Kim Spinardi is a freshman guard on the 2006-07 Aztec women's basketball squad. Spinardi, a native of Merced, Calif., signed a national letter of intent with SDSU in mid-April and enrolled in the second session of summer school in early July. Each week she will provide a glimpse inside her new life at San Diego State, writing about everything from school to basketball to her new teammates.
August 17, 2006
Hey everyone!! Most of you might have thought I disappeared somewhere. Truth is, I have been busy with schoolwork, finals and all, and finishing strong in our last summer workouts. My first experience of being a student-athlete is already under my belt, with a strong preseason lingering in a little over a week.
Ever since our return from visiting Lauren's (Hoisington) family in Las Vegas, we all have been keeping busy with school, as we have had to write various papers and prepare for midterms and final exams. In workouts, us rookies received our own weight training to go on and overall, our workouts have been more intense the last three weeks in order to prepare us for what will soon be an awesome and hard working preseason. I'd like to thank coach Richards for putting up with us for our first six weeks at SDSU, helping us along the way, and always being there to encourage us. I can say I have definitely learned a huge amount in such a short amount of time, from technique for weight lifting, to change of direction, and everything in-between. Open gym has gone smoothly and kept getting better each week. Players from USD, Brown, Miami, UCONN and Seton Hall all have come through to play as many games as we can, and also win as many games as we can. It has definitely become a competitive atmosphere, which is what being an athlete is all about.
In between school, workouts and open gym, we still find ways to have fun. We went to Rocket's (Veronica Shaw) apartment, a former SDSU basketball player who I'm sure you are familiar with, about a week ago. She cooked us some great food. I haven't tasted (home cooking) since the Hoisington family spoiled us in Vegas! That's our Rocket Roni!!
Q (Quenese Davis), Lauren, J-Lay (Jennifer Layton), Tamika (Lipford), San (LaSandra Dixon), and I all went bowling one night and you know that when you're not professional bowlers there are always good memories that occur at the bowling alley. Some of us went and saw "Step-Up" on Saturday night (August 12). We found the cheap movie theater of course, ballers on a budget! It was a pretty good movie, started slowly, but the ending made the movie worthwhile, as well as the actor! We have been to the beach a few times - can't miss that in San Diego. I'm working on getting a tan before I go back home and basically fry in the hot sun.
On August 9-10, we had the pleasure of hosting an official visit for Jene' Morris, who played for Cal last year. She visited SDSU with her mother and our coaches definitely kept them busy. I went with a couple of our other teammates to Mission Beach and watched Q, Lauren, J-Lay, Erin (Jackson) and Jene' get on a ride at Mission Beach. There was too much spinning involved for me! Hearing Q scream the whole ride was too funny and then Jene' came off the ride with her eyes still watery. It definitely was fun to watch. They went out to dinner with a couple other teammates and all of us seemed to bond real well with her. She played in our open gym for awhile and on the court, she was an even better bond. We definitely noticed she fit well into our team and the style of play the Aztecs symbolize. Jene' and her mother were great company and thankfully, she ended up signing a letter of intent to play here at SDSU beginning in the 2007-08 season. Due to transfer rules, she has to sit out the first year. I, along with everyone else, definitely believe she will have a major impact on our team, and her experience at the NCAA tournament will definitely help when we reach that goal - preferably this year - or make that, we WILL (make it) this year.
Summer school ended today as I had two papers due and a final test. Workouts are finished for the summer and when we come back, individuals (practices) begin, strength and conditioning becomes more intense and open gyms continue. I would have to say that I definitely learned more than I thought about the transition from high school to college. After two weeks, I learned that I am eventually going to have to eat at the cafeteria, or I'm going to become broke before fall semester even starts. I learned the different ways and different places to study, some of which were more successful than others. I learned that being a student-athlete is definitely hard work and takes discipline and time management. In the end, it is worth it to play the sport I love, while attending the school that I love! Can't get much better than an Aztec, right?
I'm flying back to Sacramento with Q on Saturday morning, via a ride in the minivan. After a two-hour drive (I know, that's our closest airport), then I will be back at home. I am looking forward to going home and seeing family and friends, while relaxing, but still staying active. Q and I fly back to San Diego early on Aug. 25 to get moved in once again, go through orientation and begin what will be an exciting, entertaining, memorable and hard-working fall semester with my first college basketball games coming sooner than I can imagine. Time flies when you're having fun, while getting the opportunity to continue to do something you love, which is play the game of basketball. I look forward to coming back to the Spin Zone when I get back to San Diego. This is only the beginning. I can't wait to inform everyone as the year progresses!
One more thing - shout out to coach Paye. Have to save the best for last, right???
I'm putting an end to chapter one - the summer - and opening up chapter two -the fall.