Here are some of the girls at our last practice. (from left to right, top to bottom)
Marci, Lauren, Mckenzi, Sally, Kameron, Keirsten, Kate
I volunteered to coach girls basketball for Orem city. I wanted to test the waters on coaching.
I came to quickly realize that they are just learning the sport and art of basketball. For the first practice I went into way advanced stuff. It was very apparent I was a new coach. I gave them really advanced drills that we learned in high school and in my basketball camps. They got confused and very quickly digressed to more interesting things.
So for the next practice I decided to start on the basics such as dribbling, passing, shooting, and the basic rules of the game. They picked up on it very quickly. It became very apparent who our well rounded players were. I eventually had to split the girls up into two teams consisting of the more talented players from the new learners.
By the end of the season, it was hard to determine who was considered a "good" player from a not so "good" player. They caught on really fast. I felt a lot of potential in a lot of the girls. Most were trying out for the jr. high teams (since some are a year away from that age). Some of them displayed much potential for other sports and activities. I was rather amazed that the parents themselves did not see it. Some of the girls I felt grew most was Kate and Kameron. They had never played basketball but were very willing to learn. Kate showed so much skill in running. She was down the court and back again with no problem. She insisted to stay out most of the games. There is a runner in the making! Kameron could hardly handle a ball at the first practice but soon came in as our point guard once our other point got hurt. She took to it like a bee making honey.
Sally (far right) was an exchange student from Korea. She did not know much english at the beginning, but spoke it fluently at the end of the season. She returned to Korea on our last game. WE MISS YOU SALLY!
I noticed many of my coaching features were much like my fathers. He coached me for several years when I was young. These tactets worked amazing. I worked with another coach for a while. She was very good at teaching the girls how to have fun and enjoy the sport. I learned a lot from here. However I felt her practices were a bit chaotic. It was difficult to get their attention when we wanted to teach them something new. I am greatful for my father because I was able to get their attention and helped them learn so much. I am also greatful for my coach Mae Mia who showed us that you can have a strict hand and yet make it enjoyable.
I am so proud of my girls and felt I had a great opportunity to see them grow. I am way excited to do this next year and feel so much more prepared for it. I probably will not go into the career of coaching, but if it comes to it, I would love every moment of it!
Here are all my girls except Mckenzie and Kate. (left to right, top to bottom) Sally, me, Lauren, Joscyln, Tepora, Kameron, Marci, Keirsten, and Olivia.
