New coach works to change outlook.Byline: Chris Hansen <noinclude></noinclude> Christopher Edward Hansen (born March 26, 1959) is an American television journalist best known for his work on the Dateline NBC television segment To Catch a Predator. The Register-Guard Jim Moore Moore, city (1990 pop. 40,761), Cleveland co., central Okla., a suburb of Oklahoma City; inc. 1887. Its manufactures include lightning- and surge-protection equipment, packaging for foods, and auto parts. , ever the optimist, evaluated the talent on his Oregon volleyball volleyball, outdoor or indoor ball and net game played on a level court. An upright net, 3 ft (or 1 m) high, the top of which stands 8 ft (2.43 m) from the ground for men, 7 ft 4 1/8 in (2. team in the preseason and determined that, with some positive reinforcement positive reinforcement, n a technique used to encourage a desirable behavior. Also called positive feedback, in which the patient or subject receives encouraging and favorable communication from another person. and his tried-and-true system, the Ducks could win more Pac-10 matches in 2005 than they had the past six years combined. He was wrong. "I've taken over a lot of programs and I do believe the one thing I've been able to do is get kids to play hard," said Moore, whose first season at Oregon ended last weekend with the Ducks' record 12-18, but only 1-17 in the conference for their fifth straight last-place finish. "But I have never seen a place where players were convinced - convinced - they couldn't win before we even started." Losing can have that effect, let alone 15 straight seasons with below-.500 finishes, and an overall Pac-10 record of 23-247 during that time. Moore's expectations led to some serious soul-searching during the latter half of the season, and he began to question himself and a system that had been so successful at Division I schools such as Kansas State and Texas. "I really thought that we could win between six and seven matches in the Pac-10 when I looked at what we had," Moore said. "I basically asked myself the question, `How could I be so wrong?' I struggled with that." The end result, however, was Moore coming to the conclusion that he was being too hard on himself. After all, the Ducks were in a handful of matches that they could have won if they had the wherewithal where·with·al n. The necessary means, especially financial means: didn't have the wherewithal to survive an economic downturn. conj. Wherewith. pron. Wherewith. to put an opponent away. And in their second-to-last match of the season, they gave sixth-ranked Arizona all it could handle. "It takes some rationalization rationalization, in psychology: see defense mechanism. , I know," Moore said with a laugh. "But I know the system that we have works. ... You just have to make them believe they can compete in the Pac-10." Moore believes he did that with some players, including - and maybe most importantly Adv. 1. most importantly - above and beyond all other consideration; "above all, you must be independent" above all, most especially - his two standout freshmen, outside hitter Mira Djuric and libero Libero can refer to:
Djuric, an all-Pac-10 freshman selection, led the Ducks with 448 kills and had a conference-best 59 service aces. Her kill total was the most for an Oregon individual since Madeline Ernst's 593 in 1998. Swoboda was fourth in the Pac-10 with an average of 4.77 digs per game and finished with 448, which ranks as the second-best single-season total in school history. Moore said he had conversations with both players throughout the last month of the season to make sure they understood their worth to the team and the importance of being able to ride out a rough first year. "Neither will give up," Moore said. Plus, he added, help is on the way. Of the four recruits already signed for next season, one is 5-foot-10 Serbian setter setter: see sporting dog. setter Any of three breeds derived from a medieval hunting dog that would set (lie down) when it found birds so that it and the birds could be covered with a net. Setters have long hair on the ears, chest, legs, and tail. Nevena Djordjevic, who recently led her national team to the Balkan Championship. She'll be joined by another setter, Lindsey Stone of Ashland High School Ashland High School may refer to one of the following American high schools:
"One area we have to improve is our setting," Moore said. "We have one phenomenal setter coming in. She'll have an immediate impact." Oregon lost only two seniors - outside hitters Kelly Russell and Jaclyn Jones - though Moore stated there could be other roster changes. "We're going to have some discussions," Moore said. "The one thing, in reality, is that we have some former walk-ons now on scholarship. That will change." And in the process, Moore said he hopes he'll be able to alter the mind-set of a program that has been down on itself for too long. "What makes it so frustrating frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: is that we had the physical ability to win this year," Moore said. "But when we had to make a play to succeed, we couldn't." CAPTION(S): Mira Djuric was one of the bright spots for the Ducks with her 448 kills and 59 aces, most in the Pac-10. |
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