TicketsAug. 14, 2006
Throughout the 2006-07 school year, select UC student-athletes will share their experiences on and off the field with Bearcat fans through CATSblogs. These student-athletes will take you in to the life of a Bearcat and share their struggles and triumphs. Fans can email their favorite CATSblogger here! Be sure to include your name and hometown.
Shelly Bellman is a sophomore guard for the UC women's basketball team. She averaged 10.9 points and 6.2 rebounds in 2005-06, earning BIG EAST All-Rookie Team honors. She is an early childhood education major.
Jill Stephens is a sophomore forward on the UC women's basketball team. The communications science and disorders major averaged 6.7 points and 3.6 rebounds as a freshman in 2005-06.
Oct. 12, 2006:
Hi everyone! Long time no talk. Well, I have a good excuse..........I've been lazy!!! No but really, I've been very busy-playing basketball of course, and running, lifting, skill, and going to class too (but that's a whole different story). And trust me, when it comes to a Bearcat on the court, there is no room for laziness!
You see, being in the Big East now, if a team wants to be the best they have to work the hardest, and that is exactly what we are doing. Last season, which was our first season in the Big East, we got a little taste of the talent and competitiveness of this unbelievable conference. This season, we want to achieve our goals, and one of them is to win a Big East championship. We know that that is very possible with the girls that make up our 2006-2007 Bearcat team. We have that attitude a winning team needs, and we're ready to do some damage.
This Friday is the big night! It is Bearcat Madness time, and what a great way to kick off the season of basketball. Our official practice starts on Friday, and then from 8:00-11:00 there is this huge event going on in Fifth Third Arena that NO ONE should miss! Chad Johnson is going to be there (we'll see how much he knows about basketball) and you can get autographs from our team and the men's team, and see the teams sing in Bearcat Idol (that should be funny), and see some dunk contests too. I'm so pumped! I'm going to be singing "I Will Survive" as a soloist, so everyone can hear my hidden talent. Anyway, I am ready for practice and no more of this preseason stuff! I think my teammates agree with me on that. We are ready for the season!
Well, I hope to see you all on Friday night and Go Bearcats!
Until next time,
Shank #22
Sept. 13, 2006
Hello everyone! You have got to be kidding me! It is already mid-September?! I can't believe it! Time goes by too fast, way too fast! I have no idea where the summer went. It has been great, but sheesh, basketball preseason is here!!! I have to tell you a couple stories, though, of some things that happened during summer.
Well listen to this...I brought a car down here this summer and it is very convenient for me to have. I live three hours away from home, so now, when I want to go home, my parents don't have to come down here and get me, I can just drive home myself when I want to for weekends. But a little over a month ago, a teammate and I walked to my car and I tried to start it up, and absolutely nothing happened. The battery was totally dead. What a pain in the butt. So, I called my pops, who is Mr. Mechanic, and he said that he along with the rest of my family would come down the next weekend to put a new battery in and fix it. My mother, Sue, father, Ron, and my little sister, Anna, came down on a Saturday. I do have a younger brother named Luke, but he had some sports thing going on, so he couldn't make it. He is into sports like me and plays football, basketball, and baseball. He is good like me too! Haha.
OK, so after we fixed my car and my Park Avenue ran like a champ, six of us (teammate KT came with us) went to the Newport Aquarium in , right across the border. It was an awesome experience and I would recommend to everyone to go there! I got to pet a shark!!! The whole thing was cool and interesting. You would be happy you went, like you would be happy if you went to our basketball games-at least one of them!!!
The very next weekend, I had the best Sunday! There is a family that I know that lives here in Cincy. Their names are Mark and Laurie. They have the best three kids in the world too, Bryce, Kylee, and Aaron. First, they took me to church and we felt very holy, but then after that, we went to the famous . It was a very hot day, so we were on the water rides mostly, and in the water park. They were so pleased I could join them on the fun-filled day. We were hungry after that long day, so to finish it up, the family took me to TGIFridays. Mmm...the food was great and we got to sit down and enjoy each other's company. It was an incredible day and I thank Mark and Laurie and the kids!!!
Well there is a very little taste of what I did this summer, but these things seemed to have stuck out in my head. I guess I will talk to you all again soon and let you know what's happening!
#22
August 14, 2006
Hey, I don't really know what to say. There are so many exciting things happening around here; I couldn't decide what to write about. So I asked my dad what he thought I should write about here, and he suggested telling about all the new facilities. We are all so excited about . I've never seen a complex as nice as this one; no one else in the country has what we do. I think the best part of it all, is how close everyone is. All the team offices, administrative offices, and academic offices are in one building. The academic center where we do study table is just one floor below our offices. We used to have to walk up the hill to do study table; now we can walk out of the gym and hop in the elevator. I definitely prefer that to walking. The training room is right there and so is . So Dr. Stephens, the team doctor, is right there all the time now. And the training room is amazing! It is so huge, and there are two, I guess you'd call them hot tubs, but one is hot and the other is cold. There is a thing where you can swim against the current and an underwater treadmill. I wonder if an underwater treadmill is as dangerous as the regular kind. It is way too easy to fall off of those things. We have a brand new practice gym which is amazing. No more cold practices in the Armory. Yay! I'm sure I'm forgetting like one thousand things, but that is the beauty of our new facilities. No matter how hard you try, and how long you list things, you will never be able to explain everything. The best way is to come and see for yourself. So what you should do is come to a women's basketball game and take a little tour. If you need help figuring out how to sneak into places you aren't supposed to go, I'm sure my grandma or my dad could help you. Till next time!
- Jill