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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 1987)
[we fit the student body [ for Basketball! Check out our selection of sweatshirts and ^ sweaters that w ill be 9k perfect for basketball w season. Show your support for this years DasKeiDan ieam--uress for the game! Sizes up to XX large in some selections. VMte r,.!■- a.: zsa I Lower Level Nebraska Union Garden Level East Union \ jjj "w IronWeighk ^ I 9 ■ stvsndard ySt/pouwi Otyinfuc "Kt/pound I *»» AH UtiqhtBelts (5 % ov _j|l ' * >•* t M' • • - • « Angela Beck instructs her team. 'Attitude raising altitude'focus helps Beck turn around team By Steve Sipple Staff Reporter Nebraska women’s basketball coach Angela Beck has used motiva tion as a tool to rejuvenate the Corn huskers, but Beck’s team isn’t the only benefactor of her inspiring speeches. Beck recently addressed a group of local political leaders, including Lincoln Mayor Bill Harris, Waverly Mayor Mary Applebec, and Omaha Mayor Bemic Simon, on the topic of motivation and the effects of positive altitude. Beck said she frequently gives motivational speeches and saiu she told the politicians the same thing she instills in her players: A positive atti tude can take you a long way. “I always say attitude determines altitude,” Beck said. “Turning from a losing to a winning program is all because of the attitude adjustment we’ve had.” Beck’s philosophies have helped restore a Husker program that previ ously hadn’t had a winning season since 1983-84. She guided the Husk ers to a 16-13 record in her first season last year, which included an 8-6 Big Eight record. It was Nebraska’s first ever, upper-division finish and the first w inning season ever in the con ference. This year, Beck said, could even be better. She said improving players’ self-esteem has been a key factor in the program’s turnaround. “It’s important to feel good about yourself as a person,” Beck said. “I want my players to feel good about themselves. A lot of players don’t feel good about themselves away from athletics. ‘I always say atti tude determines alti tude .. Beck “If wc can make them feel good about that, they feel good about them selves on the floor. Along with the positive-attitude approach, Beck brought to the pro gram a work ethic that has manifested itself in her intense practices and the team’s uptempo style of play. Last season Beck drove the hard-work approach into her players by printing the letters I-T-H-W-T-B-A-C (It takes hard work to be a champion) on virtu ally everything associated with Ne braska women’s basketball Apparently the motto has had some impact. The Huskcrs set nine team-records in pre-season condi tioning drills. Beck said she and assistant coach Theresa Becker used the 1-T-H-W-T B-A-C method during their tenure at Bradley from 1981 to 1986. Becker said they promptly decided to use the angle again upon their move to Ne braska. “Thai’s the symbol within our organization,” Beck said. “Every body wants u> be a champion. It’s a Nebraska theme. Nebraska has a very hard-working ethic. They expect a lot from their teams." Beck said the program lacked a positive and hard-working atmos phere when she inherited it from Kelly Hill prior to last season. Hill’s contract was not renewed after the 1985-86 season and Hill is now the coach at Western Illinois. “I thought we had a losing atti tude,” Beck said. ‘‘I just said, ‘Hey, this is your motto.’ (The players) adopted it and they work hard every day.” Beck said her penchant for hard work comes from her collegiate ca reer at Millikin University, which is a Division III school in Decatur, III. There Beck earned All-America honors her senior season and estab lished 17 career scoring and assist records. Last year she was inducted into the Millikin University Hall of Famr> ‘Everybody wants to be a champion. It’s a Nebraska theme ...’ Beck Bul Beck said when she looks back at her playing days she regrets she didn’t work harder in what she labels a “laxcd” atmosphere. Not fulfilling her true potential was frustrating and Beck said she vowed after her colle giate career she wouldn’t let this happen to the players she would soon be coaching. “I’m the opposite of my coach at Millikin,” Beck said. “I wanted a coach as a person to get everybody motivated. I wasn’t satisfied at a Division III school. I wanted to get to a Division I school and make players the best they can be.” Beck has proved she can get a lot out of her players by resurrecting programs at all three schools she has coached. In 1980, she took over a lackluster Southeast Missouri Stale team as a 22-ycar old - which made her the youngest college coach in the nation. She finished 9-15 her first season and went on to produce back to-back 20-win seasons. Beck then moved to Bradley in 1983 and inherited a team that had finished last in the Gateway Confer ence the previous year and turned them into an upper division finisher. They went 16-12 in 1985-86 before Beck look the helm at Nebraska. Beck said the Husker program will continue its upswing this year, led by a strong recruiting class and the pres ence of pre-season All-America Mauritice Ivy. She said the Huskers have the talent to finish the season in the nation’s lop 20. Beck said “a lot of pride” and “a lot of hard work” has helped during her six years as a head coach. She said she has enjoyed the challenge of taking sub-par teams and turning them into winners. “Genuinely speaking, 1 love chal lenges,” Beck said. “I like to be chal lenged. When I came to Nebraska 1 knew they were nevci .5(X)(in the Big Eight). There was only one way to go - and that was up. “I never wanted to lake a program that won 20games. I wanted to instill my reputation «n a program :