The Sideline: Cascade Stories From Windsor!

During the March 13-15 CIS Women’s Basketball Final 8 Championship, we managed to collect a couple stories about the season from members of the UFV Cascades women’s basketball team. Think you know the Cascades pretty well? Did you know these tales? Enjoy them, and maybe pass on your own stories of the team to our communications guy, Paul Esau, at paul.esau@ufv.ca

 1. THE TRIP TO WINDSOR

(As told by Aieisha Luyken and Tessa Hart)

It was supposed to be simple. A short Wednesday flight to Calgary, a longer one to Kitchener, and then a 2-3 hour drive into Windsor. By Wednesday night the Cascades should have been at the hotel, getting a good night’s sleep in preparation for the tournament. But as usual, ‘simple’ became ‘rather complicated’ in short order.

The Cascades were delayed in Calgary due to a southern Ontario snowstorm, and were forced to grab a hotel and scramble together a practice in a local gym before flying out on a Toronto-bound red-eye. They arrived in Toronto at 6 am Thursday morning, and spent the next six hours creeping across Ontario’s icebound highway system in a rented charter bus. At times the bus was forced to slow to as little as 20 km/h, which meant the team only arrived in Windsor a few hours before their afternoon practice.

“The first leg of the trip, coach Al’s big emphasis was to have smiles on our faces because we knew it was kind of a bad situation,” said Hart. “After we picked up our red-eye there weren’t very many smiles left. Not even coach’s.”

Actually, this was the Windsor trip nightmare round two for the team. On their way back from Windsor following a tournament over Christmas, separate groups of Cascades ended up in New York, Minneapolis, and Atlanta, before finally getting back to BC. 

 2. A True Student-Athlete

(From an interview with Nicole Wierks

Nicole Wierks is a fifth-year Cascade who will graduate this semester with a Bachelor of Science. Throughout her UFV career she has been a consistent starter for the team, while averaging a GPA well above four in the classroom. This year she has also been conducting an independent research study, as well as applying for medical school. How does she do it?

“Well,” says Wierks, “on a typical day I get to school around 8:30 in the morning, and I get home, depending upon which day of the week it is, at 8 or 9 at night. So from 8:30 in the morning until 8 or 9 at night it’s homework, or school, or training. No fun time (laughs)!”

Most would consider this schedule to be a recipe for insanity, but Wierks says she actually enjoys the challenge. “I think what appeals to me about being a doctor is that it’s almost the same lifestyle that I live right now. I don’t know if that appeals to everybody (laughs), but I work best under high-pressure situations. It keeps me focused and interested in what I’m doing … it’s just the way I’m driven I guess.”

Despite the pace, Wierks found time to apply to four different medical schools this year. She has been granted interviews by three of them: UBC, the University of Toronto, and the University of Ottawa.

3.  Coach Santa

(As told by Al Tuchscherer)

Christmas Practice

“I have been known to dress up as Santa Claus from time to time,” is how coach Tuchscherer began his story. The normally reserved coach smiled, and there might have been a twinkle in his eye.

The tradition started a few years ago, growing out of a festive air at the team’s last practice before Christmas.  “We try to keep things pretty light, but I thought the format was getting a little stale, “said Tuchscherer, “so I decided to add a little shock value.”

“The first year I did it, because they kind of almost expected a Christmas practice, which kind of annoyed me a little bit,” said coach. “I got my Santa suit on and I showed up fashionably late to practice. I came running through the door and I turned the corner and they were all standing there all in elf suits! So I’m looking at them, and they’re looking at me, and we’re both like…[shocked]”

“They thought they had me. I was pretty sure I had them, and we kind of had each other.”

It was the kind of event that can’t be planned, and perfectly illustrates the chemistry the Cascades have as a team.

This year, Claus-clad Tuchscherer conducted the practice via megaphone while sitting in a chair on the court. He turned normal drills into a series of competitions by which players could win a variety of prizes.

“If they win a prize sometimes it’s a good present and sometimes it’s a crappy present,” said coach. “Prizes can be anything from movie passes up to fifty dollar gift certificates, and athletic gear. The bad ones are from the back of the dollar store,  handheld pinball or something like that. The worst this year was one I gave to Celeste Dyck. I’d had this six-pack of cheap NBA water bottles in my office for about 10 years now with this nice little carrying case.  She was thrilled to receive those (laughs).”

Cascades Candids