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


Adversity - Diary Entry #4

Dear Diary,

I have participated in athletics since I was 7 years old. I have run track, played soccer, volleyball, and certainly basketball. I learned you never know the true heart of your team until you face adversity, hard times or a series of crushing defeats.

We are a good basketball team. We care about each other and we have the talent, skill, and ability to win. Being a young team can be a disadvantage at this level of competition. There is no substitute for experience. The advantage of being a young team is if we stay together, we will learn and grow together.

I come from a high school program that won many games and competed for every conference, sectional, regional, and tournament championship. But Saint Louis University's Women's basketball team is the best team I have ever been a part of. Although painful, I believe we need adversity to help us develop into the team we want to be. It is not fun to lose to teams we know we can beat.

Championship teams aren't merely recruited, they are developed. We are so fortunate to have a coaching staff that understands the process. A coaching staff that shares the joy of each victory and endures the agony of each miserable defeat.

Personally, I am energized by our journey. Everything Coach Gray-Miller prepared us for is becoming a reality. She recognized our strengths and highlighted our weaknesses. I know I have some weakness. I hate to lose. Losing is painful and unacceptable. It eats at me until the next victory. A victory eases the pain. Consecutive victories makes the pain go away. Our team remains optimistic about the journey. But you can't win games on optimism. You win games with dedication, hard work, and preparation.

I am thankful for the opportunity to overcome the adversity we are experiencing. It will help prepare us to win. You'll see...


Lauren Woods #33
Class of 2011
Diary Entry #4
 
 

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