Coe College Men s Basketball Newsletter Oct. 2013 Issue KOHAWK CORNER Greetings from Coe College Basketball office and what a great day it is to be a Kohawk! During this pre-season the players have been working vigorously to get ready for the upcoming season. They have been putting countless hours in getting faster, stronger and more skilled and we are excited about what we have seen so far this pre-season. The culture of our program is in a great place yet our players and coaches know that we must continue to work at improving and strengthening our culture daily in order to maximize our collective talents. Coe Basketball will continue to strive for excellence in the classroom, on the court, and in our community. In the month of October the men s basketball team will be volunteering it s time to help out at the local Habitat for Humanity Restore. We will also once again be participating in America Reads Day, in which players and coaches will take part in a celebration of reading at our local elementary schools. Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play. Mike Singletary Last week marked our annual Iron Man competition where our players are tested on ten strength and conditioning events in a competitive format. I was very happy with our collective results as many players set new personal records and showed improvement from years past. We are fortunate to have the best Strength Coach in the Iowa Conference in Matt Walter! We now turn our attention to the start of our 2013-14 journey with practices starting Tuesday, October 15th. We are anxious to get to work and to build upon our systems of play. You can expect to see a team that is committed to playing tough team defense in the half court, as well as trying to control the tempo by using some full court pressure. We want to aggressively attack in transition and take the fight to the defense with our offensive style of play. We will place a high emphasis on playing Aggressive, Unselfish, and Disciplined basketball on both sides of the ball. We play one of the toughest schedules in all of Division 3 again this year and know it will help prepare us for conference play. We hope you will come out and support the Kohawks at Eby! IT S A GREAT DAY TO BE A KOHAWK! FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @CoeCollegeHoops and @CoeCoachMartin
Kohawk Sport Desk YOUNG AND HUNGRY TO PROVE THEMSELVES With the start of practice a mere week away the men s basketball coaching staff is excited and anxious to see what the upcoming season will bring. With the graduation of David Mataloni, Garrett Cross, Nathan Joens and Seth Light, who all experienced great basketball careers at Coe, the Kohawks will be younger than in years past. However this does not change the goals and expectations within the program. The Kohawks return two starters and eight letter winners from last year s team and the coaching staff believes that this year s team is deeper than in years past. Andrew Wirth and Conor Bernhard, the two lone seniors on this year s team, will help anchor and guide this younger Kohawk team early in the season as some of the younger players gain experience. The Coe coaching staff also feels there will be strong competition at each position, which in turn will help push everyone in the program to get better on a daily basis. PLAY THE BEST TO BE THE BEST Michigan State, Butler, and Gonzaga are all men s basketball programs that have something in common. They all believe you need to play the best to be the best. Well this is something the Coe College men s basketball team also believes and has put into action. This upcoming season the Kohawks will be tested early and often by some of the best teams in the country. The challenges will begin just 10 days into the basketball season as Coe will play in its first scrimmage against Kirkwood College, a nationally ranked junior college. The competition on gets more extreme a few weeks later when Coe will play an exhibition game against the University of Northern Iowa. Even though Coe s first two games will not count on their regular season record it should help them prepare for the road to come. In the first game of the regular season, the Kohawks will continue the longest rivalry this side of the Mississippi as they will play host to a veteran Cornell College team. This is game is always a slugfest and will prove to be a challenge once again as the Rams return 10 upperclassman, all 5 starters and 85% of their scoring from last years team. Opening week will not get any easier for Coe as they play host to two CCIW opponents (Illinois Wesleyan and Millikin). Illinois Wesleyan, rated preseason #3 in the country by some sources, are coming off a conference championship and last season went on to play in the elite eight of last year s Division III NCAA tournament. Coe looks to get some redemption after falling to Wesleyan in last season s opener 52 to 51 on the road. This too will prove to be a battle as the Titan s return 4 starters from last year s squad and are welcoming in a NCAA Division I transfer. This season s non-conference schedule should get the Kohawks ready for what will be a real balanced year again in the Iowa Conference. In their non-conference schedule Coe will face three Division III opponents that are coming off conference championships. They will also face two NAIA opponents (Mt. Mercy and Clarke). Mt. Mercy is coming off a 26 game winning season and an NAIA National Tournament appearance. Though the road will be challenging I have been assured the team embraces the competition and realizes to be the best you have to play the best.
News and Events 2013 Tip Off Dinner On Saturday, October 26th, 2013 the Coe Men s Basketball team will be having their annual Tip-Off Dinner and Silent Auction in Gage me morial Union at Coe College. This dinner serves as the men s basketball team s yearly fundraiser, with all the proceeds from the evening going directly to the men s basketball team. The evening will begin with a social hour, full of appetizers and an assortment of beverages, including beer and wine. Throughout the social hour we will be having our silent auction. Some items of the past have in cluded a cruise, college and professional game tickets, numerous golf outings and much, much more. The social hour and silent auction will be followed by an all you can eat buffet dinner. Throughout the evening guest will be awarded numerous cool door prizes. Our Kohawk Program presentation will include an overview of our team, style of play and outlook of the upcoming season. We are also fortunate to have Tony DiCecco, former UNI head women s basketball coach, as our keynote speaker. Other campus events that weekend include our first scrimmage vs. Kirkwood College on Friday night at 7:00 pm in Eby Fieldhouse. On Saturday October 26th feel free to stop in at 10:30 am and watch our open practice and then head over to the football field at 1:00 pm to catch the Kohawk football team play Simpson College. Please email Coach Bryan Martin at bmartin@coe.edu if you are interested in attending, everyone is welcome. If you can not make it to this year s dinner but would like to help support the men s basketball team we are still looking for Silent Auction items and door prizes. Hope to see you there and we are so fortunate for the Kohawk support. DRILL OF THE MONTH 4 Up Shooting 2 or 3 people per team - 1 ball 2 teams per basket. Shoot from whatever spots you choose. First player shoots and gets his own rebound and throw it to his teammate. If team 1 shoots and misses and then Team 2 shoots and makes it...team 2 would then call out 1 Up, because they have made 1 more shot than the other team.the first team who gets ahead of the other team by 4 made shots wins the drill.
The Kohawk Family KEVIN GASTER ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Grad Year: 2006 Current Profession: Social Science Teacher and Head Varsity Boys Basketball Coach @ West Branch High School Major at Coe: Psychology What are your favorite Coe memories/experiences? One of my favorite memories at Coe was traveling with the basketball team on all our trips. The experiences I had through participation in the Coe College Basketball program had a huge effect on me and gave me the tools/life skills to be successful in my career. My favorite memories involved traveling to Greece my junior year and Hawaii my freshmen year. As a social science teacher I also teach history. I have be able to convey experiences on the USS Missouri, Pearl Harbor, and Ancient Greek Civilizations to my students. How did Coe prepare you to successfully transition into your career? Coe prepared me for the demands of my career in all areas. Knowledge on content through mindful direction from many different department professors. My certification/teacher subject areas include Psychology, US History, World History, and Math. Skills in my career that I gained through Coe would be my ability to be a reflective and motivational teacher. How do you believe fellow Coe basketball alums can continue to impact Coe and the basketball program? Continue to come back and support at basketball camps, make guest visits on pregames or practice visits. Continues the importance of wearing a Coe Basketball Jersey. PLAYER PROFILE Year: Junior Major: Biochemistry Brian Wadsworth Favorite food: Popcorn Favorite Type of Music: Country Favorite Team: Chicago Bulls Favorite Thing about Coe: The campus atmosphere and people that go and work here. Coe has really become my home away from home. Why Coe: Coe has an excellent reputation in chemistry and the sciences. Also, Coe being in Metropolitan Cedar Rapids presented unlimited amounts of possibilities for me, even as an undergraduate student. Something people don t know about me: Even though I am pursuing a degree in biochemistry, I have always had a life-long ambition to be a firefighter. Best Coe experience so far: Opportunity to research Germanium hyper-coordinate compounds as a sophomore, or the May Term/study abroad trip I took to Germany and Poland to study Holocaust Memorialization. Where do I see myself in 5 years: Five years from now, I see myself getting out of medical school and pursuing a professional medical position. At this point, I am aspiring to be a pediatrician.
Bleed Crimson, Win Gold! 2013-2014 SCHEDULE KOHAWKS FLY TOGETHER Day Time Opponent Location November 19 7:00 PM vs. Cornell College Cedar Rapids, Iowa 22 6:00 PM vs. Illinois Wesleyan Cedar Rapids, Iowa 23 7:00 PM vs. Millikin University Cedar Rapids, Iowa December 1 2:00 PM @ Northland College Ashland, Wis. 7 1:00 PM vs. Mt. Mercy University Cedar Rapids, Iowa 15 3:00 PM @ Washington University St. Louis Mo. 19 7:00 PM @ Bethany Luthern College Mankato, Minn. 22 2:00 PM @ Monmouth Monmouth, Ill. Coaches vs. Cancer Classic (Mount Mercy University host site) 28 vs. Westminster Cedar Rapids, Iowa 29 vs. TBA Cedar Rapids, Iowa January * 4 4:00 PM @ Clarke University Dubuque, Iowa * 8 8:00 PM vs. Buena Vista University Cedar Rapids, Iowa * 11 4:00 PM vs. Simpson College Cedar Rapids, Iowa * 15 8:00 PM @ Loras College Dubuque, Iowa * 18 4:00 PM @ Wartburg College Waverly, Iowa * 22 8:00 PM vs. University of Dubuque Dubuque, Iowa * 25 4:00 PM vs. Luther College Cedar Rapids, Iowa * 29 8:00 PM @ Central College Pella, Iowa February * 1 4:00 PM @ University of Dubuque Dubuque, Iowa * 5 8:00 PM @ Buena Vista University Storm Lake, Iowa * 8 6:00 PM vs. Central College Cedar Rapids, Iowa * 12 8:00 PM @ Luther College Decorah, Iowa * 15 4:00 PM @ Simpson College Indianola, Iowa * 19 8:00 PM vs. Wartburg College Cedar Rapids, Iowa * 22 4:00 PM vs. Loras College Cedar Rapids, Iowa March Iowa Conference Tournament Quarterfinals 25 vs. TBA TBA Iowa Conference Tournament Semifinals 27 vs. TBA TBA Iowa Conference Tournament Finals 1 vs. TBA TBA CoeAthletics.com Coe College 1220 First Avenue NE Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52402