Forgive the Hornets if they forgot, momentarily, why they were there. Guyant-Holloway, a first-year coach hailing from Northern Michigan University, has returned a degree of seriousness to a program that had lost it under predecessor Kathy Orsini, who resigned in April.
"There would be practices where we'd come out not sweating," senior forward Cassie Womack said of the Orsini era. "When it comes to that, yeah, it was too relaxed."
It didn't take long for the Hornets to figure out what kind of coach Guyant-Holloway is.
"Discipline right off the bat," senior guard Alicia Sanders said. "She came in and told us what she wanted, and basically it's going to be that way. And if you don't like it, oh well."
Guyant-Holloway said she didn't modify her coaching style to turn around a team that went 9-18 last season — that's just how she learned to be a coach.
"I can't judge how things were in years past because I wasn't here, but the things that I'm bringing are the things that I had, things I was a part of as a player and coach that were successful," she said. "We have fun, and they're a fun group, and we joke with things on and off the court. That's kind of within my personality itself.
"But out there, we're going to get the job done and we want to make sure that we take care of business."
One principle of the Guyant-Holloway regime is the importance of being the better-conditioned team on the court.
"If you can outlast your opponent, you're setting yourself up to be successful if there's a close game," she said. "You're not going to let fatigue dictate how bad you're going to make a pass or how good you're going to make a pass."
To that end, the Hornets do numerous conditioning drills throughout practice, mostly in the context of basketball situations.
"A lot of the [conditioning] that we do we try to incorporate into drills — either full-court layups or three-on-three-on-three types of drills," Guyant-Holloway said. "They're going at basketball speed and going in basketball conditions."
The Hornets, who were accustomed to laissez-faire practices with minimal activity, at first were taken aback by Guyant-Holloway's demanding drills.
"We're not used to running, so when coach said, 'Suicides,' we were like, 'What are suicides?'" Womack said. "In the beginning, it was hard because we're used to not doing anything. Of course, there were some aches and pains the first couple weeks. But it's helping."
There's another side to Guyant-Holloway. She wants to foster togetherness and understanding, and to preclude the possibility of divisiveness and resentment among her players.
"On the coach-player level, it's a lot more personal," Womack said. "She takes the time. She'll tell you to do something, but she explains why so we can apply it in the games and it's a lot more clear."
In preparation for tonight's opener against Pitt-Greensburg, the Hornets planned to dine and watch film together Friday night.
"We have a lot more team-bonding sessions," Sanders said. "We didn't really do that last year, unless we were on an away trip [when] you kind of have to eat as a team."
Sanders said the Hornets are delighting in the team's newfound potential in Guyant-Holloway's care. The new attitude is working.
"If you don't have control over your players, then you really don't have anything," Sanders said. "She stepped in automatically and told us what to do, and ever since then it's been her way and it's gone well so far.
"With a new atmosphere and her stepping in the first year, standing her ground is a good thing. As long as she can carry that throughout, that's a good quality for a coach to have."
