WBB: Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

[b23-baller]

to hoopin: I think it is great that you were able to have such great times at RC coaching under Coach A. You were on a different level than an athlete and therefore, he treated you different. I do know that you saw ans still do see what goes on behind the gym walls (if you still talk with some of the girls) - I like that you are very positive, but in reality - the girls feel like they are treated "wrong." Yes, I will say it again - he is a great basketball coach, and good luck in the tournanment, but the girls are playing because they love the game - and playing for him dos not matter. Mybe they will wake up later in life as you did and come to like his style, but I KNOW that most will NOT.  Now you are greatful for your high school coach becuase he pushed you to be your best, but there are different ways of going about pushing the team. You don't have to treat them disrespectfully by playing head games. And to answer auballer - yes, many of us wanted to quit because of lack of respect, but we loved the game and wanted to play. Hoopsville, you are right - we should have communicated "more effectively" but during that time it was difficult for whatever reason. I would expect a coach to have a little more respect for individuals on the team.

[fanofbball]

Congratulations to the Rockford College basketball program, team, and staff. 
B23-Baller:

I had an opportunity to watch the Rockford news on Saturday night after the game.  One of the teams seniors was interviewed and she stated that:  The team stuck together, did things the right way, followed the rules and coach said it was always be worth it....and then she stated "it was DEF worth it".  Sometimes, you have to follow the standards set by a coach to be successful.  I am also a believer that to get respect, you must give respect.  Earlier in posting up-you stated "don't want to play for a short... short... man", Now that sounds like a pretty respectful thing to say, doesn't it?  If you or the girls wanted to quit, then maybe you should have quit.  A team is usually better off when you cut the cancer.  Just because maybe you didn't get the playing time you wanted or had other issues with the team, doesn't mean the coach didn't respect you.

If a coach was having problems with respect/chemistry then there is no way a team would win 21 games, conference, and a bid to the tourney.  Just because you have a bitter taste in your mouth because of whatever happened doesn't mean you have to rain on Rockford's parade.  It is easy to blame the coach for unhappiness but maybe you should look at yourself.  I am sure the girls that stuck it out and pulled together (instead of trying to pull each apart) are happy about playing in the DANCE.  Good luck in the tourney!       

[geigs13]

Congratulations to the Rockford College women for returning to the big dance.  What a great accomplishment, especially for all of you seniors who have had such a great run at RC, I know how hard you all have worked, you should be proud of all of your achievements.  I haven't been able to follow you as closely as I would like, but looking at the posts I was shocked to see all of the criticism of Coach Amsberry.  I know that with the nature of these boards and the relative anonimity of the opinions that it is easy to take shots and speculate at situations, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I thought it would only be fair to post some positive comments and support for Coach Amsberry.  I had the chance to coach for and learn from Coach and anyone who was with RC when I was there knows exactly who I am from my screen name.  Caoch Amsberry is the best coach I have ever had the chance to work with and in my time there he always treated all of his players fairly.  Did he treat everyone the same, no, of course not, he tried to handle each player individually and provide them with the support and discipline they needed to be successful.  The one thing that always stayed constant, and I cant imagine has changed, is that he was always open and honest with his players.  Coach doesn't need me to defend him, he has an unbeliveable record and what he has done with this program speaks for itself, but I did think some more positive should come out to balance some of these shots coach is taking.  Despite the bumps in the road this year, sounds like another great season, congratulations to the coaches and regent players on another great year, now go out there and add to your accomplishments with an NCAA tourney W.  Good luck and go get 'em!

[NIICfan]

Mark Twain was quoted as saying, "It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt" I think when Mark Twain said this, he probably didn't have the internet in mind. However, it does seem appropo with regard to the recent postings on D3Hoops.
Good or bad, one of the things that the internet does is it allows people to express opinions. However, the bad part of this is that people can randomly express ignorant opinions about people that are very untrue, unfair, and hurtful. What has been taking place with regard to the stupid statements regarding Bob Amsberry is a classic example of irresponsible opinions being stated
without any accountability. Maybe, Mark Twain, was thinking of the internet.....

First of all, there are stupid comments written about Coach Amsberry with regard to the implication that he yells and screams and berates players, etc.  That would be funny, if it were not for that fact that it is so ridiculous, untrue, and is an attack on the character of a good man.  As one of the other posters mentions, Bob does NOT yell and scream.  If you look at the past several years where his teams have done very well and gone to the NCAA tourney, he is usually relatively laid back with regard to his practice, sideline, and off the court behavior.  He treats all his players with dignity and respect.  The fact is that Coach Amsberry is honest with everyone he deals with. That is a wonderful quality, but one that many immature and selfish players don't like. Many players say they want a coach to be honest with them, but when the coach is honest and tells them the truth, and it is something they don't want to hear, then the players get upset. It is a "blame the messenger" quality that is entirely unfair.

Second, there are the ignorant comments from a "former player" implying that there is this high level of dissatisfaction with his interactions with his players off the court. What a joke. His players who are willing to sacrifice and be a part of something special and not be "me oriented" very much appreciate him as a caring person who tries and helps his players in any manner possible. If the number of players coming and talking to Coach Amsberry in his office throughout the day about day to day issues and concerns is any indication, he is VERY well respected and admired by his players.  To make the statement that there are "eight" or so other players who feel the same way is a statistically stupid statement. When a program goes from not winning to becoming very successful (which by the way, they did win another conference championship, NCAA bid, and 20 win season), there are going to be players that are not good enough to play as much as what they want. That is called competition, and that is what athletics (at D1, D2, D2, or any other level of significant competion) is all about.  Not everyone can play, and that is simply a fact. In basketball, there are 5 players on the court at one time.  Well, most teams have 10-15 players on a roster. Almost everyone one of those players that is not playing wants to be playing and probably feels they should be playing.  The fact is, that players often are not objective about their own level of ability, and coaches have to make hard decisions.   As a coach or leader of any group, you can't make everyone happy. 15 players can't play at one time. EVERY good program in the country has players leave/quit for different reasons, and if one were going to ask these players why, they probably would not have wonderful things to say about their former respective program. To say there are 8 players unhappy is kind of funny.  When you become good, those players that aren't talented enough or dedicated and willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the team are going to be unhappy.  Any program that was bad and has become good program SHOULD have 8 players that have become unhappy. Does that mean that every program is therefore inherently bad. Hardly. What it means is that competition in sport is a lesson in life.  Sometimes things don't go the way we want. In order to be successful in life, if things don't go the way we want, we can't quit, whine, and place the blame on someone else. Rather, we need to be mature enough to pick ourselves up and try harder.  Blaming a coach is the easy way out in our "scapegoat and pass the blame society". If someone wants to live their life always blaming others, that is their right. However, it is NOT right to make Bob Amsberry a scapegoat.  He is an excellent coach, but much more importantly, he is a good and decent human being who is being made a scapegoat because a small group of players, parents, SIDS, etc. can't handle the fact that maybe they need to look in the mirror if they are wanting someone to blame..... Let's celebrate his team's and his success and celebrate the players who were and are willing to give of themselves for the betterment of the team! There is a reason why fellow coaches so respect what he has done with his program and admire the fact that he competes with dignity and grace.

With that being said, good luck against Wheaton!!!!!!

[Showtime]

I just got on this site to check to see who Rockford was playing in the tournament and I'm shocked at most of the comments made about Coach Amsberry.  I just wonder if Rockford wasn't successful at all and they were still losing a record number of games if you would be using such harsh words against him.  But with success comes ridicule, too bad thats the way the world works.  This coach has turned around a program that noone wanted to coach. I have been on both sides of the table and can tell you that he is an honest man with integrity and will fight for what he believes in even if it costs him wins or conference titles.  He doesnt only coach for the wins, he coaches because he genuinely cares about his players and he understands that there is more to life than basketball.  It's too bad that more people don't understand that his job is to put the best players on the floor to win, not to make parents happy or make sure everyone plays equal time.  It's a hard job and he's an amazing, talented coach who knows the game.  Remember also that HE is coaching girls, all girls have lots of issues and he does a great job of dealing with them.  Sometimes your going to butt heads, most of the time its because people can't handle decisions that are being made.  RC hired a great coach let him do his job and support the coaches and the team win or lose, because the players still play the game.
Good Luck RC!

[diego]

So whats your thoughts on the Rockford (21-6) @ Wheaton (23-4)??

[RogK]

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[RogK]

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[Just Bill]

Amsberry leaves Rockford for Wartburg, and not a word here?  I'd chastise this board for apathy, but I just don't care enough.

[keith45]

He got the job a few days ago....I dont know if no one knew or what..no announcement on Rockfords site...it was kind of quiet...weird

[Illinihoops4]

Thought it was time for a new title................... any favorites? Will the LMC teams dominate this one or will the addition of RC, BU, and AU make a difference?

[WLCALUM83]

I expect the Illinois squads to do quite well. (It was a 5 team dog-fight between Lakeland, Edgewood, Concordia WI, WLC and Marian College for most of last season in conference. MSOE, Dominican, Alverno and Maranatha Baptist finished on the low end.) Barring injuries, last minute transfers, etc, with Lakeland losing several players and Edgewood and Dominican having new coaches, I'd expect Concordia WI, Marian and WLC to challenge for the top spot---on paper-but it's still too early to tell.


WLCALUM83

[Illinihoops4]

There was also a coaching change at Rockford so that should be an interesting situation imo. I'm curious to see how Aurora will compete as I think that some of the Illinois squads may have more athletic rosters.

[WLCALUM83]

Edgewood appears to be losing only 2 seniors to graduation--don't know about Dominican--even with Rockford's coaching change it appeared that squad would have most of its' players back.  Appears Lakeland's the only squad that lost a lot of players to graduation. Most of the other teams in conference could have nearly all of their players back. WLC didn't lose anyone to graduation.

If the new IL teams are as athletic as Dominican's men's team was last season (it beat WLC's men twice), that will add even more fuel to the potential dogfight.

[Illinihoops4]

Edgewood actually lost 3 to graduation- and with the change some players will not be returning including Ewing, Mueller, Matya, & potentially Francois.  Marian loses key players every year and Lakeland's recruiting class will be key if they wish to remain close to the top. Dominican had a great hire in their new coach and I expect some good things from them in the years to come.

I checked out the former EC coach's new gig. She's in an extremely talented conference with quite the program to rebuild. Best of luck to her as she moves onward. Coach Amsberry also has his work cut out for him at Wartburg as it's the weakest they've been in years. Best of luck to him as well.