An around-the-way girl, Lauren Woods comes to SLU from nearby Belleville East HS where she was All Everything. Lauren chose the Billikens over several other respectable programs & the Billikens couldn’t be happier.

In addition to getting steals and scoring lay ups, Lauren enjoys cliff diving in Costa Rica, shopping, (you should see this girl’s shoe collection!), Philip, and working on getting her Xclusive Girls clothing line trademarked. .
The Freshman Diaries – LAUREN WOODS


The Thrill of the Hunt – Diary Entry #1

Arriving on June 18th, I quickly learned how I now had a “new home” with four walls, two desks, a bathroom and one of my freshman teammates Hope Elam. This would be the start of our journey at Saint Louis University and a summer I would never forget. After a night of unpacking and chatting with my new roommate I thought to myself, would I really be ready for what was coming the next morning? RINNNNNG!!!!!! The sound of my alarm clock at 5:45 a.m., still half asleep and not having the pre-knowledge that those workouts at 6:30 meant we needed to be in the gym at 6:15. Running into the fire (The gym), with eyes as big as basketballs, the first thing I heard was, “FRESHMAN!” As the whole team started to run around the gym for our warm-up laps, all I could think of was, usually, not much is expected of freshmen athletes. Somehow, I sense this year is different. Our team has an opportunity to take giant steps towards making this program successful and special.

It seems nothing is left to chance. The off-season preparation for Division I athletic competition is mind blowing. The strength and conditioning is grueling. The only part of my body that doesn't hurt are my eyes and my lips. Our strength coach is very tough and demanding. Although most of us are taller than coach Shork he scares us a little bit. Okay, he scares me a lot. He is very knowledgeable and dedicated. Coach Shork also seems to have a bad memory. No matter how many times I tell him my name, he confuses me with some athlete named Carmen or " C’mon freshman."

From my perspective, the classes are challenging and inspiring. I love this environment! I am being pushed academically and athletically to be the best I can be. Coach Gray-Miller has mapped out a strategy for our success. The road to success promises to be exciting, tiring, painful, and fun. We will encounter owls (Temple), muskateers (Xavier), razorbacks (Arkansas), and other characters along the way. This is our 2007-2008 journey. Each journey will have its share of peaks and valleys. The journey is designed so that no individual can complete it alone. We can only successfully complete the journey as a team. We are like a young, hungry wolf pack. We are hungry for success. We are willing to work hard to satisfy our hunger. They say the strength of the pack is the wolf and the strength of the wolf is the pack.

As one of the youngest members of the Billiken pack, I say it is time to hunt! Stay tuned..........


Lauren Woods #33
Class of 2011
 
 

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