“I love sports, specifically basketball, because there are numerous lessons and habits a person can develop that bleed into other areas of life that will ultimately help them be successful no matter what arena they find themselves in. Basketball provides a fun, generally low risk-high reward system for people to be physically active, learn to compete, grow in confidence, and develop important character traits such as persistence, resiliency, while learning the power of problem-solving and teamwork. Basketball is a delight of life for me, and I believe that when something is delightful to you, you have a responsibility and should be excited to share it with others. 

I coach because it provides a unique opportunity for me to share my delight of basketball with young people that also have some level of interest in the game. A coach has the ability to further cultivate and grow that level of interest and excitement in the players on the team, which in turn helps them to continue to refine the characteristics previously outlined and will help them be successful in realms beyond the game of basketball. The optimal outcome is that I, as a coach, nurture the interest the young person has and help it to develop into a delight that they in turn want to share with others. 

I coach the way I do because I believe that it is important for young people to understand that hard work and improvement doesn’t require being broken down and then built back up to motivate and achieve success. I believe that the power of positivity is greater than the power of negativity when building an environment that encourages growth and the healthier mindset that failure and mistakes are the foundation of or cornerstone of success. By focusing on building a relationship with players and understanding who they are as people, I can gain better insight on how to help them unlock that mindset and truly believe in themselves.”

“I coach because I believe in physical activity, that everyone should be physically active, and it should be fun. I want to instill the lifelong love and joy of moving and competing. I believe in hard work, and seeing the rewards of time and effort day after day, so I coach to build character and promote 100% effort from myself and my athletes. At the same time, my purpose as coach is to show that you don’t need to be yelled at, be hard on yourself, or harvest negative emotions in order to grow and progress as a human and athlete. I coach to help individuals, not just athletes, grow into themselves and into self-functioning problem solvers.”