Monday, August 8, 2005
Cheryl Ford Chat Transcript
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The Shock selected Forward Cheryl Ford from Louisiana Tech as the third overall pick in the 2003 WNBA Draft. Ford has been consistently productive for the Shock, averaging 10.0 and 10.5 rebounds per game for her career.
Ford was named Rookie of the Year after she became only the sixth player, and first rookie, in WNBA history to average a double-double -- 10.8 points and 10.4 rebounds -- for a season. Ford ranked second in the entire WNBA in rebound average, first in double-doubles (15), ninth in field goal percentage (47.4) and 12th in blocked shots (0.97). In the 2003 WNBA Playoffs, Ford averaged 8.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, 0.5 assists in 29.0 minutes while starting all eight playoff games. She also recorded 10+ rebounds five times and three double-doubles, including 10 points and 11 rebounds in the Championship clinching game vs. Los Angeles. The two-time WNBA All-Star will chatted with Shock fans on Monday, August 8 at 3 p.m. |  |
Cheryl Ford: Hi everybody, thanks for showing up today!
Juaneice (Gary,IN): How old were you when you decided to play pro ball and what made you want to play basketball?
Cheryl Ford: I really didn't decide to play baskeball, my mom made me when I was 13. It wasn't something that I wanted to do, it was something my mom wanted. I was basically made to play ball by my mom.
Christina (minneapolis): hi! cheryl! i am a huge fan of yours!! and katie smith's! so do you and katie communicate well? and do you like having her on your team? she's great isn't she? Go Shock!
Cheryl Ford: I love having Katie on my team! I think she will open up the outside shooting for us, open up the post. I think she has a great personality.
Alexandra--NY: Hey Cheryl: first I want to say you are a great player and i look up to you a lot!!! i just want to know what type of exercises i can to do improve my jumping to improve my rebounding? thank you- Alexandra,12
Cheryl Ford: Well, you can do the sigma drill for rebounding, when you throw the ball back and forth over the basket and then go get it. To help with jumping, I would say jumprope a lot, that's what I do.
Tucson: Cheryl, I'm a big fan of the Shock and feel you are all playing better "as a team". I believe your team defense is critical and wanted to know your thoughts on that. I think when you, Swin, Ruth, Barb, Plenette, and Kara play team defense, you guys are unstoppable. Hope you all dig deep and just do it.
Cheryl Ford: I think defense is the most important thing in playing basketball. If you play great defense as a team and individually, the offense will come. If you play great defense, the offense will come. That's what we stress in practice and in games. Defense wins championships.
Allen, ATL.: Who do you hang out with the most on the team?
Cheryl Ford: Well, it was Ayana Walker and Chandi Jones, but now that they're gone, it's me, Andrea Stinson and Plenette Pierson. We love to go shopping!
jakie(lake City): My daughter is going to the 10th grade, last year as a freashmen she got no playing time. Now she says that she wants to stop playing basketball completly,All she does is sit in front of the computer and think about what it would be like to be in the WNBA.What can I say to make her consider playing basketball again?
Cheryl Ford: I think a lot of us girls as pro athletes now didn't get a lot of playing time. I didn't when I started out, I wasn't coordinated enough, I wanted to quit too. If, not having a lot of playing time is going to get in the way of your dream, then I think you need to rethink your goal. I think you need to look within your heart and find out if that's what you want to do. You have to love the game. Ask the coach what it is you need to work on to get more playing time. When you show your coach that you are improving, he'll have to choice but to give you more playing time. Hang in there!
Monique(Ft. Lauderdale): Who would you say is the funniest person on the team? Who would you say is the most serious?Who the most laid back? And who would you say is the shy/quiet one of the team?
Cheryl Ford: We don't have a funny person anymore! It used to be Ayana Walker. The most serious person is Ruth. She takes everything seriously. The most laid back person would probably be Katie Smith. We don't have any shy or quiet people on our team. They wouldn't fit on our team! We'd just bring it out of you!
Pilar (Miami): Hi Cheryl, At my high school we run 2 a day practices one at 9:00 and one at 6:00 (it's summer here)How many times a day/week do you and the rest of the team practice?
Cheryl Ford: When we're in training camp, we have two a days at 8:00am and 2:00pm. During the season we practice from 11:00 - 12:45. We usually practice everyday, but we'll get days off for travel and between back-to-back games.
Sacremento: hey can u give a sista some tips on a good diet
Cheryl Ford: I would say just watch what you eat, don't eat a lot of bread, greasy food or starches. Stick with baked food instead of fried and eat lots of vegetables.
Roni Israel: can you dunk? and if you can- why didnt you dunk so far?
Cheryl Ford: No, I can't dunk. Why not get two points the easy way? When it becomes worth three points, then maybe I'll try.
Daytona Beach: Hey Cheryl, I am from Daytona Beach, Florida. My name is Mary Oliver, and the question that I have for you is, What are your pre-game rituals that give you that boost of energy to go out and play ball every night? How do you make sure that the person that you are blocking out doesn't get the ball? Could you please give some hints because I love basketball, but these two things are my weak points of the game.
Cheryl Ford: My pregame ritual is we go to shoot around from 11-12, then me and some of my teammates go to Olive Garden to eat and then I go home and take a nap from about 2-4. Then we head to the gym. We practice on boxing out a lot. It's something that we work on a lot in practice.
Kat (Chesterfield MI): Hey Cheryl! How are you? Do you think now with Katie Smith in the lineup you guys will have a better chance of winning the championship? Good luck in the rest of the season!
Cheryl Ford: I think Bill knows what he's doing. He knows what it takes to win and to bring in another championship. Bringing in Katie gives us better outside shooting.
Samantha-MI: Who used to be your role model?
Cheryl Ford: My Mom is my role model. Her being who she is and raising three kids on her own really inspired me.
Denise (Charlotte): Hi Cheryl! I am a huge Detroit fan, needless to say we in Charlotte don't have a lot to cheer about this season. I wanted to know what you think you and your teammates need to do the most down the strecth to secure a playoff spot?
Cheryl Ford: We've had a lot of stuff haunting us the past few years. Limiting our turnovers, not giving teams second shots and coming together as a team and want to win.
Cheryl Ford: Don't miss one of our last games of the season tomorrow when we take on Charlotte at The Palace. Thanks for coming out!