The thought of teaching and standing in front of an elementary school class made several UCF student-athletes nervous, but at the end of the day it was a memorable and rewarding experience.

13 Knights took part in the first "JA for a Day". A program associated with Junior Achievement of Central Florida. The goal of the organization is to help teach children in grades K-12 how to make smart academic and economic choices.

The UCF student-athletes taught five lessons to children between grades 3-5 at Hidden Oaks Elementary School.

"It's a wonderful opportunity for our student-athletes to not only develop professionally, but also personally," said UCF Assistant Athletic Director for Student Services Keith Embray. "The number one fear is speaking in the public and they will have to speak in the public to little people, but at the same time were very happy to be here."

To find out more about how "JA for a Day" went for the Knights watch the video above.

The Knights' men's basketball team will look to rebound from a close loss to Marshall in Huntington, West Virginia on Saturday afternoon. UCF will face the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, who haven't lost a conference game this season, on Wednesday night at the UCF Arena. Then on Saturday, the Knights will take on the East Carolina Pirates in the team's first rematch on its Conference USA schedule.

Senior Keith Clanton appears to be back to his dominate form after a 24 point performance against the Herd. The Orlando native remains in the top five in the conference for points per game (16.6) and rebounds per game (9.3).

On the women's side, the Knights will also be home this week to take on both Marshall and Memphis. Last time UCF faced the Tigers, the Knights came away with a 70-65 victory for their first Conference USA win of the season.

The women's track and field team continues to dominate. Over the weekend, sophomore sprinter Octavious Freeman was awarded the most valuable female performer award at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska. Freeman won both the 60 meter dash and the 200 meter dash.

Don't forget baseball season is quickly approaching. The Knights will open the season on Friday, Feb. 15^th against Siena. Get your season tickets right here at UCFAthletics.com.

For complete coverage of all UCF athletics, continue to check UCFAthletics.com.

If you are a former player, the Knights would like to invite you to their Alumni Day on Feb. 24 when UCF hosts East Carolina at 2 p.m.

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The Knights men's basketball team continues its hot play winning five of its last six games and has a 4-1 record in Conference USA.  UCF will hit the road and head to New Orleans for a Wednesday night matchup against the Tulane Green Wave. The team will then head north to Huntington, West Virginia to face the Marshall Thundering Herd on Saturday afternoon.

Junior Isaiah Sykes has been scoring from everywhere on the court recently. In the last three games, the Detroit, Michigan native scored at least 20 or more points. He also had a 21 point and 10 rebound performance against the SMU Mustangs, which was his third double-double of the regular season.

The women's track and field team will compete in one of its most competitive indoor meets of the season at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational. The Knights are coming off another successful meet at the Hokie Invitational where distance runner Anne-Marie Blaney set another freshman record. Blaney ran a record 17:07.74 for first place in the 5,000 meters.

UCFAthletics.com will have complete coverage video coverage from this week's Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational. Continue to check UCFAthletics.com for more coverage of the Knights.

The UCF women's basketball team just spent the past week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for the Hardwood Tournament of Hope, but it wasn't all business for the team in the tropical locale. The Knights were able to enjoy the amenities of the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel and had a chance to sprinkle in a little fun when they weren't playing games. Before heading back to the States, the players discussed what they most enjoyed about the trip. Here are their answers:

Kiana Morton: I ate octopus for the first time. It tasted like shrimp to me. I liked it.

Andrea Hines: I tried guacamole. Usually, I just eat my chips with salsa because guacamole is green and I always thought it would be gross. But I liked it.

Sara Djassi: I just enjoyed competing, especially against the top teams. It was good to see how hard they play and showed me how hard I have to work to get there. All the extra stuff was nice, but I came here for business.

Sarah Green: I ate spicy tuna for the first time and it was delicious.

Stephanie Taylor: I liked everything. The scenery was extremely pretty.

Briahanna Jackson: I'm glad we came because it was my first time out of the country. And I ordered room service like 10 times a day. I probably had 15 club sandwiches.

Gevenia Carter: It was a great experience being in another country - the scenery, the culture, all of it. And I love Mexican food.

Kayli Keough: I think our team got closer coming here. It was a good bonding trip.

Bryeasha Blair: I'm happy that I got to leave with six boxes of cereal.

Meghan Keough: It was my first time seeing the Pacific Ocean. Waking up here and playing basketball is better than waking up anywhere else and playing basketball.

Erika Jones: It was nice to see the coaches happy and more laid back.

A photo gallery of the trip can be found on Facebook. 

"Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less." - John C. Maxwell

Coach Joi Williams was the guest speaker at the OD and Training Recognition Ceremony/Leadership breakfast on Friday morning. She addressed roughly 150 university employees who have demonstrated a commitment to ongoing professional development.

Williams, who is in her sixth year at the helm of the women's basketball team, talked about the five biggest lessons she has learned about being a leader. 

1. Do what you say you're going to do. Be responsible. She learned this from her parents around the time she was in high school working part-time at McDonald's. 

2. Don't be afraid to try new things and get out of your comfort zone. She learned this from L.A. Sparks head coach Carol Ross, whom Williams served as an assistant coach for during Ross' tenure at the University of Florida. 

3. You're the leader, be the example. She learned this as a point guard from her high school basketball coach at Bishop Kenny in Jacksonville.

4. Never settle for less when you are capable of being the best. She learned this from University of Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley.

5. Sometimes you have to make unpopular decisions. She has learned this personally as a head coach to do what is in the best interest of the team and the program. 

Practice is already underway for the Knights, who are less than a month away from their first game of the year. UCF has a home exhibition game Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. versus Lynn before its season opener against Georgia State a week later at 7 p.m. at UCF Arena.

The UCF men's and women's basketball teams had the first of many encounters with the media this season Monday afternoon. There was plenty of excitement and energy around the players and coaches as they took photos, talked to the media and even found some time to have some fun.

Media Day was a chance for the teams to speak with the media for the first time this year about their upcoming seasons. They also had the opportunity to pose for team pictures, do a photo shoot with the local newspaper, have their individual photos taken, tape some interviews and public service announcements, etc.

The men's team came out in their gold uniforms with gold lettering and black trim, while the women's team wore their black uniforms with gold lettering and black trim. Media Day can bring out the usual, mundane questions. But it often includes some interesting questions as well. The Knights were queried about anything from their expectations for the season to the best singer on the team.

The UCF men open the 2012-13 season on Saturday, Nov. 10^th at South Florida. The women open their campaign Friday, Nov. 2^nd, hosting Lynn University.

Experience some of the fun of Media Day with juniors Tristan Spurlock and Erika Jones in the video above.

If you ever want to be entertained for a half an hour, go talk to UCF women's basketball assistant coach Khalilah Mitchell. She's the best at telling stories, and she has a boat load of them.

On Wednesday, UCFAthletics.com will have a detailed feature on Mitchell's growth with the Knights as she heads into her fourth year with the program and her first as an assistant coach. Here are some anecdotes that didn't make the cut for the story to tide you over until it is released.  

Coach Mitchell is from New Orleans and was attending LSU when Hurricane Katrina hit. This is what she had to say about the experience:

"My mom and my family came to Baton Rouge maybe like a week before. People always ask, 'Why didn't people leave?' The thing is, we had hurricane scare after hurricane scare. You never think it's going to hit. In Baton Rouge, the population doubled over night. We ran out of gas, out of food. Our practice facility, we called it the Dungeon, became a morgue. The track became a helicopter landing pad to bring people here. It was really hectic. We had eight feet of water at my mom's house back in New Orleans.

Coach Mitchell is one of two players in NCAA history (men or women) to be a part of five NCAA Final Fours. That's a lot of rings. Where are they all?

"I have the majority of them. Some of them Hurricane Katrina took and I was unable to get those back. The majority of them, my parents have them because I'm not a clutter person and I hate stuff that I don't use at the time. I told them to keep all my stuff until I get a house, and then I'll get all my LSU stuff. Whenever I get a house, I'll have my own little LSU room."

As a junior and senior in high school, coach Mitchell worked on her quickness every day before school. She didn't own a jump rope, so she had to be resourceful:

"I would take an extension cord we had, unplug it -- it was such a process -- in the morning and wrap it around my hands because it was so long. It was like a phone jack. That's all we had. I'd jump rope every day for like 15-20 minutes before I had to catch my two busses to school."

The photo frame above is a present from the Knights after Mitchell accepted her coaching position with UCF. She has it in her office. 

"The girls, I think, were happier for me than anyone because they know how hard I work and they know how bad I wanted. They would say throughout the year: Just don't leave until we graduate. And every class says it. When I was just out on the road recruiting, it was the cutest thing -- some of them would text me or call me, when are you coming back? Are you getting some players? That's when you know that you've done a good job."