Tara on KPIX-5

Tara appeared on the KPIX-5 News Sunday night, taking part in a live cross-talk with sports anchor Dennis O'Donnell. The telecast has been posted to the internet. You can watch it here.

Fundamental fun with Morgan, Krista and Matt

By Judy Richter

Getting the ball through the hoop is the ultimate goal of the game of basketball, but getting it there requires a variety of skills and techniques.

Stanford is helping youngsters learn the fundamentals in clinics led by Morgan Clyburn, ’09, and friends. Open to girls in grades 3 through 8 and boys in grades 3 through 6, the clinics take place in the Arrillaga Practice Gym 90 minutes before the start of some women’s basketball games.

Morgan was unavailable for the second of five clinics on Nov. 29, but a former teammate, guard Krista Rappahahn, ’07, and former practice player, Matt McEvoy, ’09, led the 27 girls and three boys through their paces, starting with a jog around the playing floor, followed by stretches and an air-sea-land game to test reaction time.

Krista had the kids dribble the ball, then toss it high and clap while it’s in the air. Matt led another dribbling drill, this one through the legs. Passing was next on the agenda.

After a water break, the kids got some shooting tips. “The first thing is balance,” Krista said. To shoot a 3-pointer, “Use your legs to get the ball up there.” Keep the elbow under the ball and lined up with the knee. Leave a window between the ball and the hand and keep the non-shooting hand straight. The kids then practiced shooting while the coaches circulated among them to offer individual help.

A dribble-pass relay requiring individuals from each of two teams to run around three cones got the kids’ competitive juices flowing with lots of cheering.

Attending a clinic like this and going to a WBB game gives the kids “a goal you can aspire to,” said Cindy Leonard, a coach with the Cupertino Hoops League. She was there with a friend’s daughter along with about half of their team of 4th through 6th graders. She also said she appreciates the individual attention the kids get and watches for enjoyable drills to incorporate into her team’s routine.

The clinics are organized by Sarah Boruta, video coordinator and marketing liaison for Stanford WBB. Coach Tara VanDerveer, who conducts summer basketball camps, got the idea because she saw the new practice gym as a good place to “reach out to local youth by holding pre-game clinics,” Sarah said in an e-mail. She asked Sarah to “promote the clinics, maintain a data base of registrants and recruit coaches to work,” Sarah said.

Morgan and Matt, who both have coached at the summer camps, developed the format with Tara’s input and approval.

Although Morgan wasn’t at the clinic, she answered some e-mail questions about what she has been doing since graduation. She’s a development engineer at Autonomic Technologies, a start-up in Redwood City. Her duties include working on the design and prototype of the medical device company’s first product, “an implantable neurostimulator to treat headaches,” its web site says. “As with any start-up, “there’s a lot of versatility in position,” Morgan said.

Morgan, a center/forward, did not play during her senior year because of extensive surgery on both feet. “I got to see basketball in a different perspective – from the sidelines,” she said in her e-mail. “It made me really appreciate the coaching aspect of the game. I love kids, and this has been a wonderful opportunity to combine both.

“Ultimately, I’d like to coach at the high school level, but I don’t have the time to commit to a team five days a week,” she said. In the meantime, “I really love my job. I’m hoping to be working in the industry for a long time to come.”

Sarah’s title as marketing liaison marks an expansion of her duties from last year, when she became the video coordinator. Those duties are the same, primarily filming practices and arranging video exchanges with other schools. She also asked fans to record post-season games last year – something she said was helpful and much appreciated.

“As technology advances, I am able to do more to provide for the video needs of our team,” she said. A file encoder that shrinks file size has allowed her to put game files from the past three seasons and this season “on a portable hard drive to take on the road with us. This allows the coaching staff to watch games from the past three years whenever,” she said.

She became involved in marketing because she has an undergraduate degree in graphic design and helped to design promotional materials last year. “Tara asked me to take a bigger role in this because of my creative background,” she said.

Her two primary duties are to create the design elements and graphics for the theme (Game: On) that brands the team this season and to “increase attendance by building awareness of Stanford WBB throughout the community.” She did the design work during the summer, but the other duties are ongoing:

• Work with the marketing department to generate promotion ideas and aid in promotion.
  
• Work with student managers to increase student awareness of WBB.
  
• Set up game day events for groups.
  
• Work with area elementary and middle schools to set up player visits and campus visits.
  
• Set up community service events and public appearances for the team.

Krista, who spoke to the Fast Break Club last season, is a second-year medical student at Stanford. Matt is an intern for Catholic Community at Stanford. He’s in charge of undergraduate programs such as retreats, dinners and Bible study. His undergraduate major was human biology, so – like Krista – he wants to become a doctor.

The clinics continue at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 16, 11:30 a.m. Feb. 7 and 6:30 p.m. Feb. 20. The cost is $10 per child. To register, e-mail Sarah Boruta at sboruta@stanford.edu.

Teamwork keeps team healthy

By Judy Richter

Dr. Elaine Lambert is the team doctor, but she’s quick to credit the other professionals who help to keep Stanford’s women’s basketball players healthy.

“Taking care of a team is definitely a team approach,” she said. “I’m only a small part. There’s a whole group of us that are involved.” Elaine, who has been volunteering her services to the team for 10 years, named staff members like trainer Marcella Shorty, strength and conditioning coach Devan McConnell, and others.

She also has served the women’s volleyball team for 17 years. She has worked with other sports, too, but right now she’s with just those two women’s teams.

Elaine is one of two local physicians (the other is Gerry Keane) who volunteer their services to Stanford athletes. An internist specializing in rheumatology, she maintains her practice at the Sports Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Medicine Associates, or SOAR, clinic in Redwood City – frequently working 12-hour days, even on weekends. Among her SOAR colleagues is Michael Dillingham, who was the San Francisco 49ers’ doctor and Stanford team doctor for many years. The 49ers job has since gone to Stanford.

Even though she’s a volunteer, Elaine is an adjunct clinical professor of sports medicine and rheumatology at Stanford. She’s on campus at least twice a week, working in the sports medicine clinic that cares for the university’s hundreds of athletes. In addition to the two volunteers, the clinic is staffed by eight Stanford physicians along with three full-time physical therapists. A sports psychologist is available for consultation. “We function like their student health center,” she said.

Game routine

Attending all of the women’s volleyball and basketball home games, she usually starts her routine by checking with players who have been ill or injured to make sure they’re OK to play. She has few responsibilities during a basketball game because Marcella takes care of most problems. “Marcella’s awesome,” she said. She’s the first person to assess an injury. If it appears to be serious, she calls on Elaine, who also ministers to opposing players. (NCAA rules require the home team to have a physician on site to serve both teams.)

If a player needs more care than can be provided on site, the sports medicine clinic is less than a block away with X-ray equipment. The Stanford Hospital is nearby.

Elaine’s duties don’t include fans. That responsibility goes to the EMT who’s there with an ambulance. However, she has helped out on occasion.

She doesn’t travel with the team during the season, but she does accompany the team to tournaments. “They’re very good to include me,” she said, adding that the coaches and staff can call on her, too.

Although Elaine isn’t on campus every day, she stays in daily contact with Marcella via phone or e-mail. She regularly confers with the coaches and talks to parents. “Our players have very supportive families,” she said.

If a player wakes up one morning and feels sick, she’ll probably call Marcella, especially if the team is on the road. Or she can call the sports medicine clinic for an appointment, usually that same day. There’s “almost walk-in ability,” Elaine said. If she’s at the clinic that day, she’ll see the player.

Elaine treats some of the less serious injuries like sprains and will refer more serious problems to specialists if necessary. They include staff orthopedist Marc Safran, who performs surgery as needed. “We’re in pretty constant communication,” she said. “We share the responsibilities.” However, during Marc’s three years at Stanford, “he’s been way too busy,” Elaine said, referring to the torn ACLs and other injuries that have plagued women’s basketball.

Professional background

A graduate of Baylor University in Texas, Elaine received her medical training at the University of Texas Southwestern at Dallas and did her residency in internal medicine at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. She then received a fellowship in rheumatology at SCVMC and Stanford and worked at the university from 1990 to 1996.

She got involved with athletes when her Stanford mentor, Dr. Jim McGuire, became the men’s lacrosse coach and wondered why the Palo Alto Medical Foundation rather than the university had cared for its athletes for more than 30 years. Getting the blessing of the athletic department, he started the sports medicine clinic and invited Elaine to join. He also recruited Dr. Dillingham and his staff for the sports medicine group.

One of the changes she has seen during her 10 years with women’s basketball is that “so many of our athletes play all year round,” she said. Their conditioning is better, but they suffer more injuries such as the torn ACLs. Therefore, she and her fellow professionals have put more focus on prevention.

She credited Devan, the strength and conditioning coach hired last fall, for helping to prevent injuries. She also praised Brandon Marcello, director of sports performance, for his nutritional knowledge. “He’s awesome.”

“There’s a lot of preparation and thought” that goes into individual players’ weight room routines, shoes, cross training, rehabilitation and other regimens, especially during the off-season. “We’re trying to get everyone healthy,” she said. Such extra help is hard to achieve during the season because the players are so busy with practice and games. Moreover, “They’re students first.”

Factor in recruiting

Because Stanford provides such outstanding care for its athletes, the sports medicine clinic is part of recruits’ tours. “There’s not a better one in the country,” Elaine said. “That’s got to be a draw,” she said, adding that parents have told her that medical care was one of the reasons for choosing Stanford.

Moreover, “Dr. Gordon Matheson, director of sports medicine, has recruited an international staff and added the Human Performance Lab to allow for individualized testing and improvement of the athlete’s performance as well as research projects in … sports medicine,” she said.

As for her role with women’s basketball, she said, “These Stanford athletes are just the best of the best. It’s really a pleasure to work with them. They’re an easy group to help” because they listen and follow advice. “It’s really a great job.”

Her take on this year’s team? “I think we have lots of talent.”

Amy Tucker

Jake Curtis, Stanford Cardinal Basketball Examiner, conducted an interview with Amy Tucker. Here are links to the entire interview, all ten parts:

Part 1: Amy talks about offseason workouts and how the freshmen are progressing.

Part 2: Amy talks about recruiting and how it's changed (or has it?) in the past 24 years.

Part 3: Amy reminisces about recruiting Jennifer Azzi.

Part 4: Amy talks about the team's upcoming trip to Italy.

Part 5: Amy discusses her one and only season as a head coach.

Part 6: Amy offers her thoughts on being a head coach.

Part 7: We look at Amy's career moves

Part 8: Amy talks about coming to Stanford with Tara.

Part 9: Amy recollects the Cardinal's best win and the worst loss.

Part 10: Amy talks about next season and explains the Amy Tucker Fan Club.

Krista Rappahahn Video Interview

You'll enjoy this fast-paced, 10-minute interview with Krista Rappahahn, outstanding shooting guard who played for the Cardinal from 2002-2006. Krista is now in medical school at Stanford.
Krista talks about the importance of both academics and athletics in her choice of college; playing with Nicole Powell and Candice Wiggins; the fun of shooting 3-pointers; what she's doing now is med school; playing professionally in Sweden; her most memorable moment on the court; and advice to younger players.
Many thanks go to Fast Break Club members Christine Forter and Don Fidler who produced, directed and filmed this terrific interview for the Stanford women's basketball program.

Morgan makes points with team and fans

By Judy Richter

Senior forward Morgan Clyburn played with the Cardinal for the last time in the NCAA championship game in Tampa, Fla., last year. “It was a good game to go out in,” she said during a recent interview.

Instead of filling in at the post this season, she has been cheering from the bench, unable to play while recuperating from foot surgery. Congenital problems with her feet had caused her to play through pain. Orthotics would help somewhat, but they switched stress to other parts of her feet, and she was taking more pain meds than she wanted. She was told that even without playing basketball, she would have problems later in life if she didn’t have surgery. Consequently, she decided to have it after last season.

She had 10 procedures on her right foot in April and nine more on her left foot in June. “It’s been a long recovery,” involving crutches, casts for six to eight weeks each time and walking boots for another 12 weeks

She had hoped to return to the court earlier this year, but after going through some drills in December and experiencing pain, her surgeon in Houston (she’s a Texan) “told me to back off for about six weeks,” she said. Even then, she’d have to rehab, as she’s doing now. “I didn’t want to rush anything,” she said. It would be really risky if she were to play, so she made the prudent but emotionally difficult decision not to take any chances and to forgo the entire season. However, she was cleared to join in the FBC shoot-a-thon this month, filling in for sophomore guard Hannah Donaghe, who is awaiting surgery for a torn ACL.

Since she can’t contribute on the court, “I try to take more of a leadership role off the court,” she said. She mentors the freshmen and lends a willing ear. Although “the coaches understand where they’re coming from,” sometimes it helps younger players to hear from a peer who shares their perspective. Also, “it’s less pressure coming from a teammate.”

Head coach Tara VanDerveer has praised Morgan for her role as a mom to the team and for her loyalty and dedication. Morgan attends practices and can be seen talking with her teammates, presumably offering her insights, during games. Still, she misses playing. “Some days are harder than others,” she said.

Comparing this year’s and last year’s teams, Morgan noted that last year’s team could always count on a big game from record-setting guard Candice Wiggins, ’08. “This year, it’s a lot more balanced,” she said. “You never really know who’s going to step up. That makes us harder to guard, and it’s more fun for us.” She added, “This year’s team has a lot of potential” to get back to the Final Four.

When we spoke, her immediate plans were uncertain. She was hoping to be admitted to a Stanford graduate program in mechanical engineering. She also was interviewing for jobs.

A major in biomechanical engineering, “a broad-ranged field,” she aspires to work in the medical device industry and design cardiac devices. She also can see herself coaching basketball as a hobby, perhaps high-school age girls on AAU summer teams. She has done some coaching over the years and worked at Tara’s summer hoops camps. Having had great coaches and mentors at Stanford, she feels she can pass on knowledge from an elite standpoint. In the meantime, “I relish the team’s success.”

See the FBC's tribute to Morgan in “Stories of the Season”.

Kayla likes to feel powerful

JJ's fashion tips and neat hairdo

Ace announcer and a lot more — that’s Betty Ann Boeving

By Judy Richter

Fans of Stanford women’s basketball have come to appreciate announcer Betty Ann Boeving for the role she plays in their enjoyment of the games.

Unlike announcers at some other venues, she strikes just the right balance. She’s not raucous or loud, drawing attention to herself. Instead, she’s a bit low key, providing factual information while helping to boost fans’ energy and enthusiasm.

Now in her 10th season at the Maples microphone, “I enjoy the connection with the fans and keeping people engaged in the game,” she said in a recent telephone interview. Her goal is to “turn the game into an experience” without detracting from the team.

The Menlo Park resident has amassed quite an impressive resume since her 1997 graduation from the University of Oregon, where she majored in broadcast journalism and international studies and played basketball as a small forward for four years. She still holds the school record for single-season three-point shooting percentage. Two years later she went to Stanford and earned her master’s degree in international conflict resolution in 2000.

Since July 2007, she has served as executive director of the Martin Family Foundation, which — among other philanthropic activities — supports education reform in East Palo Alto through the Ravenswood Education Foundation. Eff and Patty Martin also sponsor freshman forward Nneka Ogwumike’s scholarship.

Betty Ann also works with Wellspring, a resource for Christian spiritual growth that shares the Martin Family Foundation’s office in Menlo Park. In addition, she is active in the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church’s community and world outreach programs. They include its Ethiopia Initiative, which seeks to alleviate poverty in that African nation.

Prior to her work with the Martin Foundation, Betty Ann was the West Coast director of development for International Justice Mission. This Christian-based human rights group secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. In 2006 she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness of and $45,000 for the group’s work around the world.

In addition to everything else she does, her personal and professional interests — which include leading Stanford alumni tours with a Stanford professor once a year — have taken her around the world to all seven continents and 75 countries. The 2002 Stanford tour took 88 people around the world to 11 countries in 27 days. “It’s really a blast,” she said. “The Stanford connections around the world are wonderful and are truly everywhere.”

Her first basketball-related broadcast job came a few months after she graduated from college. Fox Sports Network asked her to announce a women’s game between Stanford and Colorado. During that gig, she interviewed Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer about her recent book, “Shooting From the Outside,” which chronicles her experiences coaching the USA women’s Olympic basketball team to the gold medal in1996. Betty Ann had known Tara for a long time before that, having attended her hoops camp for five years, then coaching there another five years.

Later, Tara suggested that she try out for the job as announcer for the 1998-99 women’s basketball team. Betty Ann thought she might face some competition. Instead, “I just showed up the first night” in November 1998, and the job was hers, much to her delight. “It’s the one constant in my life that has been there for me to come back to year after year,” she said.

Her game day routine stays pretty much the same. For a 7 p.m. game, she arrives at Maples at 6 p.m. and goes to the media room to get the visitors’ starting lineup and the pronunciation of all names. If a pronunciation is unusual, she writes it phonetically. After that, she goes to the media’s pre-game dinner.

Once she takes her post at the scorers’ table, she checks the microphone and coordinates with the production crew in a side room. For example, she tells them who’s starting for Stanford so they can display the right head shots when the lineup is introduced. The producer tells her which sponsors are being featured during timeouts.

Shortly before the game starts, she asks the crowd to rise for the National Anthem. After a few more minutes, the band plays “All Right Now,” and it’s time to ask the crowd to respect the visiting team as its starters are introduced. Then she gets the crowd fired up for the Cardinal starters. It was her idea to ask the crowd to stand for the opening tipoff.

She announces the various contests during timeouts as well the halftime entertainment. After the game, she announces the final statistics.

During the game itself, she names scorers for each side and keeps an eye on the referees when they call a violation or personal foul. If a free throw is needed, she says who’s on the line for how many shots. She keeps track of the players’ and teams’ fouls.

Her trademark call for a traveling violation is “too many steps.” She also is remembered for “Brooke with the hook,” announced whenever forward Brooke Smith (’07) scored with one of her signature shots. She got the idea for that in a dream, she said.

Then there was the infamous blooper in January 2008. She returned home from Ethiopia that day, took a nap and went to the game despite her jet lag. She did fine until she had to do a plug for Outback Steakhouse. Sure enough, she said, “Outhouse Steakhouse.” She’s had a hard time living that one down.

As for the team itself, Betty Ann said she admires Tara and associate head coach Amy Tucker for their coaching and for the strong support they get from former players. With this year’s players, “Everybody is invited to be a contributor” on a team that no longer has superstar guard Candice Wiggins, who graduated in June.

And as the team’s long-time announcer, “I enjoy the connection with the game and keeping people engaged in the game,” she concluded.

Jayne: What is Shaboooya?