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Q & A with Julie Rousseau, Head Coach of the Pepperdine Women's Basketball Team
The Pepperdine women's basketball team hosted the inaugural Time-Out 4 HIV/AIDS Classic four-game tournament last month to raise money and awareness of HIV/AIDS. Pepperdine welcomed three top collegiate women’s basketball teams for the event: University of Florida; University of California, Berkeley; and Rutgers University. We sat down with head coach Julie Rousseau to learn more about the tournament and the team's 2006-07 season.
1. Can you tell us about the inaugural Time-Out 4 HIV/AIDS Classic and what happened during the tournament?
The concept of the tournament was birthed from an experience I’ve had at my church over the last couple of years. I truly believe that each of us has a responsibility to use the gifts that God has given us in order to serve others. In my position as head coach at Pepperdine, I began thinking about what I could do to help inform our youth about the HIV/AIDS pandemic. I thought that we would host a tournament with some of the Top 25 programs in the nation to help us in this cause.
The blessing was that these great coaches accepted the invitation, which made the rest of the tournament preparations a lot easier. We were fortunate enough to win against the #14 team in the nation (Rutgers)—a first in the history of our women’s basketball program—but lost in the championship game against Cal Berkeley.
2. What inspired you to initiate such a large fundraising event?
My inspiration came from God and also my parents, who instilled in me the importance of serving and giving to others. My life is motivated by the scripture passage, “To whom much is given, much is required” (Luke 12:48). I believe that I have been blessed with a great life and opportunities; it is my duty to give to others.
3. Why did you choose HIV/AIDS as the focus of your fundraiser?
I chose to focus on the HIV/AIDS pandemic because everyone needs to know or remember how devastating this disease is. It is literally destroying the lives of so many. Personally, as an African-American woman, when I heard that 73% of new HIV/AIDS cases are African-American woman, how could I not see the need to raise awareness?
Additionally, all across the world this one disease affects women more than any other group. It’s a cause for women in general and we need to make wiser, more informed decisions to protect our lives and the lives of our children.
4. What were your objectives, hopes, and expectations for the event? Were they met?
My hope is that we would raise awareness and target our youth. I believe steps were made, but I know that we have a long journey ahead of us. This first year was to generate interest in the cause, which I think we were successful in doing, but it was somewhat of a pilot in order to test how we can improve for next year. There was not much money raised, but what was will go to Sparrow Village, a hospice in South Africa.
5. Can you describe some responses to the event among Pepperdine students, the visiting teams, the local community, and the crowd in general?
All of the responses were positive and I believe people see the need. We have the support of some very influential people who I know can help us grow this event. The high school students we invited enjoyed themselves and thought it was beneficial. The feedback from the local community was positive as well. The students who were directly involved thought it was a good event, too.
6. How was your team involved in the planning of the event?
Each student-athlete who participated in the event was obligated to research and present at least one fact about the disease. The facts read during each time-out were facts that members of each participating team contributed. I wanted it to be an educational experience for them as well.
7. How did you manage to balance planning the tournament with your fulltime coaching responsibilities?
My life is a balancing act. Without the assistance of my coaching staff, I wouldn’t be productive. They allowed me to fulfill this dream by taking up the slack for me in other areas. The true unsung heroes of this event were Kevin Borzenski and Kristen Dowling. These two alone were my right and left hands. They worked tirelessly on this project and made it a success.
8. Top 25 teams from the University of Florida; University of California,
Berkeley; and Rutgers University competed in this tournament. Do you think that this benefited your team by giving them an early feel for their competition?
Definitely. We play a very tough preseason schedule intentionally. We want to play teams that will challenge us and hopefully improve our team as we prepare for conference and post-season play. Iron sharpens iron and if we are to be the best we have to be tested early to see where we rank.
9. How do you feel about the way your players have been performing on the court during the first games of the season?
I’m excited about the start of our 2006-2007 season, but not satisfied completely. We have a lot of areas to improve in and every day we are working on those areas. We have lofty goals and in order for us to reach them, we must continue to work hard for the long season that is ahead of us.
10. What are your prospects for the team this year?
I think we’re talented, but talent alone doesn’t win games. It’s all about hard work, no short cuts—just hard work in all facets of our student-athletes' lives. We expect our student-athletes to work hard in the classroom and on the court. It’s a difficult balancing act to be excellent at both, but that’s what we require. If we can work hard every day, then the sky is the limit.
11. It’s amazing how you've found a way to incorporate a personal passion with your job. What advice would you give to someone else wishing to do that?
I believe that we all are passionate about something. Whatever that is, as the old Nike slogan says, “Just do it.” Be creative and find ways to make it a part of your daily efforts. It makes your work a lot more fulfilling and rewarding to others. As Jesus mandated that whoever is great among you, or a leader, let that person serve. When you have that priority straight, you can do anything your heart desires to do.
Reporting by Lindsey Boerma
