After finishing the 2009-10 Season with a school record 36 wins and another Pac-10 Championship, one might think the Cardinal women could rest easy over the offseason. After all, Stanford hasn’t exactly had trouble succeeding recently: under current head coach Tara VanDerveer, the team has reached the Final Four nine times and competed in the national title game four times, most recently coming just one win short of a national championship before falling to Connecticut.
Even though the season is still four months away, however, the Cardinal team isn’t about to rest on its laurels.
Even though the team isn’t required to train on campus during the summer, nine out of the 14 members are, including forward Kayla Pedersen, who will be a senior this year and an instrumental leader of the team. She’s looking to build on a fantastic junior season in which she averaged 15.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game (both second on the team).
“We have a great commitment level and the amount of players here really shows that,” Pedersen said.
For those that remain on campus, there’s plenty of work to be done. There are five morning practices a week from 7:00-8:30. These early sessions mainly consist of lifting and shooting with “the gun” (a machine that sends balls to athletes to shoot). When morning practices are completed, the team members take classes and then have pickup games at 5:30.
The team is looking to reload this year after the departure of three seniors: Jayne Appel, Rosalyn Gold-Onwude and Michelle Harrison. The 12 returning members of the Cardinal, along with their new additions, have many objectives during the offseason and see the summer as a prime opportunity to develop the tools that will help them succeed next season.
“During the summer we want to have the dedication and commitment necessary to succeed,” Pedersen said. “We want to increase our strength and quickness and get a higher vertical. Overall, we seek to have the physical edge over our opponents.”
The Cardinal, who needed just one more half of solid play to slide past the champion Huskies last season, is looking to make the final push.
“We realize that we are so close and we just need a little more to win [a national title],” Pedersen said.
The team also welcomes the addition of three freshmen: Sara James, Toni Kokenis and Gatorade Player of the Year Chiney Ogwumike. A native of Cypress, Texas, Ogwumike was rated the nation’s top recruit in the Class of 2010. Ogwumike has accomplished extraordinary feats already this summer, leading the United States Under-18 National Team to a gold medal and a 5-0 record at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
Although rookie hazing is common in many institutions, the Cardinal veterans try to ensure a warm welcome for their new additions.
“We treat the freshmen like normal, inviting them to our team activities. There’s no awkwardness,” Pedersen said.
Looking forward to the 2010-2011 season, the prospects for the Cardinal are encouraging. The only team that defeated the Cardinal last season, the UConn Huskies, will be losing two significant players in guard Kalana Greene and center Tina Charles. In addition, the Cardinal will now feature the “Sister Show” in freshmen Chiney Ogwumike and her sister Nnemkadi, a junior. Nnemkadi, one of the premier forwards in the nation, looks to continue her role as a strong presence down low after averaging a team-high 18.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
Although the loss of Appel, Gold-Onwude and Harrison–two of whom were starters–will be tough, the team still boasts many promising players. Out of the 12 returning players, the Cardinal will have a strong backcourt presence to complement a dominant offense. Some players to watch for include senior guard Jeanette Pohlen, who averaged nearly 10 points per game, led the team by averaging 4.5 assists per game and will contribute with her ability to lead and to protect the ball. Pohlen will be accompanied by promising young star Joslyn Tinkle, who as a freshman already has a few starts under her belt and averaged 4.6 points per game.