As I stated a while back, I’ve been playing since Oct. 2005. I played 5 years with the Bettys and held a variety of leadership positions. I’ve seen a lot of change and I thought some reflection was in order. I love both of these teams despite their differences, which is the best thing about my years of college ultimate. (god, I sound old, huh?) 
Please note that these are all generalizations and personal opinions from memory.
(PS, I’m sorry I’m a terrible writer. I’m gonna work with the human body for a living and there’s a reason why…)
The Bettys of late fall 2005
-We had our first coach EVER, a volunteer Zontal alum (love you Loren!)
-We had hand-made betty-boop skirts and tried to get everyone to wear red/white t-shirts for tourneys.
-We had a house in the student ghetto where a few Bettys lived together
-I remember a good number of practices with less than 7 girls.
-We had one hasians. (unfairly stereo-typed for being great at ultimate and life, though often they are)
-We had no money
-We had a lot of fun
-Did we ever go to Centex? Not that I remember, though we did get a bid to TiV and QCTU due to Loren’s hard work
-We had no club players
The Bettys of early spring 2011
-We have had a coach almost every year since 2005, all volunteer, including 3 Betty alum.
-We have real jerseys! And skirts and shorts!
-Lawrence has three or four Betty-majority homes out there.
-Most practices have at least 13 or 14 girls.
-We have a few Asians and hasians!
-We have some money and can stay in hotels sometimes!
-We still have a lot of fun
-We’ve been to Centex multiple times and had the chance to see national-caliber teams
-We had 5 or 6 bettys play club this past season
Well, as you can see… we’ve grown in some great ways, but still have a lot of room to grow. We even almost had enough for a B team last year, but just weren’t quite ready yet. I’m proud of the strides we’ve made. I can’t articulate it well, but the team mindset is totally different. The quality of the ultimate has become more important over the years. We’ve become more athletic (or recruited more athletes). We’ve preserved the off-the-field fun aspects of the team while bringing in attempts to become better on the field. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I hope we can continue to grow—if we get better every year, then it is a successful year I believe. We won’t become Texas overnight, but we can still improve.
Speaking of Texas… when I was a freshman, all I heard about was Texas. They were the regional powerhouse. In 2007, Truman State beat Texas in one of the most-heated games I’ve ever witnessed and took the bid. I won’t comment on that game. I’m just bringing it up in the bigger picture of the growth of the South region and Ozark section. Our section has changed so much and while Texas is still an amazing program, it seems they have to fight harder to get a bid than they did when I first started playing. In addition to TSU, SLU and WashU have also been to Nationals. Our region is much more competitive than it was a few years ago (and teams seem to be more friendly/open towards each other too). It’s still nothing like other Regions in the country, but we are trying. We have coaches, club, and key leaders/teams to thank for that. You know who you are—thank you. The transformation I’ve witnessed of some teams is inspiring, and I hope other teams can believe it’s possible for them too.
