Senior guard Danae Rock had too much energy and couldn’t focus before the Jan. 14 game at Warren G. Harding. She had 100 seconds to kill between the end of warm-ups and the start of the game, so she jogged back and forth between the baseline and half-court line. It seemed to work. She focused, played well and decided to run that 1:40 interval before every game.
NAIA member Lourdes College took interest in Rock’s defensive energy during her sophomore year, and since then, they have seen her play more than 50 games. The pressure of coaches’ presence hasn’t affected Rock’s play; she’s averaging 5.9 steals per game this year.
“I don’t really stress about coaches coming to my games because I feel that you should be able to play in front of anybody,” she said.
A version of this article appeared in print on 28 February 2012, on page 13 of The Shakerite.
