November 16th, 2015 | Uncategorized
Every Thursday night, I coach my 12 and under girls for an hour and a half. Tony, the head coach, will give me some of the girls to take down the other end of the court and give them a private session. This practice, I gave our post players some pointers to use in their basketball repertoire, such as a drop step, up and under, reverse layups, and other footwork techniques. When they conquered each task, their faces lit up in awe; as if they were impressed they could learn such a move. One of the girls even promised me she was going to try it in their upcoming game this Saturday.
Hearing things like this as a coach is self-assuring that I am doing something right. Teaching the game I love and have it give life to young, willing players is what I strive for. Also, it gave me a trip down memory lane. I had already mastered these moves by their age all because of one special person: my dad. I even told the girls a tip my dad constantly preached to me at their age: learning post moves is the best thing for you in basketball because you can easily adjust yourself into a guard. Footwork is something a lot of players struggle with and what people fail to realize is that grasping the footwork embedded into post moves makes you much more versatile.
Because of my Thursday coaching experience, I dedicate this blog to my dad. The man that has molded me into the player I am today. The man I could talk about basketball for hours on in with. The same man that would force me to watch constant film on my AAU games since I was 9 years old to learn from my game mistakes and progress as a player. Someone I would watch NBA games with to study the footwork and mannerisms of the best players in the world right in our living room. Tips and pointers that most girls in college never picked up on, I learned because I was blessed with such an amazing role model.
You would think a guy so in love with the game played college basketball himself. You see not everyone is able to get the opportunity to do what they love and fulfill their dreams, and the crazy thing about sport is you don’t have to be the most athletic or talented to know the game whole fully. Yet his love and passion for the game has been channeled to me and will most likely continue on to my younger sisters. The opportunities he didn’t have as a young fellow motivates him to give such opportunities to his children. Basketball still runs in my family ‘til this day as my dad continues to coach, where my one sister, Asia, loves the game because my dad and I love it so much.
So thank you dad for everything. For being my best friend that I can talk to about anything. For being the worlds best coach and being my biggest supporter. And, for loving the game. Because of you, I can make a difference in young lives here in Ireland. Love you always and forever.
Victory Scholar: Jazmen Boone
Present University: Waterford IT
US League: CAA
Club/Community Partner: Waterford Wildcats
Alma Mater: The College of William and Mary
Sponsored by: Teamwear Ireland
