|
11/14/2008
New Coach Turns To Champs
Reprinted with permission from The News Dispatch
Nick Dettmann
The News-Dispatch
MICHIGAN CITY - Janie Welsh and Emily Cogswell know what it takes to be successful.
They've seen it for themselves.
They've lived it.
Both are members of the dynasty that has been built with the Marquette Blazers' volleyball team, which has won five straight Class A state volleyball championships and eight in the past 10 years.
First-year head girls basketball coach Rob Smith hopes "success breeds success" does ring true for the 2008-09 season with Welsh and Cogswell leading the way.
"I think it helps," he said. "... They do see a lot of time in volleyball. They're going to be main contributors here. You hope they learn from experience, and they've learned some competitiveness to be winners from volleyball.
"... They know what hard equates to. Having that instilled in them will help us because they know what work it takes to be at an elite level."
Welsh and Cogswell are both year-round athletes.
Welsh plays softball in the spring, while Cogswell plays tennis in the spring.
But nothing is like the transition they've each made during their high school careers from the fall into the winter.
The reason?
The state volleyball championship has been typically played on a Saturday morning. By the following Monday, both are in the gym for practice for the basketball team.
They both said they don't mind it for two reasons. One, it means they're winning state championships, but it also helps them avoid down time.
"I like it because I wouldn't know what to do after school," Cogswell said.
However, they both said the sudden change in season also doesn't give them a whole lot of time to reflect on what they accomplished, and does cause some stress academically.
"I haven't had much time for anything," Welsh said. "... I like to keep going because if you get a break, you get kind of lazy."
The downside of the quick transition?
"You're really tired," Welsh said.
Welsh said the mental part is straining as well because the focus has been solely on volleyball pretty much since the end of the school year.
"You still want to play volleyball, but it's basketball season," Welsh said. "So you have to get into the mood to play (basketball)."
Their roles also change with the season.
On the volleyball team, they are role players who come off the bench in specific situations and don't play as much.
In basketball, they both start and log serious minutes night in and night out.
And thankfully there's a correlation that helps both of them in both sports.
Volleyball practice, both said, entails rigorous leaping drills, which they do daily. That is helpful on the basketball court when they go up for rebounds.
Welsh, for example, is among the top rebounders in the state, despite being just 5-foot-7.
Another advantage? They're already in shape.
Both agree they can't believe how fast the time has gone, and they want to help steer this program in the right direction so maybe someday the basketball program can be just as successful as the volleyball program.
And they wouldn't trade the rigors of going from one sport to another quickly for a second.
"I have four (state championship) medals," Cogswell said. "It never gets old."
Contact sports writer Nick Dettmann at ndettmann@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 447.
|
