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On January 27th, 2022, the Messiah Women’s Basketball Head Coach, Mike Miller, came

to speak to the Sports Journalism class. As each student asked their various questions, Coach

Miller touched on a variety of topics that are relevant not only to the game of basketball in

general but his team specifically and the remainder of their season this winter.

It was clear through his answers that Coach Miller values integrity, hard work, fostering

strong relationships on and off the court, positive mindsets, and the furthering of his players’

Christian faith. The importance of team bonding, encouraging them to keep a forward focus, and

inward as well as outward strength was evident in his coaching style and shows up in the

women’s records this season.

Looking forward to their next few games and finishing out the season, the team will

continue to utilize their strong chemistry and work ethic while furthering experience through

game play and improving on tough defense.

COACH MILLER KEY TAKEAWAYS:

- Miller’s coaching philosophy addresses the entirety of the person, not just focusing on

winning games. He strives to create an environment where the players walk into the gym and

want to be there, and everyone builds one another up in encouragement and diligence to work

hard.

- Leadership on the team between Leah Springer, Megan Zimmerman, and Madison Eich has

been crucial to encourage team culture and ensure good chemistry both on and off the court.

- This season in particular has been challenging regarding the number of players that have

been out for a variety of reasons; some with serious injuries, some with more mild injuries,
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and some due to Covid reasons and regulations. It makes things interesting, and the team has

had to learn how to adjust and continue to rise above.

- One of the biggest values on the team is to always put one foot in front of the other, always

strive to be better and better, and there is always something to improve on. It is a delicate

balance between knowing strengths and playing to them while analyzing honestly and

improving upon weaker points. This season, the improvements need to be with the defensive

players becoming more aggressive physically and mentally tough, while also hoping that the

team becomes and remains healthy all-around.

- Coach Miller emphasized heavily the culture on the team and the kind of people Messiah

Women’s Basketball aims to recruit and have play for them. These people obviously need

talent, skill, and athleticism, they need to have what he calls a “high work rate”, and truly

positive personalities that work to build up the other team members.

The very next class, February 1st, 2022, the Messiah Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick

Van Pelt came to answer the burning questions of the Sports Journalism students. Like Coach

Miller, Van Pelt discussed team chemistry, their strengths and weaknesses, and goals for the

remainder of the season.

Van Pelt is certainly a competitive coach and encourages his players to nurture strong

work ethics. It is college basketball, and winning games is the focus; however, the relationships

and skills gained while playing are what is truly most important.

Though a basketball game can come down to lucky plays or a missed shot here or there,

Van Pelt argues that his team is confident they can win the conference if, before each and every
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game, they show up with grit and intensity, locked in on their goal and clicking as a team –

specifically on the defensive end, where great strength lies.

As they look forward to the rest of the season, their hope is that players out due to injury

or Covid issues will return in full health and help send the team to the final game. Continuing to

work on rebounding and turnovers, as they lean into their strengths and improve on their

weaknesses, we can expect to see great things from Messiah Men’s Basketball in the coming

weeks.

COACH RICK VAN PELT KEY TAKEAWAYS:

- Coach Van Pelt emphasized that one of the biggest strengths of the team is their defense;

when that end is really locked in and clicking, the defense can win the game. Additionally,

on the offensive end, there is evenly spread talent regarding scoring skill, so it feels as though

the team is well balanced and equal.

- Though he is a competitive coach, and the players on the team all strive to win games and be

excellent in their sport, Van Pelt said the most important part of his job is to build

relationships within these four years that last for decades to come. Not only are relationships

highly valuable, but the skills the players learn here will be carried with them throughout all

of life, and that is what he hopes to instill as a coach.

- Winning games can come down to just a few milliseconds, a play here or a play there. The

biggest shift the team needs to win a game that they maybe “shouldn’t have” won is the

mindset – if they go in with focus, grit, and intensity, they are confident they can beat any

team in the conference.

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- Biggest things to improve on in order to possibly win the MAC Championship is rebounding

and turnovers. The more shots taken, the more shots scored, and the men’s team tends to give

other teams the win because they hand the ball over too much.

- Much like the women’s team, the men’s basketball team has faced challenges due to players

being out for Covid-related reasons and injuries, though over the next week or two Coach

Van Pelt is hoping for some of his key players to be back and ready to go out and win some

more games.