more free time, we could stay after practice and do some extra shooting or ball handling with the coaches or each other.
Besides practice over our break, we had many games including my very first UAA road trip to Chicago and St. Louis. It was definitely an adventure to go through security with our purple “NYU Athletics” duffle bags! Although our weekend was unsuccessful, we now know what to expect in our upcoming conference games and are looking forward to facing Chicago and especially Washington University at home. However, even though we traveled for the purpose of basketball, we were able to explore Chicago. Whitney Hooper, Melissa Peng and I walked to go see the infamous bean in Millennium Park (through the snow!).
But, now that we are back at home, we have to get ready for our Tear It Up! game this Friday against Carnegie Mellon and our game on Sunday against Case Western.
Julia O'Connor is a freshman on the NYU women's basketball team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2011-12 season.
Written December 15, 2011
The NYU women’s basketball team was successful last Wednesday against Manhattanville College. Our hard work on the court and the weight room paid off and we are headed into our Christmas break (and finals) on a good note. Even though we do not have any team practices due to the variety of finals and tests, we have individual workouts and lifts that need to be executed.
This break from practice is not a break! It is a time to focus on bettering specific aspects of our game. Today, Melissa Peng, Whitney Hooper and I worked out together with our assistant coach Jess. Not only did we do basketball drills, but we did a very fast, intensive lift at the end. Even though the lift was only about 20/30 minutes, the upbeat tempo kept us going and there is nothing like pushing through a hard workout with your teammates.
Even though we have our finals coming up and do not have the longest winter break (since we have practice on the 26
th), I cannot wait to be here over break! We will be able to explore the city while working on our basketball without the stress of classes or homework. I will be able to show my three California teammates my favorite places in the city.
First, I’ll just have to survive my first finals as a college freshman. Then, it’s the subway home for Christmas and then back to Coles.
Happy holidays everyone!
Julia O'Connor is a freshman on the NYU women's basketball team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2011-12 season.
Written December 6, 2011
On the subway ride to Baruch College for our game last Saturday, everyone had one thought in their mind: play to compete. Coach Trompeo the night before sent out a mass team text with this quote: “The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.”
Although my initial response to this text was “or woman, coach,” after reading it a couple times that difference did not seem to matter anymore. What did matter was the actual meaning of the message. The ones who work the hardest will in the end be victorious. We each were called upon to push through the mental and physical ups and downs of the game and strive to compete in every second.
As we walked into Baruch’s gym, we all wanted it. It was the day we would prove we could push ourselves past our individual levels of comfort. As the game began we all felt the energy. The girls on the court were flying. The bench was screaming. The whole gym seemed to be taken our by our sense of pride and encouragement for one another.
Although in the end we did not emerge victorious, we all came together as a team, fought as a team, competed as a team. We found a new level of energy and passion and are carrying this drive into our next game this Wednesday against Manhattanville College on our own home court.
Julia O'Connor is a freshman on the NYU women's basketball team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2011-12 season.
Written November 29, 2011
These past three weeks have been exciting, motivational and hectic. On November 18 and 19 we fought our way to a Championship. On November 23, we competed against our satellite campus in Brooklyn: NYU Poly. We emerged victorious yet again (and carried this positive feeling into our Thanksgiving meals the following day).
Last night, we bussed up to Newburgh, NY, and played Mount St. Mary. Although we were not as lucky as we have been, we played hard and strong: everything was left out on the court. Our record now stands as 4-1, and with an upcoming game this Saturday against Baruch College, we all cannot wait to get another “W” on our record.
After returning to Coles last night, our coaches encouraged us to keep looking forward. Every season has its ups and downs. But, how we can recover from this loss will determine what type of team we are. Our confidence in one another and ourselves can only continue to grow. Together we can be the best.
It is hard to believe that tomorrow will be the start of December! As Coach Trompeo told my teammate Melissa Peng and I last night, 5% of our college basketball career has already passed. I was dumbfounded! I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun.
Julia O'Connor is a freshman on the NYU women's basketball team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2011-12 season.
Written November 9, 2011
Here we go NYU! On Tuesday, the women’s basketball team had an amazing first game, defeating York College 72-49. It was the definition of a team effort. Everybody came ready to play and contributed to the victory.
It is hard to believe that we are starting our season already, since it feels like just yesterday we were beginning our preseason workouts. But, I am so excited that we are! We can only continue working hard and keep moving forward confidently with this victory in our minds and hearts.
Before the game, our coaches and captains gave each of us a Live Strong band with the word “Finish” engraved into it. This not only acted as a reminder before the game, but also will continually give each of us the drive to keep striving for perfection and giving 100% all the time in everything we do.
We have two more practices before our Tip-Off Tournament this Friday and Saturday. We’ll be looking to correct the things we struggled with against York so that we can come out stronger and wiser this weekend.
After practice today we are having a meeting with a nutritionist. Although I myself enjoy a salad every once in a while, I am definitely not a very healthy eater so this could be a much needed wakeup call. We each had to record everything we ate, drank, and how much physical activity we did for the past couple of days in order to give the nutritionist an idea of our eating habits. I am excited to see what she has to say and hopefully get some good advice about pre- and post-workout meals.
We have a busy upcoming couple of days but cannot wait to get started: let’s keep it up ladies!
Being a freshman student-athlete here at NYU is something I have been looking forward to for a year and am so excited that I am finally here! When the Sports Information Office asked our team if anybody would be interested in writing a blog, at first I was hesitant because I have never been a blogger, or even a computer person for that matter. But, I seized the opportunity because I want to spread my excitement and pride about playing for NYU. Throughout this season I will provide an insider’s look into our practices, games and team dynamic.
To give you all an idea about where I come from, I am a born and raised New Yorker from the Upper West Side, which is very different than living downtown in the village! I never realized how much of a city girl I really am until the idea of going to a gated school in the country hit me: no thank you! After I visited NYU, I fell in love with it. It is simply the best of both worlds, an amazing school in a world-renowned city.
We are looking to have a very strong season with five seniors, one junior, three sophomores, and four freshmen. Since the week school started we have been in and out of the weight room and playing pickup as much as we can. Our preseason workouts were demanding, but beneficial. Each one of us has gained so much physical and mental strength thanks to our amazing new strength and conditioning staff! We try to handle every workout with the same positive and motivated mindset that we began this preseason with. But, now we are bringing this same focus to our practices. We are hard at work in our third week of practice.
Our team word for this year is “Finish.” Not only does this embody our goal to finish every drill and workout perfectly, but also encompasses our drive to be 100% every time we are on the court or in the weight room. We strive to be the best we can be in any and every way we can, including off the court.
On Sunday, we realized that all of our hard work has paid off. We had an amazing scrimmage against the University of Scranton. We feel confident and motivated to work for success in our upcoming season.
Our next scrimmage is this Sunday against Moravian College on our home court (the first home scrimmage for us freshmen!). We all cannot wait to begin this basketball season and are entering it with high hopes and expectations. It’s like what we say before and after every practice: “Fight, Focus, FINISH!”
