Goodbye Seniors...

Farewell to our seniors!

Well unfortunately we had an opportunity last weekend that we did not take advantage of. If we would have beaten NDNU on Friday, we would be playing Grand Canyon this weekend to go to the national tournament. However, it just wasn’t meant to be. With that being said I have the opportunity to coach these four seniors for the last time this week. I have coached for ten years as an assistant and a head coach, and I must admit this is one of the toughest goodbye speeches I will have to make. This class is special to me for various reasons. I am proud of each one of them for not only what they do on the court, but the women they are off the court. Jessica Carver, Lindsey Chettinger, Deney Phommabout, and Courtney Boyd, will go down as some of the best to wear a Dixie State jersey in my opinion, and I can’t thank them each enough. Starting with Jessica Carver. She was already a member of the women’s basketball team when I got the job, and I can’t tell you all enough how lucky I am as a coach to have the opportunity to coach her. Unfortunately this year, she got robbed of a true senior year by going down with an ACL tear the third game of the year. This was tough to swallow because I felt horrible for her. She has worked so hard and we had such high expectations for our seniors that this was tough to swallow. Jessica was our leader – our go to kid. She wasn’t someone who was going to lead with her mouth, she led by example, every day, every minute, every second of her life. That is what made Carver special – she separated herself from everyone by how hard she worked. That is the reason why she was one of the best in this conference. Lindsey Chettinger – as we all know her by “Chet” This kid is extra special to our staff because Coach Larson has known her for years. Chet originally committed to us at our last institution. When we got the job we asked Chet to make the move with us. I knew this was going to be a difficult task because Iowa is so far from Utah. She did, of course make it and have been through thick and thin with us the past three years.. I am proud of Chet because this was a tough transition for her. I think this gave her an opportunity to find out that she really can do things on her own and I am super proud of what she has accomplished. Every day Chet brings a smile to my face because of her personality. She might be the wittiest person I know (except for me) she has done a tremendous job at this level and our team is better because of her! Deney Phommabout - Looking back on Denney’s visit to Dixie State wasn’t sure we were going to get her to come here. I am not sure she said a word on her visit as she made the visit the exact same time as Courtney Boyd. Apparently Deney must have had a GREAT time with her teammates, because she did indeed choose Dixie and boy were we lucky to get a kid like her. People probably question how you have your leading scorer come off the bench, but Deney never has. That is what I love about her, she always puts the team first. Deney has had an unbelievable senor year, did exactly what we needed her to do to be successful. This girl would do anything for anyone on this team, on or off the court, and that is what makes her special. She works so hard – and continues to make us better each day in practice. Courtney Boyd - Courtney has been our rock, our heart, our soul for the past two years. We go as Courtney goes, and thank goodness she had more good games than bad. As a coach, you have kids that come in and out of your program that you know you won’t have too many opportunities to coach, well Courtney is one of them. She is a leader by example and a leader by mouth. Those kids are tough to find. What I love about Courtney is she is a gamer – she brings it when we needed it the most, and has hit some unbelievable bit shots this year. She sees the court better than anyone I have coached and has done such an unbelievable job of running this team for me this year. What I admire most about Courtney is the fact she always leaves it on the floor. No matter if we are up 25 or down 25 she is diving after loose balls, playing the same at all times. She has all the respect from her teammates because of what she has done here! It will be hard to watch these ladies walk out of that gym for the last time on Friday, but I know that I am a better coach by having each one of them in my program. This truly is our first senior class and I couldn’t be more prouder of them. I know they are all going on to do bigger and better things in their lives. I wish you all the best and know how much we admire, appreciate, and love each of you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart ladies! Coach K