The Amy Eagan Podcast

Gary (00:02.602)
Welcome to the Amy Egan podcast where each Saturday, Lindenwood University head women's basketball coach, Amy Egan talks women's basketball and much, much more. We'll talk about past games, future games, players, the Ohio Valley Conference, the NCAA, academics, careers, and many other interesting topics. This week we'll look at last week's game against Central Arkansas, the Bradley game that's later today and...

We'll also talk about self-confidence. I know that is something we look, we talk about in all careers, and particularly in sports. And joining us today is our special guest is Lindenwood University student athlete, freshman Maya Schaaf. Welcome both Amy and Maya. Maya, I'll start off with you. Did you get a chance to get home for Thanksgiving?

amy (00:48.356)
I did, yes. I went home for.

two days and it was nice being home with my family and we all got to go to our house we hosted, so.

Gary (00:54.178)
Good. Well, that's excellent to hear. And so just a couple of questions. I assume that Division I college basketball is different than high school basketball. Is that fair? How so?

amy (01:07.992)
Yeah.

Definitely people are a lot bigger and more athletic and you just have to kind of get used to that I guess and be more prepared for each game.

Gary (01:18.83)
Kind of interesting. Yeah, I think I see that when I watch the games both on TV and live, there's some big human beings out there on that basketball floor. So you're at Lyndon Wood University. So what's been the best part of being a Lyndon Wood student so far?

amy (01:27.182)
Yes, yeah.

amy (01:36.209)
I think the best part is just definitely the people that are here. I just enjoy all the people that I'm around every day and it makes it a lot more fun being here.

Gary (01:44.75)
And of course, you know, anytime I ask the best part, I have to ask the worst part, what's been the most challenging part about being either a college student or being at Lyndenwood University.

amy (01:55.337)
Probably time management and then just kind of being far away from home. But I think the part for being like far away from home it just kind of makes it easier since I like to enjoy being around the people here, so.

Gary (02:07.426)
So Maya, do you miss your family? So having said that, I'm glad to hear that. I'm sure they are too. What were the factors that led you to join Coach Egan at Lindenwood?

amy (02:09.431)
Yeah.

amy (02:22.237)
I've heard, like, I didn't know a bunch about her before I came here, but when, like, my high school coach found out that she was coming here, she told me a lot of good things about her. That she wins a lot of games and that she, like, wants to win a lot of games is really competitive, so that definitely was a big factor.

Gary (02:40.9)
I assume you have lots of other college offers.

amy (02:43.768)
Um, yeah, a few.

Gary (02:45.418)
Okay, well good. And it's early in the season. A lot of freshmen playing basketball at Lyndon Wood. What are some of the early takeaways for you personally from this first basketball season at Lyndon Wood?

amy (02:52.205)
Yes.

amy (02:58.377)
Yeah, we definitely are really young, but I think we all have a lot of good players on our team that are super talented. We just are working to put everyone together and just combine and we'll get there.

Gary (03:12.702)
Good and patience is always a virtue. I think I've heard that before from somebody else. And then on the academic side, what is your major, Maya?

amy (03:16.962)
Yeah.

amy (03:22.025)
I'm an exercise science major on a pre-occupational therapy track.

Gary (03:27.09)
Oh good, and do you plan to look at occupational therapy as a career when you're done with your basketball career?

amy (03:33.426)
Yes, hopefully.

Gary (03:35.594)
Okay, well good. And I know it's early and you're still 18, 19 years old, whatever you are, but there are other female basketball players considering Linwood University, this year and in coming years. And just on your early experience there, what one piece of advice would you give to other young women looking to play division one basketball? What would that advice be?

amy (04:01.373)
Definitely just trust the process and like where you end up is where you're meant to be because I think that's just something that rings true for me

Gary (04:09.746)
Okay. And then finally, and it's likely your family will listen to this podcast, right? So what do you want to say to them as they listen to this podcast here later today or this weekend sometime?

amy (04:16.278)
Yeah, hopefully they do.

amy (04:24.497)
I'm very thankful for all of them and all that they've provided for me to get to where I am now and that I miss them a lot and I'm super excited to see them at the game today since they have the day off from work to get to come.

Gary (04:35.394)
So they're going to be in Peoria today, huh?

amy (04:37.985)
They are, yeah, they're making the drive this morning.

Gary (04:40.77)
Well, that's cool. I think I met your mom and dad at that first game against Tulsa back in early November sometime. And they were fine people. Maya, welcome to Luna Wood. I wish you every success both on the basketball court and academics and in your career that follows. Good luck this evening, I guess it is. I'll be watching on, I guess ESPN Plus if it's out there. And as always, I'll be providing guidance to the referees even though I won't be there in person. My pleasure.

amy (04:45.773)
Yes.

amy (05:05.733)
Thank you so much.

Gary (05:11.038)
So Amy, you know I'm a mechanical kind of guy. I like the mechanics of everything. And one of the things that I've always been fascinated with, especially in basketball, I think, is self-confidence. And I know self-confidence is a big factor in almost every human endeavor. But with basketball in my mind, it has to really be a factor on shooting. Is there a method that you use or that coaches use to increase the confidence, the self-confidence of your shooters?

amy (05:37.785)
Yeah, you know, we talk to our kids about that. And you know, I'm a big believer in self-confidence, comes from your character skills. And you have a lot of control over that. And so for us, I would say, with shooting, working hard, having that character skill of having the ability to get in the gym, day in and day out with goals of maybe a certain percentage or a certain amount of makes, I think that that's a big part of it.

plays a big part in your self-confidence. So, you know, I don't think there's any magic potion. You walk in a game, and you're just going to be a great shooter. I think it has to happen outside the game, and it has to be a lot of unseen hours in a gym before practice, after practice, on weekends that puts yourself in a position to have that confidence. And it's hard, you know. It is hard. And I think sometimes, you know, some kids can say there. I say that about shooting slumps, too, when kids say, I'm in a shooting slump. No, you're not. It's all in your head.

If you put the work in, you may miss some here or there, but if you believe in the work that you've put in, there's no reason you shouldn't have confidence.

Gary (06:44.318)
Yeah, that probably applies to almost every endeavor. And we've had this conversation before, and I'm gonna go to the Central Arkansas game that was this past week. And every team that Lin-Nguyen has played so far this season has had at least one really big body, and by big, I mean physically tall and just a strong presence. Do you see that changing much as Ohio Valley Conference Play starts later this month? And if so, how will your team be adjusting to those big bodies?

amy (07:13.569)
Yeah, I mean, maybe a little bit. I don't know if from top to bottom and maybe more particular in the guard position, they're as big and long of teams in the OVC as they are, you know, versus Cincinnati versus Dayton, you know, versus the teams that we've played. But we'll still see some, you know, six, two, six, three type kids in the OVC. But I think the biggest difference will be top to bottom. They won't be probably as big a teams in that. And I haven't.

looked, looked at it. But I do know when you play a big 12 team and you're gonna see a lot more length and a lot more size.

Gary (07:51.21)
Yeah, okay, okay. And the most entertaining thing I saw from a non-basketball perspective on Winston Etta, I guess it was this week, there was a sign behind the basket on your bench end of the gym that started counting the missed Central Arkansas free throws. Now I'm easily entertained. And so I gave you the...

amy (08:03.748)
Even.

Gary (08:13.342)
So I giggled with that a lot. But I see that as a sign that in small part, Lindonwood students are starting to become more engaged with their sports teams. So Coach Egan, what can you and your staff and the team do to support those, what I think are entertaining college student activities?

amy (08:31.797)
I think that's so important. I think that's where you get a really good college atmosphere is when you can get student athletes to the game. And I think the more our kids go support other teams and show that they support them, I think we get some of that back from them. And that makes it fun. I mean, it's pretty cool to have. I don't get to see as much of it or pay much attention to it, but I have friends and family that'll text me and say, man, I don't know who those...

you know, who those guys were sitting across from you guys the other day, but you better find a way to get them to come back every time. And so I do think it's important. I think it really creates a fun atmosphere and, you know, a college basketball atmosphere that's fun to play in.

Gary (09:15.67)
Yeah, and I'll tell you the side story. As I regularly sit with Dr. Porter, the president, and I pointed out that sign to him on Wednesday night. He got a big giggle out of that. We watched it every time after that to watch the Arkansas Free Throw Shooters.

amy (09:24.313)
Hehe

amy (09:29.357)
Yeah, they had a, you know, I went to the men's game a couple nights before and they were over there and they had one for the men's team too. So we definitely appreciate that. I think they're trying to get on ESPN3 or ESPN+, I mean. So you know, they're doing the right thing to make themselves presentable over there.

Gary (09:48.21)
into that. That wasn't good taste yet entertaining. And you and I have talked a lot and you know I do a lot of work with numbers and so I count things and Maya you don't know this but I'm a nerd. And you can tell anybody you want to that I'm a nerd. That's fine. I'm fine with that. So I took the program.

amy (10:02.565)
Hahaha

amy (10:09.005)
Hey, that's okay. You're a smart guy, man.

Gary (10:15.402)
And I counted that Central Arkansas had two freshmen. You've got nine, of course, and mostly juniors and seniors on their roster. Now I don't even know if the freshmen played. I'm not that much of a nerd, but like I always do, I did some math. I count things. And if you think about the ages of college juniors and seniors, they're gonna be 21, 22, something like that. And the age of the traditional college freshmen, 18, 19, something like that. Those traditional...

college juniors and seniors have really lived about 10% longer and have 10% more basketball experience and life experience than freshmen. And we know that freshmen and sophomores will improve. Maya, I'm looking forward to watching you the rest of this year and the next three years at Lindenwood. But Coach Egan, do you think that the rate of improvement of freshmen will be greater than what would you normally see with the rate of improvement for juniors and seniors?

amy (11:10.038)
Well, I think, you know, I'm a big believer in that there's no experience like game experience, you know, to get kids to.

understand the game and understand whether it's the speed of the game or how physical it is or even part of their game you know with it. So I think you know there's a lot of value in being a freshman and getting that experience and I think if you look at our kids whether it's Maya or our other freshmen from the time they got here till now how much they've already improved how much they're starting to understand the game more not that we're there or

those big strides and those improvements. I think you definitely, if you're in, sitting in my seat, you definitely see it. And I think what is exciting is to say, hey, these kids are gonna be sophomores next year, then they're gonna be juniors and then they're gonna be seniors. By the time they're seniors, I don't even know if I'll have to coach. I might be able to sit on the sidelines and watch them play, right? But I think that's the exciting thing about it. Yeah, it's hard.

having a lot of freshmen and it's hard having a lack of experience in regards to, I'm sure them too, you know, being put in this position losing is not fun. But you know, they keep trying to get better. They keep striving to get better. They're in the gym when you know, we're not in practice. So I think there's a lot to say about that with them. And I think, like I said, the most exciting thing is they're going to continue just to get better and better.

Gary (12:44.578)
And five games in, five NCA, all D1 games are in. And this is kind of a softball question, but I want to ask it anyway. So you came from Drury, a Division II program. What are the biggest differences? I know the obvious ones, but what are the biggest differences you see beyond that between Division I and Division II basketball teams, not just players?

amy (13:05.717)
Just the size I would say. The size from top to bottom. You know and I think the speed, the skill set from top to bottom. You know it's a little bit different because I was at Drury and we had a lot of D1 kids on our roster at Drury. Some transfer backs but also some kids that we were able to steal out of high school that had D1 talent. So and D1 offers. So it's a little bit harder but I would definitely say

You know, the size of kids from top to bottom, the speed, the athleticism, the skill set from top to bottom. That's probably the biggest thing.

Gary (13:44.806)
And then Maya, final exams, your first college final exam start here in a week or two, I think out of Lindenwood. And Coach Egan, as your freshman players really, and as all your players enter their final exam season in the next couple of weeks, how do you help them balance academics and basketball during that timeframe?

amy (14:03.993)
Well, all that starts, I mean, any type of preparation has to start from early on. And I think we tell them at the beginning of the semester, the harder you work at the beginning, the easier finals week is. And so putting yourself in a position that when you get to finals week, it's not like, oh my gosh, if I don't pass this test, I'm gonna fail. Doing your work early, and that's a carryover to anything. That's a carryover to life.

That's a carryover to basketball. It's a carryover to everything. So really talking to them and teaching them and guiding them. I would say we're pretty, we stay on top of them academically. I mean, we do study tables with them. We check on them weekly academically. We have meetings with them. If they're not doing what they need to do or if they're falling behind, we try to get on top of it early to put themselves in a position when they get to finals week to.

you know, still be able to handle the academic and the athletic side of it.

Gary (15:02.814)
Excellent. I wish I had that kind of guidance when I was in high school and trust me, I didn't do athletes when I was in high school. You see my five, nine old guy body. That's just not much of an athlete back in the day.

amy (15:07.313)
I'm happy.

amy (15:13.977)
They probably get sick of us on them so much, but hopefully they understand whether it's now or at some point in their life that we were doing it for the right reasons and really trying to prepare them for life in general and whether they have to balance the workforce with having families and so forth with it.

Gary (15:33.722)
And last week, I think it was on our podcast, you told us the Amy Egan basketball coaching story. And just so our listeners get a better handle on not just Amy Egan, but her family, just briefly tell us about your family. Are they in the area? Take it from there.

amy (15:48.301)
Yeah, so I grew up one of five kids. I'm the oldest and grew up about two and a half, two hours probably from St. Charles in a very, very small town. And just, you know, we grew up pretty poor so I didn't have a lot of money growing up with such a big family. And, but I was very, very fortunate that, you know, I actually, growing up didn't,

didn't want to leave home and go to college because I was such a homebody with stuff. So all my sisters and brothers live back in Shelby, except for one of them and she lives in Florida. But they all are very, very close to me and we stay in touch daily. They watch all the games or they're here in the stands one or the other. So I'm very fortunate with that, that we're still really all close. Lots of nieces and nephews right now. So

That makes it fun that I have that ability to go back and watch them play some basketball and football and so forth with it. So again, I was very fortunate, very lucky when I grew up and I had a lot of great experiences that have led me to today.

Gary (16:58.674)
Excellent. That's good to hear. And same in my city. I'm the oldest of five and our family stays really close together and we're spread all over that all over the country. So the basketball question besides basketball, what other sports coach Egan, do you like to watch and play? And, you know, I'm expecting one answer to this.

amy (17:17.109)
Well, pickleball number one. No, I'm just kidding. I haven't played a ton of pickleball. I mean, I like all sports. I mean, I really have been into probably the last four or five years golf. I like to play golf in the summer. I don't get out there enough to be able to be good at it, but man, the days that I have a good day, it always makes me want to go back. So I do enjoy that and being out on the course.

I really, really do like watching college football. I'm much more of a college sports watching person than NBA or professional type stuff. I really like college, but you know, it's crazy. I was saying this the other day, but like, I love, when it's college football season, I love, love college football. I could lay on a couch all day on a Saturday and watch college football, but then the minute basketball games start, I kind of flip and kind of forget about college football a little bit. So.

I enjoy watching a lot of sports and I like to stay active and you know when you get older it's a little bit different with how much you can play those sports and not be sore and not able to move the next day but I do enjoy I do enjoy staying active.

Gary (18:32.81)
We know why you're making that long trip up to Peoria and back today. Please know that I will be watching college football today. So what's worth, you know, I've got, yeah, some really good games. And of course, you're on, you both can jump on a bus here in a couple minutes and headed up to Peoria to play the Bradley university women's team later this afternoon, later this evening, coaching. And what do you expect from your team in this game? And also what to expect from Bradley.

amy (18:39.322)
Lots of good games on today.

amy (18:55.705)
Yeah, so, you know, I think, you know, you look at even the Central Arkansas game. I mean, we had some really, really good practices leading up to that Central Arkansas game. And I thought we've had some really, some really good couple of days leading up to Bradley as well. So I'm excited to see again where we're at, you know, what we need to continue to improve on and what we're doing really well right now. But.

You know the biggest things I just expect us to compete to have that will to win to want to go out and make things happen and really put ourselves in a position to win and to be ourselves whether it's a good day or a Bad day for us and just play hard, you know and so that's really what I expect today with stuff I expect us to walk out there with a win and To put ourselves in that position like I said, so I'm excited another opportunity for us to grow and to get better

Gary (19:51.534)
Okay. And then the last thing on this week's Amy Egan podcast is yesterday, the new had made a big announcement and they are cutting back a significant number of both men's and women's sports. And, and, you know, I follow college business and it's, it's a good thing for the new wood, it was an important thing for the new to do. Um, sports costs a lot of money. Um, just what was your initial reaction when you heard the news yesterday?

amy (20:16.673)
Yeah, you know, I found out the same time as everyone else. And, you know, the first thing I'm going to say, and I don't know a lot about it, but the most important thing is that, you know, I feel for the coaches and for the student athletes that are put in that position, it's definitely not easy. And, you know, we wish them the best of luck in anything that they choose to do after this. But it's definitely a hard thing. I know a lot of them have a lot of...

ties to Lindenwood, have a lot of love for Lindenwood. So that's a really hard position for them.

Gary (20:52.086)
So we've come to the end of this podcast episode with Lyndon Wood University Head Women's Basketball Coach Amy Egan and Freshman Maya Scoff. Ladies best wishes for the trip up to Peoria today. For those listeners, I encourage you to share the podcast link with friends, families and neighbors. If you have questions or comments for Coach Egan for future podcasts, email them to GStalker, that's G-S-T-O-C-K-E-R at Lyndonwood.edu. Ladies best wishes and Coach Egan, we'll talk again next week.

amy (21:20.389)
Thanks, Gary.