Entries by Char Borland

Happy Mother’s Day

With Mother’s Day approaching, here are a few non-basketball things you should know about my mom Carolyn: Mother of three Married Glenn Borland at the age of 19 Lived most of her life in Madison, Wis. Famous for her homemade pizza, K-bars and peanut butter cookies Enjoyed playing golf and bowling Was recognized by Sears […]

Three Pieces of Advice From Iconic Coaches

With the NBA playoffs in full swing, I thought I’d write a post about three pieces of advice from iconic coaches. Billy Donovan – “The real value and joy is what can be accomplished in a positive way when a group of players totally sacrifices and buys in and does something special that they know […]

Five Things to Know About Bo Ryan

William Francis “Bo” Ryan Jr., is a good friend of mine and will serve as co-producer of the upcoming Maynard 8 Miles movie. Here are five things you should know about the legendary basketball coach: While at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he led the Badgers to seven Big Ten titles, 14 NCAA appearances, seven Sweet […]

Happy National Siblings Day

Although it may seem like an ordinary spring day for some, April 10th is the day to recognize the special people you grew up with… your siblings. It’s National Siblings Day. A sisterly bond is one that can’t be described in words. You are each other’s friend, coach,  teammate and voice of reason (or rebel). […]

Letter From Sylvia Froning Mundt

In late February I received a letter from Sylvia Froning Mundt, a player on the Garrison high school basketball team in 1956. Sylvia played against my mother Carolyn and said: “She dominated the game as an out-forward with her quick moves, fakes and drives to the basket, with only two dribbles.” Here is Sylvia’s letter […]

Info on Glenn Borland Jr.

Glenn Borland Jr., grew up in Oelwein, Iowa, just eight miles from my mother Carolyn. He was adopted by his parents Glenn Sr. and Linda as a three-month-old. Like my mother, he too played and excelled at basketball. He went on to play college basketball for the University of Wisconsin Badgers, where he served as […]

About Maynard, Iowa

Most of the story takes places in northeastern Iowa, where we find the towns of Maynard and Oelwein. Both are small and rural, greatly shaping the lives of the people in this book. In the 1950’s, Maynard wasn’t big enough to have a traffic light. Main Street was only about a block long and the […]

Evolution of Women’s Basketball

Rules Women’s basketball was created in 1891 but until 1990, it was seen as a very limited contact sport. Of course, through the 50’s and 70’s, the sport became extremely complicated and was named “Six on Six.” Here, only 3 girls were forward court and allowed to shoot. The other 3 were guards that had […]

Recap of Trip to Des Moines

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to partner with the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) and attend the Iowa Girls High School State Basketball Championship. I not only got to witness great girls basketball but promote my book and what it means to be an #IowaGirl. It was the 100th-year celebration of the […]