Stueve making her way through WNBA tryout
Former ESU star going through rigorous practices to make Washington Mystics’ roster
By Jesse Newell
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Just a few days into the Washington Mystics’ training camp, and Emporia State’s Michelle Stueve says she isn’t overwhelmed as she tries to make the transition from Division II to the WNBA.
She is a bit fatigued, though.
“It’s long hours. We go a good 3 1/2 hours or 3 hours, 45 minutes each day in practice,” Stueve said Tuesday night from Washington D.C., site of the tryouts. “When you go that long against the best of the best, it’s pretty tiring.”
Today will be Stueve’s fourth day working out at the Mystics’ training camp. Those at the tryouts are expected to stay in Washington, D.C. until next Tuesday, when the team makes cuts to trim its roster from 25 players to 15.
So far, Stueve says, everything has gone well.
“It’s a lot like college ball basically,” Stueve said, “but there’s a lot better competition.”
Stueve’s typical day starts at 8 a.m., when she wakes up so she can make it to the gym by 8:15.
The training camp runs until 1 or 2 p.m. each day. That means — with pre- and post-stretches included — the players spend up to six hours on the court each day.
Stueve said she had been taking naps every afternoon, then going to bed early.
She said it helped to be rested when going against gifted players.
“There are lot of talented people, not only in their skill set, but also in athleticism,” Stueve said. “In college, you see tough girls that are really skilled but maybe not as athletic. They’re both here.”
Stueve said players had been getting almost no feedback from coaches in training camp. About the only way to obtain any insight into the coaches’ minds comes from reading the training camp notes on the Washington Mystics’ Web site.
As far as schooling goes, Stueve said she only had to take finals to finish up most of her classes. Those tests are still a couple weeks away.
Anyone wishing to follow the status of the Mystics’ WNBA camp can go to www.wnba.com/mystics and click on the “Notes From Training Camp” link.
canchaser_412 (anonymous) says...
How awesome... Wish you the best Michelle!
April 24, 2008 at 8:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )