Q & A with Jerri-lyn Chisholm

GOBRONCOS.CA was able to sit down with Women's Basketballs Jerri-lyn Chisholm and talk with her about her experience here at Olds College and playing basketball for the Broncos.

GOBRONCOS.CA: Jerri-lyn, after a very successful career at SAIT where you were a starter and an ACAC champion in 2010, why come to Olds College?

Jerri-lyn Chisholm: Well I felt like I had accomplished what I wanted to at SAIT and so I was done there. I had no plans of going anywhere after to be honest but then Coach Carrick started talking to me about coming to Olds and at first I said no. I wasn't sure if I wanted to play anymore but he convinced me and told me what they were trying to do here. I came here to take a tour and they explained that they were trying to build a team to go ACAC which caught my attention. I thought it was a great opportunity to do something else in my career and a challenge and I love challenges. I thought I could bring what I learned from SAIT here to help make this team better. My favorite movie is Glory Road which is about a coach who brought a team from a small town to a championship and I’ve always wanted to be a part of something like that and I felt like that would happen here.

GOBRONCOS.CA: So the year is almost over and your season is winding down, how did it go?

Jerri-lyn Chisholm: This year has been an interesting and very challenging year. At the beginning we had a lot of challenges with our team with regards to school and people being truly committed to basketball. We had a lot of meetings with coaches and it finally came to a point where we had just a players meeting and I think all of that combined helped build our team. This second semester is much better we have a great group of 15 girls committed to school and basketball and we are continually getting better. My coach at SAIT would tell us that every year a team goes through ups and downs which is what makes a team stronger. We had some hard times in the first semester and I believe those hard times have made us come together as a team.

GOBRONCOS.CA: You guys seem like a different team now, blowing out teams that you scraped by at Christmas, how come?

Jerri-lyn Chisholm: We are definitely a different team now. A lot of changes have been made to make us better players. We have started a new workout program which is helping us get in better shape, stronger, and faster. We have consequences for people missing practice or workouts which help to keep everyone committed to making this team better. With all these new changes we have found a great group of girls that want to get better and who are committed to building a team for when we go ACAC.

GOBRONCOS.CA: Speaking of the ACAC...you know that league quite well. How do you compare the coaching, facilities and off court training at Olds with those schools?

Jerri-lyn Chisholm: It’s a brand new facility with 3 courts and 14 glass backboards.  The old gym just had a new floor put in. The facility was better than any of the gyms we played in the ACAC.  At first we didn’t have any off court training but I talked to some of my teammates and the coaches together we put in our own off court training and then this semester we are now working with Jeff Royston which has really been helping us. The coaching here is great, Coach Greg started this whole process a couple years ago to get these teams ready to go ACAC and has done a great job of putting together a good coaching staff for all teams.

GOBRONCOS.CA: What about school? I'm not interested in anything to do with agriculture, is there anything else offered?

Jerri-lyn Chisholm: Yes there are quite a few programs that they offer here now. They have a business program that is transferable to any university or college. Next year Bachelor of Science is coming to this school. There is office administration, fashion marketing, equine sciences and many different trades and technology courses.

GOBRONCOS.CA: What would you say to an athlete who is trying to decide between Olds College and another school?

Jerri-lyn Chisholm: I would say that you have to come here and have a look and listen to what the coaches are saying.  I know a lot of people from Calgary have no idea what we have here for facilities and when they do come out they will be impressed.  And then selfishly on the women’s basketball side I would say come and be a part of a program that will be a force to be reckoned with in the ACAC.

The Olds College Women’s basketball team defeated the NAIT Ooks of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) this past Friday at the Bob Day Invitational tournament in Edmonton by a score of 51-47. Currently the Broncos are part of the Alberta College Athletics League (ACAL).

Any win is nice but the significance of this particular win must be explained.  According to research on the ACAC archive the Olds College Broncos haven’t defeated an ACAC team in basketball for over twenty years. “This is a quality win,” explained Co-Head Coach Reg Carrick.  “That is a better NAIT team than I have seen in a couple years.  They return the all-time leading scorer in ACAC history and have made significant upgrades at the point guard and center positions.  I expect them to be in the mix for a playoff spot in the North.” Olds College Vice President, Jordan Cleland summed up the victory from the institutions standpoint; “Our athletics program was essentially disbanded in the 1990s and we are now in year 5 of its resurrection.  It’s very encouraging that we are able to get a win against an established ACAC program like NAIT – we can see our athletic programs evolving.”

 An internet search shows that losing streaks are usually recorded in number of games not years but what makes this victory even more interesting was how it started.  NAIT was ahead 20-2 early in the game.  That’s when 1st year Broncos point guard Idalee Mountain Chief took over hitting jump shots on 4 out of 5 possessions.  The halftime score was 28-24 in favour of the Broncos and they never lost the lead again. Key contributors were Idalee Mountain Chief with 22 points and 7 assists, Mackenzie Taylor with 14 points including 4 three point field goals and Jerri-lyn Chisholm with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

 “A lot of credit has to go to Greg Lendvay (Director of Health & Wellness and Co-Head Coach) who brought this program back from the dead,” says Reg Carrick.  “Neither myself nor the players would be here if it weren’t for him.  This is just a step in the progress we are trying to make here.  We have some of the best facilities in Alberta and Greg has brought in one of the best athletic staffs around so we believe we can compete with anyone.” The Broncos Women’s basketball team is in action next October 8th & 9th at Lakeland and October 14, 15 and 16th at the Red Deer college tournament.  First chance to see the lady Broncos at home is November 5 & 6th versus the St. Mary’s University College Lightning.

The Olds College Women's Basketball Coaches are continuing their recruiting for the 2010-2011 ACAL season. The latest recruits to join the Broncos team are Jerri-lyn Chrisholm, the starting power forward for the 2010 Alberta College Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Champions, SAIT Trojans. Lexi Kambeitz from Red Deer's Hunting Hills High School will also be joining the Broncos Team in the Fall.

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