University of Nebraska Kearney - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Kearney, NE)

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Coaches see sons shine i Former basketball coach AI McGuire, who directed Marquette University to a national championship in 1977, frequently tells of the time that his son was a starting guard on one of his teams. Another player approached McGuire and asked why he wasn't starting, since he was “just as good as McGuire's son.” “That's just it,” McGuire replied, “ You ’re as good, but you have to be better. My son takes all ties.” Kearney State Basketball Coach Jerry Hueser smiles when he recalls Football Coach Claire Boroff have their own sons playing under them. Joel Hueser saw extensive playing time on the basket- ball court, and Craig Boroff is the backup center on the football team. The elder Hueser is quick to state that Joel’s playing time is not due to family ties. “Joel came along at a good time for him. We weren’t that deep at his position, and so he got to see a lot of playing time. Other years he might not have played nearly so much.” D-..+ X „ X xl X f 1 o ■o o U by Dan Fong has had quite a bit to do with his own status. “I think anybody around the team has seen how hard Joel works. His contribution to the team is different from what we expected. We thought he’d be a streak shooter for us — someone to come in and score a few quick baskets, but he really hasn’t scored a lot. What he does contribute is a surprisingly lot of leadership for a younger player. He dives for loose balls, and has played a lot better defense than what we had expected.” Craig’s hard work attitude was also praised by his dad. “He’s a hard worker, and I’m proud of that,” Coach Boroff said. “I know he’ll try to excel at whatever he does. He’s got a ways to go as far as strength and size, but he knows that, and he has improved dramatically.” Both coaches are aware of the possible conclusions that people could draw when a coach’s son plays. Boroff noted that Hueser might feel the pressure a little more than he does. “With football, each position has its own coach, so I’m not that involved with Craig in practice. And when we substitute in a game, a spectator really has to be on the ball to catch who is all playing. In basketball, it’s quite a bit easier to see just who’s playing.” Hueser agreed to the visibility aspect of his sport. “I felt the pressure a little more that first year. Basketball is a little more visible than other sports when it comes to watching individual players. But I think Joel proved a lot when he played such good defense, and just overall aggressive play.” Coach Claire Boroff and his son Craig take a breather after practice. Craig was a backup center for the Loper football team. S t I f t t v s V e y c si Oi

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‘It’s all Greek to me’ Antigone: a classic challenge Acting in a play which was written in 442 B.C. may sound like a job that would scare most students right out of the theater, but not Denise Shope. This year, Shope played the lead role in the KSC production “Antigone.” “Antigone” is a Greek tragedy, writ- ten from a series of plays by the Greek philosopher Sophocles. Although the play is very old and the script is difficult to understand, Shope said she enjoyed her role as Antigone. “I liked playing Antigone very much. It’s a challenge and is very different from any role I have ever played,” she said. Shope, a junior from Seward, has played in many other KSC productions including “Extremities,” “Children’s Hour” and she did the stage directing for “Ah Wilderness.” She was also involved in numerous high school productions. Shope feels her role as Antigone was most challenging because the play is a classic. “Acting in any play is great experi- ence, but a classic is more of a challenge because interpreting the language is an important part of the play,” Shope said. “It is more than just memorizing the lines.” The script is written in very old poetic language and is difficult to understand. Antigone fights Creon for justice and dignity in the Kearney State production of Antigone . Genoa senior, Mike Christensen played Creon and Seward, junior. Deb Shope played Antigone, in Kearney State’s version of the Greek classic. Shope said the old adage “It’s all Greek to me”, is very appropriate in “Antigone.” “The actor has to know what is being said in order to say it in Greek,” Shope said. Throughout the first weeks of re- hearsal, Shope said that most of the time was spent on interpreting and understand- ing the script. Under the direction of Fred Koontz, every cast member had to not only learn his lines, but understand their mean- ing. Rehearsals were four to six nights a week for three hours or more. Much of the rehearsal time was spent on stage directing and blocking as with most plays. In “Antigone,” however, Shope said a great deal of time was spent concentrating on interpreting the script and putting the words into more understandable terms. “On the second night of rehearsal Mr. Koontz told me and another cast member to sit in chairs, face each other and read through the scene,” Shope said. Then he told us to move down center stage and read it again; after all that, we had to stand and read it. Then he took away our scripts and said ‘Now do it!’ We had nothing memo- rized but he wanted us to get away from all the Greek and just say the lines as we understood them.” Practicing and rehearsing over and over as in “Antigone” is very necessary, however, Shope said that it is also a very frustrating part of being in any play. Shope said the play is very short and by Mary Ann Kill takes place in one scene, about an hour and a half. “A lot happens in a short period of time. The mood is tense and remains tense throughout the whole play,” she said. Getting into character did not seem to be a problem for Shope or any of the cast members. “When you are backstage, you have to be intact, not really in character and not really tense, but if you are goofing around you would lose it,” she said. “It would be hard to get the mood back right before going on stage.” Shope said that each cast member had to work hard to understand the character he played. A theater major, Shope said she likes being in plays and loves to be challenged. “It is great experience playing differ- ent roles. Antigone is different roles. Antigone is different because it is some- thing I’ve never had to deal with,” she said. “I can’t imagine believing the way the Greeks did.” After college, Shope would like to continue to work in the theater. “I don’t really have any plans of where I would like to go, I just want to do something I like, maybe in a small town in a community theater, either acting or doing technical work.” Accepting a challenge is alt a part of theater work and after her performance as Antigone, Denise Shope has proven that challenges are what she does best. 17

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■ I 1 Thinking back to their sons’ high school days, the coaches agreed that the senior year of each boy was when talk turned to playing for the Lopers. Jerry Hueser knows that growing up around the program helped Joel decide. “He had some other possibilites, but this was a level he felt he could play at. I think he definitely knew he wouldn’t have wanted to play against Kearney.” As it is, both coaches have contributed something to their respective programs that was not expected of them, but should be enjoyed by KSC fans for the next couple of years. Coach Jerry Hueser watches his son JoeI during shooting practice. Joel joined Craig Boroff in the role of “coach's son. The sons’ view ... Craig Boroff, a backup center on the Kearney State football team, joins Joel Hueser, a player on the KSC basketball team, in the role of “coach’s son.” Both players’ fathers are head coaches of their respective sports. “I guess 1 looked at it as a privilege for dad to talk to me about playing at Kearney State,” Craig said. “I’ve been around Kearney State basketball all my life,” Joel said, “so I knew I’d be happy playing here because it's such a good program.” Joel also commented on playing under his own father on the college level. “1 think I grew up looking at dad as a coach, only now,” Joel added with a grin, “instead of giving me advice, he can yell at me.” Craig added a slightly different view. “1 probably argued with dad at the first, just because he was my dad, and I should have been looking at him as a coach. “We don’t talk a lot of football at home,” Craig added. “And when I’m in his office, it’s about half and half.” The locker room though, among the other players, is where one might expect the sons to take some razzing, but both Joel and Craig agree that it's just the opposite. “That’s probably the easiest part,” Joel said. “With the team, there is no problem.” “When the team is having some fun talking about my dad,” Craig smiled, “I can get right in there and they don't look at me as the coach's son.” Both players agree the future looks good for athletics at KSC. Craig agrees with his dad that he needs a little more size. Joel, after being an integral part of the team as a freshman, is looking forward to bigger and better things. “My scoring last year wasn’t as good as I thought it would be,” Joel said, “But then the team really didn’t need me to score.'’ In the near future though, both Joel and Craig are sure to play important roles in Kearney State’s two major sports. 19