Friday, September 9, 2011

30 DAYS TO A CHAMPIONSHIP: THROUGH THE EYES OF AN ASSISTANT COACH

Coach Jim Boone: Today I'm giving our blog space to our new assistant coach, Ryan Sharbaugh:

Reflecting on my first week as a Bobcat working under Coach Jim Boone gets me very, very excited! The foundation of a championship culture is being laid here each day as Coach teaches our players, “The Bobcat Way”. This team is the epitome of hard work, from the books to the weight room to the hardwood.

I have been very impressed and amazed with the positive energy and electricity that exist throughout Wesleyan; we certainly have a very vibrant and energetic campus life, with over 90% of our students residing on campus – it makes for a true collegiate experience. As well, our faculty and staff, in all departments have been extremely helpful and welcoming to me throughout this entire week.


I have also used this opportunity of being new to campus, to take my meals in our cafeteria. This has been awesome, not just for me to learn more about our students at Wesleyan, but as Coach Boone constantly emphasizes, to work upon building positive relationships with our own basketball student-athletes. And again, what an unbelievable and festive atmosphere along with great, great food!

Above all, I am most impressed with the group of guys that we have inherited and recruited as our own. In a short period of time, they have shown tremendous dedication and commitment to Coach Boone’s winning teaching and coaching – understanding “The Bobcat Way”. Their consistent and hard work approach has blown me away, both in the weight room and in practice. They have been extremely focused and attentive in adjusting to a brand new system of play and have shown great progress in doing so. Our senior captain Reggie Chambers has set a precedent for each player to get better every day in the classroom, weight room, and on the court, and our guys have done great job following his lead. This is truly a unified Team, and it’s only the first week of September. I look forward to continuing our progression at this pace and cannot wait to begin official practice on the 15th of October.

Yesterday, I passed the NCAA recruiting test allowing me to recruit off campus, as per NCAA rules. I am happy to have that behind me, as I have already begun in organizing our fall recruiting efforts. Knowing that we will be losing four potential starting seniors makes this an extremely important year in our recruiting efforts, which is one of my major responsibilities. We already have our eye on several quality student-athletes, great kids who will be representative of West Virginia Wesleyan College and our basketball program, as we continue to build the foundation of a championship culture, on and off the court.

In closing, I feel very blessed to be here at West Virginia Wesleyan, working at a great institution, with an unbelievable campus life, and a tremendous head coach and teacher, in Jim Boone. It has been a very positive experience in all aspects for me this entire week. I am already most comfortable in calling this my home!