Mediocrity No More

Karen Aston positions Texas women’s basketball for greatness.

By Emily C. Laskowski

Thirty years after the University of Texas women’s basketball program won its first National Championship, Head Coach Karen Aston and her team are shooting for a second. In 1986, when the team led by legendary coach and former Austin Woman cover woman Jody Conradt defeated the University of Southern California in that victorious National Championship game, they accomplished a rare feat: a perfect, undefeated season. (Texas is still one of only four schools to have achieved this.) As the pressure builds for the 2016 tournament, which begins March 18 and ends with the finals April 5, Coach Aston and her top-ranked squad are staying focused on one goal at a time.

Following Conradt’s retirement in 2007 and an unfortunate slump of mediocre performances in the years that followed, Texas hired Aston in 2012 as only its fourth women’s head basketball coach. With enormous expectations sitting squarely on her shoulders, Aston, who served as an assistant coach under Conradt from 1998 to 2006, has molded a team with Texas-sized potential. At the Frank Erwin Center Feb. 1, the team earned the program its 1,000th win, ranking Texas fifth in all-time wins for Division I Women’s College Basketball, and gave Longhorn fans reason to believe that a new, glorious era of Texas women’s basketball is a-comin’ down the court.

Coach Aston, or “Kick Aston,” as she is known to her staff and team, gave Austin Woman a few pointers on finding success on and off the court, and why women’s basketball is worth watching.

Add goals to the game plan.

“I’ve taken the one-day-at-a-time, one-year-at-a-time approach. As we’ve gone along each year, we’ve set higher goals, but then we’ve also kept these core goals, what I would call core values. It’s the same thing our [men’s basketball team] has and that [Head Football Coach] Charlie Strong is so well known for. That’s the basis of what we’re building the foundation on.”

Learn life lessons.

“Everything’s not going to go your way, and sometimes, you lose, and sometimes, the breaks don’t happen right, but that’s life. Teaching young women, in particular, how to forge ahead when things aren’t great and how to be strong and opinionated and well-spoken—all of those things are what they learn in athletics. But I think the biggest thing they learn is self-confidence and self-worth, which transfers over to whatever it is they decide to do after sports.”

Basketball brackets aren’t exclusive to the men’s game.

“The thing that I think is unique about our sport is that it’s played below the rim. We don’t have the high-flying dunking, but what we do have is more fundamentals, better shooting and a camaraderie that has to happen.”

Like the lessons Aston teaches her players on the court, fitness and nutrition off the court build a solid foundation for the future. With these tips from the Texas coaching staff, ramp up your routine and take your training to the next level.

Nutrition

At least three to four hours before a big game or workout, eat a meal that includes high-octane carbohydrates, like whole grains, lean protein and fruits and vegetables. Try this: 2 cups brown rice 6 ounces roasted chicken 1 cup green beans 1/2 cup roasted carrots 1 side salad with vinaigrette 1 cup fresh fruit 1 cup 100 percent orange juice

Within an hour after a big game or workout, eat a meal that includes lean protein to repair muscles, replenishing carbohydrates and lots of healthy fats to decrease inflammation. Since the game is done, allow yourself some fun foods. Try this: 1 large baked potato 6 ounces salmon 1.5 cups cooked broccoli with cheese 1 small smoothie 1 chocolate-chip cookie

Fitness

Score sculpted, basketball-strong arms with these exercises straight from the weight room. Complete this plan as a circuit workout by moving from bent row to pushup plank with little to no rest in between, at least four times through.

Bent Row
1. Stand with slightly bent knees and bend forward at the waist, keeping your back flat and shifting your body weight to your heels. 2. Let your hands, each holding a dumbbell, hang toward the floor, palms facing each other. 3. Pull the dumbbells toward your hips, handles touching at the top. Keep your elbows close in enough to brush the sides of your body. 4. Holding that body position, lower the dumbbells back toward the floor. Complete 10 repetitions.

Pushup Planks
1. Lying on your belly, place your hands slightly wider than your chest, with your fingertips in-line with the top of your shoulders. 2. Push your body off the floor in one motion, contracting your core. 3. After your arms are fully extended, lower your body without touching the floor. Your elbows should make a 90-degree angle. 4. After the final rep, remain at the top of the pushup and hold the plank position for 30 seconds. Complete 10 repetitions.

Rebound the misses.

“If we lose a game, we still have to treat the next one the same, and not have the mindset that one day is bigger than the other because they’re all the same. Complacency is something that you have to be cautious of. It’s a long season and you go through ups and downs, and so, the challenge is trying to stay sharp.”

Coach Aston’s Three Pointers About Her Team

1. “This is a fun-loving team. They genuinely care about each other. That’s why you see them cheering for the last player that comes off the bench or the first.”

2. “They have really grabbed on to wanting to have a legacy, and the seniors have led the way with that because this is their last opportunity to make a valid mark on our program. They want to get people’s attention and they know that the only way to do that is to do it together.”

3. “At the end of the day, they will put aside anything they have for the good of the team, and that’s hard to find.”

March Madness Division I Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament

First and second rounds: March 18 through 21, various locations and times
Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight: March 25 through 28, various locations and times Final
Four semifinals: April 3, Indianapolis, Ind., 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., ESPN National
Championship: April 5, Indianapolis, Ind., 6:30 p.m., ESPN

Get the latest updates on Coach Aston and the Texas women’s basketball team at texassports.com.

Photos courtesy of the University of Texas.