Quest for Success
Alia Alvarez | Head Coach of the Porterville College Women's Basketball Program: A Fresh Perspective on Basketball, Personal Growth, and the Power of Parental Support in Athletics
What if a fresh perspective on the game of basketball could change the trajectory of your sports career? This enlightening episode with our guest, Alia Alvarez, Head Coach of the Porterville College Women's Basketball Program, promises to do just that! Alia’s unique coaching philosophy, her transition to coaching, her relentless determination, and her mission-focused approach to take her players to the next level are nothing short of inspiring.
This isn’t your usual sports commentary. Alia is candid about her frustrations with lack of basketball IQ among players and the diminishing importance given to secondary defense. Her advice on becoming more successful in the game and selling oneself to coaches and colleges is a goldmine. Furthermore, touching on the critical role of mental strength and the ability to bounce back from adversity, she shares her thoughts on loyalty, adversity, and humility.
Lastly, for the parents out there, don't just stand on the sidelines. Alia provides invaluable advice on how to best support your children in sports and the impact you can make on youth sports development. She believes that when parents provide this support, it can be a game changer for their child. Whether you're a player, a coach, or a parent, this episode is a slam dunk with its fresh perspective on basketball, personal growth in athletics, and parental involvement. So, don't pass up on this opportunity. Listen in as Alia Alvarez takes us on a deep dive into the world of basketball - it’s a shot you won’t want to miss!
Quest for Success Links | https://linktr.ee/questforsuccess
What if a fresh perspective on the game of basketball could change the trajectory of your sports career? This enlightening episode with our guest, Alia Alvarez, Head Coach of the Porterville College Women's Basketball Program, promises to do just that! Alia’s unique coaching philosophy, her transition to coaching, her relentless determination, and her mission-focused approach to take her players to the next level are nothing short of inspiring.
This isn’t your usual sports commentary. Alia is candid about her frustrations with lack of basketball IQ among players and the diminishing importance given to secondary defense. Her advice on becoming more successful in the game and selling oneself to coaches and colleges is a goldmine. Furthermore, touching on the critical role of mental strength and the ability to bounce back from adversity, she shares her thoughts on loyalty, adversity, and humility.
Lastly, for the parents out there, don't just stand on the sidelines. Alia provides invaluable advice on how to best support your children in sports and the impact you can make on youth sports development. She believes that when parents provide this support, it can be a game changer for their child. Whether you're a player, a coach, or a parent, this episode is a slam dunk with its fresh perspective on basketball, personal growth in athletics, and parental involvement. So, don't pass up on this opportunity. Listen in as Alia Alvarez takes us on a deep dive into the world of basketball - it’s a shot you won’t want to miss!
Quest for Success Links | https://linktr.ee/questforsuccess
Alright, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Quest for Success podcast. Today we have on the head basketball coach for Portable College of Women's Basketball Program, a former college basketball player. She was also coached with Rob Haynes when he was the head coach at PC. She was an assistant coach with him and at the time she was the only women assistant coach on a men's program in the state of California. So welcome to the podcast, Elia Alvarez. We're excited to finally get you on. We've been talking about it for a while, yeah welcome.
Speaker 3:Thanks for having me, so we like to start off each episode with the mental minute questions. Okay, we're going to start off with something like something fun. Okay, which do you prefer, low or high tops, when you're playing basketball?
Speaker 2:When I'm playing yes, low tops, low tops. Why, I don't know. I feel like I could just move a little bit better.
Speaker 3:Okay, so it has more so to do with the comfortability, not the look.
Speaker 2:I like the look too, though Okay she's about to look as well.
Speaker 3:Okay, I was about to ask which low top.
Speaker 2:Coby's 100% most comfortable. I feel like you never have to break a man. They're just the best shoe I've ever worn Right out of the box.
Speaker 1:Yes, I love them. Nice Coby's. When you hear the word basketball, what comes to your mind?
Speaker 2:When I hear the word about, I mean I think of all like the great players, but Michael Jordan for sure, like that's the first person the first thing I think of is Michael Jordan.
Speaker 1:And so that was going to be, I guess, the next question who was your favorite basketball player?
Speaker 2:Michael Jordan 100% hands down the goat.
Speaker 3:Yeah, okay, michael Jordan, obviously a guy who has had a lot of success. What's your definition of success?
Speaker 2:To me. I think my definition of success is just giving everything. You have. 110% Win or lose, as long as you give everything that you could possibly give and you can look at yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and said I did everything. I think that's success right there.
Speaker 1:I want to bring the mic just a little closer.
Speaker 2:Okay, my bad.
Speaker 1:So Michael Jordan is your favorite basketball player? We answered that. Why?
Speaker 2:And I think it's more like obviously he's great right Like his, his plays amazing, his skill, but to me it's it's the mental aspect of him. He is just so competitive, so determined. Everything was like a do or die situation for him and like I just love that competitiveness, that competitive nature he had on and off the court, right Like you always hear about him making bets, golfing, doing this, doing that. I just like I like that mentality.
Speaker 1:And also like the mystery kind of Michael Jordan. We know so much about him but also like he's not on social media no personal accounts, like I always wonder, like what's Michael Jordan doing right?
Speaker 2:now.
Speaker 1:Like what's he doing?
Speaker 2:now.
Speaker 1:And because he doesn't showcase his whole life on social media all the time, every day, so he does like we know a lot about him and all that stuff but also like there's a lot of stuff like day to day, like what's this guy?
Speaker 3:doing right now.
Speaker 1:Like what's he spending his time doing?
Speaker 3:Yeah, he's, which is crazy to say. I mean the guy's known globally.
Speaker 1:Yeah, anywhere you go in the world. And Michael Jordan, yeah.
Speaker 3:Okay, last question. All right, what is one of your biggest pet peeves that players do on the basketball court?
Speaker 2:There's a few.
Speaker 3:Name them, all of them, go, all of them. Okay, I'll go.
Speaker 2:My number one thing is if you turn the ball over and you walk or jog back. That that makes me mad. It makes me mad when I played and it makes me mad coaching. Um, yeah, that that should never happen.
Speaker 3:So that's at the top of the list, that's the top. That's the top, okay, 100% top.
Speaker 2:Um, this is more so, I would say, in the men's side. I hate flopping, I hate this flop culture we got going on.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:Um, I hate that. And then just negative behavior like negative attitude, negative body language, whether you don't agree with the call, with the ref, or maybe you missed a shot, like I don't. I don't want to see your emotion and I don't like that.
Speaker 1:So, as a coach and this is kind of something we'll get into here in a bit a little bit more in depth but as a coach, when you see that right at PC or whoever you're coaching, right, you see that, how do you respond? And what do you think the best way to respond is to get them to realize like, hey, I don't like this, and I'm sure you've. You set your boundaries at the beginning of the season. So when they actually do it, it's even worse, right? So when they do it after you've set those expectations, how do you respond to that as a coach?
Speaker 2:Usually, um, we have like a thing we say, like a mantra, that we say as a team like we'll be like the next place. So anytime someone turns it over the whole bench would be like next play, next one, or we have the short term memory. So I try to give them those trigger words to try to refocus and get back to what they can control, cause, um, my background, I got my masters in sports psychology and I talked to the girls a lot about the controllables in life, right, the only things you can control, or your attitude and effort, like how you respond to things and the amount of effort you put into something. So we have that talk continuously throughout the year. They know the controllables and sometimes I just remind them with you know what you know a few words here. Their mantra we have the next play, or whether it's short to memory or the controllables, to try to refocus them on what they can control.
Speaker 3:Hmm, that's a good way to put it. Okay, we talked about the things that bother you All right. Now tell us the things that you feel, in your opinion, that make a successful Hooper. Right? What are the top three traits that every basketball player must carry to be a successful Hooper?
Speaker 2:Does it have to be basketball specific or can it be like any sport?
Speaker 3:We're talking basketball, basketball. Yeah, we're talking basketball.
Speaker 2:Cause. To me it's more of a mindset than it is like the actual skill work right To be successful in your sport and if we're talking about basketball in this case, basketball but um.
Speaker 2:I think number one is you have to have a love and respect for the game cause there's times when it's no longer a game, it's a job, especially the higher we get in the level right, like Jukko. Yeah, it's a commitment, more pressing than it is in high school, but at the four year level it's a job and it is a business. So you have to have that love and respect for the game cause, day in, day out, when you're in the grind and the days that you hate your job, you still gotta love it and still gotta be willing to show up and give 110%. So, number one you have to have love and respect for the game.
Speaker 2:I think you also need to be determined to know what you want and what you want out of this sport. Like, are we using this sport as a catalyst to get us a free education or are we using this sport because we just want to further the career? We looking for a pro? Um, like maybe some you know pro opportunities after. You need to know what you want out of the sports and then we can coach you based off of that Um and what you're trying to get out of it. So, um, that would be number two determination. Um, and then, oh, that's a good one, um we'll take those two.
Speaker 3:Those two are good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was gonna say I feel like the kind of it's a lot You're trying to say you got to know your why. Yeah 100%.
Speaker 3:You got to once you know your why, then we can figure it out from there.
Speaker 1:Right, right.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Um, we'll get to kind of some of your personal stuff in a bit, but I want to start off kind of the the main segment with. You know coaching philosophy. You've talked about bits and pieces of it, right, you've played successful high school career, um, you've played at the Juco level. You've played at a university in Hawaii. Now you have, you know, coached men's pro. You know with the men's program. Now you're the head um women's coach at Port of La Colgina with a Juco program. Um, you've been around high school programs. I'm sure you've been around some great, amazing, uh, four year university coaches as well, once you have your masters in sports psychology, okay, and you coach and you're a PE teacher. So you do a lot of things.
Speaker 1:You wear a lot of hats, and you've experienced a lot of things. Am I missing anything? Cause that's that's a lot. Um, so my thing is you're successful, but with that, with everything that you've learned, what is your coaching philosophy Like? Lay it out for us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Um, that's actually such a good question because I get that from recruits sometimes when I'm talking to them trying to get them to come out here to JPC, like YPC, Y me right, Like why you even bet on me?
Speaker 2:Um, and I don't even know if this is like the typical standard answer, but to me my philosophy is to get kids out right, Get the exposure, get, get out of here, go, experience something other than the valley, go somewhere else and you know, take a risk and hopefully you play for a coach that you like, you get to the school that you should be at and we find a good fit. So my exes and those change, depending on who I have.
Speaker 1:Based on your personality.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's always my personal, so I don't really have like a set in stone. This is what I like. This is my ideal philosophy, this is what I do. This is. It just depends on the kids and it mainly depends on my sophomores, because that's that's who I work for.
Speaker 2:Like to me, I'm I I'm a coach, right, but I think I work in a service industry. Like I serve them, Like my job is to get them to be the best they can possibly be and the best them that they are, to get them out of here so they can be successful somewhere else. So, yeah, like it sounds interesting, but yeah, just get kids out and whatever means necessary that I got to do that. I got to do that, Whether it's learning how to use the talent we have in the correct way and figuring out what is going to be the best you know fit for our team. And that's a lot of research on my end. That's a lot of shifting my perspective on my end. I got to do a lot of homework. I got to figure out you know how I'm going to get the best out of these kids. But yeah, like it's changed. I've been the coach at PC the women's coach for three years and every year has been completely different. I've been different, so it just kind of depends on my girls really.
Speaker 1:I love how you mentioned you know one of your main goals and missions is to get kids out right, get the kids to go. Experience which you did the same thing you played at PC and you went and played at Hawaii. Eventually, I mean, what better place to go?
Speaker 2:play right.
Speaker 1:So it's that experience, it's being able to experience, and I think one of the best things is have coaches that did go through those levels because people look down on Jukos and Jukos don't get the support and the funding that they deserve a lot of time. So I think that's a huge and you implement that into your own program.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely Okay, let's. Let's take it back to you now, though. Okay, let's. I want you to tell us where it all started for you. You know, from the moment you picked up a ball yourself and to where. If you know it's like this is love, this is, this is what I want to do, this is who I want to be, and this is what I'm going to you know. Take off with. So when did it start for you.
Speaker 2:So I started playing basketball very young age. I probably was like in first grade. I think that's like my first game and I don't I don't necessarily think like I was in love with it right away. I thought. I think I was naturally just pretty good at it, so I continued that trend and kept playing.
Speaker 3:Pay time for it?
Speaker 2:Yeah for sure, but like in high school and all that, I wasn't the gym rat, like I wasn't doing all that. Like you see, some kids nowadays, you know they're in high school, they know exactly what they want to do. I didn't know that yet. I didn't know if I wanted to continue playing basketball. I didn't know if, like I didn't even know if I was going to go to college. If I'm being 100% honest, like the only reason why I even went to PC was because I didn't apply for any colleges. Like in my senior year and coach Cameron asked if I was interested in playing. So I said, yeah, I got nothing, I got nothing else going on. So I went and you know I was a pretty, pretty decent player. So I, you know, I got some minutes. You know I started experiencing some things and it was pretty cool and and I've always been the type of person that doesn't shy away from hard work, so I liked the grind of it, but I wasn't putting in 110% effort until the summer, going into my sophomore year, like that's when, like, a light switched in me and I just started committing myself. And like when I say committing myself, like fully immersing myself in basketball, like I was in the gym, day in, day out, hours and hours.
Speaker 2:Me and coach Cameron probably spent every holiday together. I was there Christmas Eve, christmas day with him, new Year's Eve, new Year's Day, thanksgiving Like we spent every single day. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't go in the gym. We have games Saturday. I was in the gym Sunday morning at 8am. You know like I was just doing all that playing pick up whenever I could, menachi, friday nights, you know, playing pick up with the boys till one in the morning. I would go to the PDC, the state hospital, and play with the workers on their lunch breaks. I go to Burton Middle School and the town and country workers would go and they'd play pick up. You know, my brother's friends, I would just, I would completely immerse myself.
Speaker 2:But I don't think I got to that point until, yeah, like my soft going into my sophomore year. But mainly I think the event that made me like really focus and hone in on it was when my grandpa died, because he was like my, he was our biggest support system ever. It's my mom's dad best, best person I've ever met in my life, greatest person hands down. But he was just so proud of like me, my brother and our accomplishments, sports wise, and he was just our biggest support system. And when he died I kind of just like shifted everything to like everything I do from this four like moment Ford has been for him. So I think that's like that moment is when I I think I fell in love with the game.
Speaker 3:It clicked.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it clicked. It was more than just I like it. It's cool, I'm decent at it. It was like no, I love every aspect of it because I think I fully gave myself at that point to the game.
Speaker 1:So when you actually find that and you have a purpose, right, you have a reason, you have a purpose. What was like, I guess, the drive, because you said that you didn't necessarily have anything going on, like you don't have plans of playing college. So what like your junior and senior year of high school, like, like you didn't have no plans?
Speaker 2:Like you, just like what was why was it?
Speaker 1:Why was that you think?
Speaker 2:I really like I was, yeah, yeah, I was the kid that was Like the best player at the school, right, like I was the best player at my high school, but I really don't, I really wasn't that great.
Speaker 2:You know, like I was okay, I was decent, I think I was an average player and maybe, like I might be being humble if you ask someone else to my say, I was pretty good, but, um, I I was getting, I was skating by on that athleticism that I already had, like I had Teachers who were coaches, yeah, kind of just like you know well, let's help her out I wasn't that good academically.
Speaker 2:My freshman year I was like failing two classes, like I wasn't driven in any way, I don't know what it was, I was just always kind of labeled like the jock and so I really didn't like think of myself as anything more than that and Going into junior senior year like I don't have the greatest grades, you know I'm doing decent, I'm doing average, I don't I'm not getting any looks from anybody. I kind of was just like, oh, this is gonna be it, and I didn't. I Didn't think you know I was gonna go to. I didn't think I was in college, I didn't think I was gonna go to a four-year nor get a scholarship. To play at a four-year, like that was never a thought process for me. I was just. I was really just not, not honed in, like I just didn't have a drive at that point.
Speaker 1:Do you? I mean so, do you think you were just like in this bubble and you didn't, you weren't exposed to the opportunities that could have been there, like, do you think that was kind of maybe part of it? Like you were a great year, a good player in town, you were being coached by you know good coaches, but just Not knowing, kind you don't know what you don't know, type of thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think I could have possibly in that, but also we were not like a very like at this time. Portable high school. It's not a very successful program either like we were.
Speaker 2:You know we weren't winning a whole lot of games. It kind of was not fun and, and unfortunately, when I was in high school I had a new coach every year. My Freshman, sophomore, junior, senior was a new coach. It the turnover was tremendous. Yeah, so you know, we didn't have someone set in stone that was there for a while, like how it was at PC when I got there with cavern. I think that's that made a difference. To like, the culture of Port of high school wasn't the greatest at the time because the turnover was just so high. But yeah, I don't, I Don't know, could it?
Speaker 1:it could have been a whole lot of a whole lot of things, but at the end of the day, yeah that's the end of the day.
Speaker 2:I think I went where I belonged. Like I think I needed to go to PC I needed to play for for coach cavern coach cavern, I have so much love and respect for that man, like he's probably one of my, one of my best friends, like I still talk to him Religiously to this day, but I needed to play for someone like him. Like I wasn't the super confident person that and I'm not saying I'm like the most super confident person now but like I didn't think I was that good of a player, I wasn't that smart, but like he kind of instilled that in me, like he would tell me, you know, like you know, he made me feel like I was worth a damn. So like I think I needed that, I needed to play for him. So I think I ended up where I should have been and then I just kind of ran with it. Once I got some confidence, I ran with it.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So, saying what you just said, you think you ended up where you should have been. But would you say now, going what you've gone through and knowing what you know now, would you have done some things differently though.
Speaker 2:Yo for sure. Like I Think I would have taken my my sport more seriously at an earlier age, like in high school. I definitely probably would have, you know, going to the weight room maybe once every. Well, right, I spent some time on my craft outside, watch basketball more, just study the game, like I would have. I would do a lot of things differently and even at the Juco level, like I could have put in more time, like I could have put in more work, like I I could have definitely watched more film in Hawaii. I could have put in more time. I could like there's a lot of things and I think Like when you're in it it's kind of hard to say like yeah, I want to invest more time in it, when you already feel like you're investing a Lot, but looking back, like I could have done more, a hundred percent, I could have done more.
Speaker 3:With you know. So what was your last year playing?
Speaker 2:Oh 2016 2016.
Speaker 3:So 2016 to now, the games obviously evolved right, some for the better, some for the worse. What's your opinion about the evolution of the game?
Speaker 2:Oh, that's tough. That's tough for me personally. I think my biggest my pet peeve about the game now Is more so what the kids are being taught or lack of what they're being taught. So when I get kids that maybe have played a user whole life or played in high school and been in a successful program, they still don't know a lot of things that I think they should know. Like, I think the IQ is a little low with these kids and I think, like creativity is is low and so so what about a?
Speaker 3:you makes them not to have that. Why aren't they receiving that?
Speaker 2:no, I get you. Um. So From everything that I I've watched a you it's a lot of like ISO, right, like it's isolation, run and gun transition, everything like that. And I don't think kids are being taught like if I gave you this Certain type of defense that you're gonna see how do you break that?
Speaker 2:You know, like, if I tell you like it's a 1, 3, 1, how are we gonna break that in the sets that we currently run, what adjustments we make? You know, if we have a team that switches a lot on us and we do we have a pick-and-roll action. Who who's open?
Speaker 2:right now like it's stuff like that where I think they don't. They don't have that IQ. It's just a lot of what they see in front of them is what they know and we can't see beyond that. So a lot of times expect especially last year one of my girls. We have a play where we have a drag screen on the left side of the court and like the whole back sides completely open because it's a four high. So we're trying to get someone to slip down there and we're so caught up on the first person in front of us we don't even know where secondary defense is at like we can't see beyond who's in front of us.
Speaker 2:We don't know that if we went left, there's no one and we can get to the rack easily right like we just don't. We don't see the whole court, we don't see the whole, the whole game, and I think that is what's lacking with today's kids. They don't number one. I don't think they're Students of the game, I think they don't study the game and I think also too like I mean, we watch the NBA, we fantasize about it.
Speaker 1:We watch it.
Speaker 2:I mean, it's different, it's not us, that's not you, you know. So I think we're just mimicking a lot of that that we see and we're not really teaching them fundamental things. And to me, that's the frustrating part is now I got a, I got a backtrack on what I think you should already know. I got to teach you that and it's frustrating for me because there'll be times where I want, I want to scream, I want to yell, I want to, you know, want to address this, but I can't get mad at you if you don't know. So that's that's the issue and struggle I have because we're out of juco, but yet our IQ, our play levels may be freshman, sophomore in high school.
Speaker 3:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:So it? Yeah, that's kind of what I struggled with with today's game, yeah.
Speaker 1:So I guess, what advice would you give the kids let's say, you're recruiting them right, mm-hmm, and what? What advice would you give them to be more accrued and to be, to get, to sell themselves to coaches and colleges? Like hey, like, yeah, you, you got it together, you, you, you have all the pieces to the puzzle. Like what? What are those pieces I guess they need to have?
Speaker 2:Number one. I think every I think every coaches is like be coachable, be a sponge. You want to learn as much as you possibly can. Like, yeah, your knowledge will come in handy, but you want to absorb other people's knowledge. Do and get different perspectives, because what I see is different from what you see Versus what you see right and like. Even just learning from teammates, I think makes it tremendous. It makes a difference too.
Speaker 2:So being a sponge asking questions like if, whenever I explain stuff to the girls, I'd be like that makes sense if it doesn't let me know and I can tell you why, or Explaining why, like, I think, a lot of coaches, we we assume that kids know why we're doing the things we're doing. And Sometimes I'll just break it down and be like do you know why? I want you to do this? Because if we don't know why, then you Don't know how important it is, and then if you don't think it's important and we're not gonna do it.
Speaker 2:Right so I try to break everything down as minimal, like it is a small, like you know, for a Five-year-old to understand it like, if I can't explain it like that, then I'm not teaching it correctly, you know?
Speaker 2:Um, so be a sponge, ask questions. Um, I would say, be a student of the game. Watch basketball All the time, and not just like today's game, but go watch old film, go watch European, like basketball, go watch a bunch of different things. Go go play, especially with the girls. I tell them, go play with the boys, you know, like a fast-paced game, a more physical game, and like whenever you know If they take the ball away from you or if they swat, you ask what you could have done to, you know To, to get get that off. So, just being a student, just learning, trying to absorb as much information as possible, and then More on, like the Behavioral, I guess, aspect of it is just having a good, positive attitude, to like be a good teammate.
Speaker 2:Yeah like you want to be be a good person in general, but be a good teammate, be, be someone you, you would want to be around you know, be positive. Be a positive person there, day in and day out, even when you have a bad day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's important because, like you admit you talked about a you earlier the different offenses are running and whatnot, and sometimes, like you go to a Saturday center, a U tournament and you know, I've listened to a genome talk about this as well it's like, yeah, like in today's world, everyone's trying to get recruited and it's me, me, me, me 100% but, Like the real good college coaches, you look at UConn or I'm sure even at the Juco level.
Speaker 1:you guys are looking for that. Like what happens when things don't go your way, 100% Okay, how are you going to respond when you don't get the points or you get shut down or you get put on the bench? What's your body language look like? Okay, like coaches are looking at that.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:All right, they want to see the bench. They want to see film on the bench. They want to see all those little pieces that a lot of these kids aren't thinking about yet.
Speaker 2:I've said this. We've had a conversation about this me and Zach, but also other. I've talked to other people about it. When we send film to a four year, it's not highlights. Anybody can look at it.
Speaker 2:In a highlight, you know it's a full game. They want to see how you respond when you mess up. They want to see how, if you're a shooter, how do you react when you have a bad shooting, that what else are you going to do? Like, if I'm a shooter and I'm not shooting, well, what can I do to help my team win? What am I willing to sacrifice in order to help my team win? And I think kids, you know they do rely on all the highlights, all that stuff, but they don't realize it's the whole, it's a package deal. I don't get the good without the bad. So I want to know your bad too. I want to know what that bad is and how can I manage that bad. Do I even like that bad? Right, because you could be the greatest in the world. But if that bad is outweighing your greatness, do I want that? I don't know if I necessarily want that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the risk versus reward right.
Speaker 2:It's a trade-off and you know, a lot of times too with the girls now and we talked about this a lot last year is like I feel like a lot of times when things don't go right, we just want to like we're done, we quit, it's over, like we're going to throw in the bag. These kids need to realize you need to have what I talked with the girls a lot Having loyalty and adversity right. Just good Things are going to go bad, stuff's going to go wrong. There's going to be times where you're having a terrible game but like can you stick to the plan? Can you stick through this? Can you continue doing the stuff that you don't want to do, even if the outcome's not exactly what you want? So I think having that loyalty and adversity too is hard for kids to grasp and kind of stick behind.
Speaker 1:And also can you adapt Because, like when you're recruiting- a lot of times you're recruiting, you know, maybe it is the best player out there high school okay, and they're used to having the ball, they're used to putting up points, but throughout a season you're going to have bad nights and sometimes your shots off okay.
Speaker 1:But let's say you're having a bad shooting night. Are you able to adapt and say, hey, we have enough humility to say my shots not going to the night. Let me take a step back, let me step in a different role. Let me distribute the ball with a good attitude. Can you do that? Like that's huge.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, and we always. I feel like I say a lot of things to the girls. I feel like I preach to them a lot. Now I feel like I preach in a lot too right here.
Speaker 1:but it's good stuff.
Speaker 2:But always talk about. You know, be the glue girl, the girl that holds everything together. And to me, the person that is more recruitable than anybody else is the person that's going to do all the dirty work, right? Who's going to take the chargers, who's going to die for the 50-50? Who's going to sacrifice whatever it is.
Speaker 2:If I say like, hey, like Blaine, tonight I need 20 rebounds from you, I don't even care if you score. If you're going, all right, cool, I'll do that. Now I need you to score tonight? All right, cool, I'll do that. Like, you have to adjust and you have to be able to do whatever we need you to do. And to me, that is recruitable If I can say, hey, I need you to focus on this, hey, I need you to focus on that. And they can do that. And when I'm talking to coaches, this kid will do whatever you need him to do. They're willing to sacrifice anything their stats for you, like, whatever it is, their ego, whatever they'll do it for you. Like you can't, how are you going to out recruit that?
Speaker 2:You can't do that Cause anybody can be a shooter like a shooter, just a shooter. But if you're a shooter who will also get offensive boards, who will also die for 50-50s will take those charges. Who's getting a lot of tips? Maybe you get a lot of steals. You got to have a bigger bag than just being able to shoot, just being able to handle the ball, just being able to get rebounds. You got to. You have to sacrifice.
Speaker 1:There's only so many shooters too Like can you sell yourself? Be multi, be a multi tool.
Speaker 3:So how many years now? You said three.
Speaker 2:Three years as the women's head coach.
Speaker 3:Three years as the women's head coach. So, in a nutshell, what is it that you feel that separates you from other coaches? What do you bring to the table? If I'm a parent, lane's my daughter and we're sitting here at the sofa table and you're trying to tell us look, I really want you to come to my program. Yeah, awesome, so does everybody else.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:But why am I going to go to you?
Speaker 2:What is it? Yeah, so I think the biggest thing that I think sets me apart from other coaches is, like, I think I don't view this as much of like winning and losing.
Speaker 2:I think of, like, I think of my job as making them successful and whatever aspect that looks like Right. So I think that's a big risk. If I had the choice between your kid going to a four year and getting a full ride, or getting some type of scholarship at whatever level NAIA, d1, d2, d3, whatever it is versus winning a state championship, I would choose your kid going to a four year anytime. I want your kid to get better and a lot of times when I do recruit the kids, yeah, let's say I recruit you to be a shooter. I don't want you to just be a shooter, and that's something I'll tell them straight up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's great that you can shoot the ball, but you know how many other kids can too. So, like, I try to be as brutally honest and I'm honest with the parents, I'm honest with the kid. If we're just, if we're going by what we did in high school, we're not going anywhere. So I got to develop you in a different way. So if you're willing to take that risk and want to grow, I think I'm the person to do it with.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because I will definitely challenge you and make you grow and put you in successful situations Right, and whatever I can do to help that, I will 100%. And then I think a lot too is just being from the background that I have the experiences I have. I do share some of my personal experiences and I kind of just let them know like hey, at the end of the day, your kid is my biggest concern and so whatever I can possibly do to help your kid, I'm going to absolutely do it.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And I think I just look at the at this game and at my job as helping the kid versus like winning games. If we can win games though, like of course, yeah, yeah, the byproduct Right. But my biggest goal is you go out of here with your AA. You go to a four year. Hopefully we're getting it paid for right, we're making money out of it and everybody wins.
Speaker 1:You get yeah.
Speaker 2:And it's. And then, in that case, though, too, whenever I do look for schools for the kids that I have, like that schools, it's not just whatever school is interested in them Like it's, it's not just that I got to make sure that school is a good fit for this kid.
Speaker 2:So I talk to the coaches, I tell them maybe you know we talk about their, their background, their personal story. And I got to. I got to be honest with that coach, like this is what this kid needs. Can you provide that for this kid? Like, and I try to find a school that matches what that kid needs. It's not just I'm trying to send a kid out to a four year. So they went to a four year from one year and they hated it. Came back. They're not playing anymore. Like I want them to graduate from that spot. I want them to have success in that spot and enjoy their experience as well. As you know, get to play and say they got a scholarship, but I want them to be successful where they are too.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean playing on a Juco, not now coaching on a Juco. It's, you know, it's a challenge, right?
Speaker 1:It's a challenge for us and it takes a special. It takes special coaches to be able to be successful. And when we talk about success, I think it's not just about the wins and losses. I think you just said it perfectly. It's about helping these kids go to a four year, get their college paid for right and be successful people in life in general. What are some of the, I guess, the biggest challenges but also some of the big, most rewarding things about coaching at the Juco level? It's not for everybody, but what are those things?
Speaker 1:Because I think a lot of people have seen the last chance to use and they see those which might portray some pieces, but might portray a lot of things very, very wrong.
Speaker 2:It's entertainment.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's entertainment, right, it's entertainment.
Speaker 1:So what are the most rewarding things but what are also most challenging things about coaching at a Juco?
Speaker 2:Yeah, first off, california, juco is just crazy. Right, it's the place where everybody wants to be. It's tough but, like, more specifically, like being at PC is a little bit more challenging and, compared to everybody else in the Central Valley and conference and the CVC where we play, I'm the only coach that's not full time in the entire conference, right? So they're full time on campus. They're able to be with the girls all the time. Their practices probably end at like maybe the latest at three. They got time to go recruit, go watch games, all that stuff, all that you mentioned. I'm a PE teacher as well.
Speaker 2:So I got a job. I got a full, full time job. Then I got to go do that stuff with the girls go to practice, try to find time to watch film, try to find time to stat recruit, all that. I don't have a lot of luxury like other coaches have, so I think that's challenging. But also we don't have a lot of resources like other colleges in our conference have as well. We don't have the dorms, we don't have any of that. So like finding housing is hard, getting out of town, out of state kids, it's tough because we got to find housing and then I deal with. You know, I obviously coach girls. I got to make sure the parents comfortable with their 18, 19 year old and in some cases I got a kid on my team. Right now she's 17.
Speaker 1:That's their babies, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's their daughter. You know, I got to make sure they're comfortable with her being in that situation, to make sure she's safe. So, like there's so many challenges that don't even have to do with basketball, you know what I mean. It's before basketball even gets there and California we're the only state that's not offering scholarships. So how am I going to tell this kid from Idaho to come down here and pay you out of state tuition when you can go get some type of scholarship at a juco in Washington or whatever? So I think that's it's difficult in that sense, because I don't have all the resources that I wish I had and I don't have enough time like I wish I had. But I think we've been pretty good with the kids that we've gotten in. We got a lot of local kids and they're staying local, which is nice. I like that. I like the loyalty in that, because we do have a lot of good talent here in Portaville, tulare, exeter, vasily, lindsay. We do have talent. So I want kids to take pride in where they come from and.
Speaker 2:I'm glad they stay home, which is nice. I think the biggest reward out of all this two things I would say is number one watching them graduate, go on and knowing that you're maybe played a little bit a part of that.
Speaker 2:Number two is when these kids are going through something, or they're going through more things than kids than I think I did when I'm growing up. They got a lot of stuff going on. I have a lot of kids that are older siblings that got a job, they go to school full-time, they play basketball and they have a job and paying bills with their family. That's a lot of responsibility for an 18 to 19-year-old kid. I think it's really rewarding when they'll come up to me and ask me for advice or they'll come up to me and talk to me about stuff. I think if they feel comfortable with talking to me about that and they feel like I'm a mentor to them, that feels good. You played a part in this kid's life beyond basketball and that's ultimately what I want.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's awesome.
Speaker 3:To be honest with you, because that's a lot of adversity for you as a coach Before you even get to dribble the ball. That's the thing too. You're seeing a mountain in front of you, but I feel like you're handling it really really well. That speaks volume. Obviously, you are the program, but if you were to say, speaking of all this adversity and talking about the highs and the lows right off the bat, what is the first thing that you would change, though? To change that, though, how would you replace something in order for it to be better? Whatever the situation might be, it could be the recruiting process, it could be the parent trying to trust you. Whatever the case may be, what's the first thing that you would love to change if given the power instantly? What would it be?
Speaker 2:I would want to be full-time at Board of College because if I'm there and the kids can see me more, I can have more interactions. I can be there for them more, besides the dropping on class, making sure they're going to study, besides all that managing stuff, just having a place for them to go if they need it and just building that relationship more, building that bond and that relationship, because I feel like I've done a pretty good job in building the relationship with the kids. I mean, shoot, they tell me everything.
Speaker 3:I'm the counselor, the mom Kids don't just do that, they don't just trust people.
Speaker 2:So I feel like I'm pretty good at establishing those relationships. I think it goes back to just me being open, honest, blunt with them and providing the safe, vulnerable place for them. But I just wish I was there more. I was more involved in their life outside of basketball too.
Speaker 3:But that's not to say you aren't doing everything in your power to make sure that you're doing the best with what you got. You're having to do a lot with a little right, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2:It just would be nice to have that leeway yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, like we said, there's a lot of rewards and you're doing a lot with a little, and you said, if you could change, one thing would be full time, right. So like going into this upcoming season, when do you guys start?
Speaker 2:November 2nd. It's our first game. It's coming up, it's coming soon.
Speaker 1:So you guys, yeah, so it's coming up quick, right, and so I guess, what are your goals this upcoming season? And, like, what do you want to kind of achieve and what's like the outlook look like right now?
Speaker 2:So last year we finished fourth in conference, which is our highest finish in quite some time. We were nine and 18, something like that Should have been a whole lot more. Last year was some growing pains for sure. I think there's a lot of games where I have a 20 point lead at half and blow it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Or we just let things slip away a little bit, got complacent. So this year for sure I want to get more wins than we did last year and I think it's doable. I think this year we have a pretty good group of kids Like I very much, like my freshman group very committed, very involved, like they're doing great. I think we. I want to either take fourth or third in conference. I want to place a little bit higher in that but I want to have at least a 500 season and I think it's possible.
Speaker 2:I think it is possible with this group. We got a lot of kids that can score, a lot of kids that sacrifice themselves for anything. We got a lot of coachable kids that want to do whatever and they just want to get better. Like there was a practice that I missed because I had back to school night and my assistant took over and three of my girls sent me a picture of them working out together at Planet Fitness and their practice uniforms and they were lifting together and sending me videos of like are we doing this right?
Speaker 2:Are we like what about this workout? Is this okay? And I'm just like man. These kids just want to get better. They always talk about wanting to get in the weight room. They always talk about wanting to get shots up. So I think this group is just they're a little bit more focused.
Speaker 3:Committed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they're very committed and they like each other too.
Speaker 1:That's important, that's so hard to find. With girls in general. Nevertheless, a girls basketball team.
Speaker 2:But they like each other and they're. You know I don't. This is nice. I don't have to yell at a kid for not diving out of 50-50. They're all getting on the floor. So the heart of the team, I think is great and I think they're doing really good. I just get concerned. Low numbers. We got low numbers this year, Not as much as I initially wanted. Some fell off, that happens, but I expect this to be pretty damn good this year. I expect this to be tough nose and competitive.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're definitely going to be gritty. I think that that's a good way of putting it super gritty this year.
Speaker 1:What do you? Obviously the ultimate goal is to send at the Juca level, send kids to the next level. So, with your team coming up this season, are there, is there interest? Is there girls that you think you're going to be able to pit and how many you think will be able to reach that next level?
Speaker 2:So I have three returners. I've got three sophomores Gracie McGanya, assyria Marietta and Davina Lopez. I've already talked to coaches about them putting them on the radar, but I definitely think also you could get out, and it just depends, though, what the kid wants, because ultimately you got to be happy with where you go right, yeah.
Speaker 2:If you're not liking where we're at, it's a little bit harder. But if you put some stipulations on where you want to go, it's also hard too, like if you only be in California. That's going to be tough and that's the conversation that I have with these kids. Like this is a level I think you could be successful at and I think you know if you broaden your horizons and say I will go anywhere, that I'm wanted and that's the biggest thing where you're wanted, then you could be successful and I could send them all off. But I have those conversations with them early on and those three girls are like I will go anywhere. So I think the fact that they're so open to that I could easily find a spot for them.
Speaker 1:More opportunity.
Speaker 2:There's so many colleges out there, there's so much that you could do so many levels. It's just I try to always constantly tell them go where you're wanting, like the coach that you think is annoying because they text you all the time, or the one that is like complimenting you all the time. I know they don't like that kids, or they don't like that stuff, right. Right he texts me all the time I'm like that's where you want to go.
Speaker 2:You don't want to go to the place where they reach out to you. The assistant coach is reaching out to you and head coach doesn't even know about it yet. Like you don't want that, you want that head coach. That's harassing you not necessarily harassing, but you know the one that is constantly texting you. That's where you want to go. You go where you wanted and where you know you think you could be successful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, what's that whole conversation kind of look like? So once they become sophomores and I'm I'm sure you have those conversations- when they enter your. They step on the court. They enter your facilities day one right, but when they become their sophomore season is do you start? Do you reach out to a lot of coaches? Are you sending? You're sending film and how do you help them? I guess get the best looks and get the best um uh have the best recruitment. Uh I guess, experience possible.
Speaker 2:Well, first, before like anything, even like happens in any games I kind of tell them, like this is the level I think you'll be most successful at Um, whether that's NAIA, I think they can, you know, maybe jump to a D2. Um, and I tell them, so you're real with them.
Speaker 1:You're going to be honest really. Yes, you need to, you have to be, you have to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm not going to tell you like, oh, you're going to be getting all these, like your five, two. Okay, we're going to get an oldies D1.
Speaker 2:Looks when you're shooting 20 something percent more Like no, that's not, it's not realistic. Um, and I'll have this conversation. This is where I think you'll be successful, and this is how I think you'll be successful this year. Um, this is where I think you'll get recruited the most, and we'll have that conversation, um, and then after that, it's just the whole. Do you want to stay here? You want to stay local, close to family? Are you willing to venture out? And if we're willing to venture out, um, and I tell them it's not, you need to put some parameters on it.
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:Is it every state? Do you want to go up to North Dakota, where you're going to be?
Speaker 1:in the snow for 10 months.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. You, you got to be realistic with yourself and I tell them you need to be honest with yourself as well um, of where you would be happy If you say you want to be at a D2 level. Are you ready for the commitment of a D2 level? Right, and that's something we talk about. Do you want basketball to still be fun in a hobby or do you want it to be a job? Because that's different too. Neia, you might have a little bit more leeway. There's some successful NEIA programs, Don't get me wrong.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um, really successful. That could probably beat some D2s. Um, but like you need to be realistic and a lot of my kids do play multiple sports as well. Do you want to play both sports, like I'd? Devina Lopez plays volleyball, she could go at either or do you want to play both at the four year? If you do, we might have to go maybe NEIA, maybe D3 some, some somewhere that feels more comfortable with you playing multiple sports, because not a lot of D2 programs might not want that. So, um, it's just kind of getting an overall idea of what the kid wants and then, when we have that, then it's it's reaching out to programs that I think are a good fit for them, or the programs. Usually. If your kids putting up some decent numbers, they come to you too and then from there I like having conversations with the coaches. I like to filter that process. I don't like them going straight to the athlete.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Um because yeah, I typically don't, because again like I said, I'm not going to be a coach Again. Like I said and there's nothing against four years I just it is a business.
Speaker 2:So, they're going to say a lot of things that might not necessarily like they're going to say a lot of things to make you want to go there, but that might not necessarily be the truth. You know what I mean. So, um, I like talking to the coaches and being like hey, like this is what you're getting from this kid, this is, this is what they they come with, this is the things that they need to be successful. Can, can we navigate that? Like, are you that best fit?
Speaker 1:Um, and you're on it and you're I mean you're honest very blunt person to begin with, but yeah, you're, and you probably tell the kids like I'm going to be very honest. I'm not not lying to no coaches.
Speaker 1:Like, that ain't going to happen because there's there's programs, there's people that do that and sell it, but you, to have that name, to be reliable and to build a relationship with these coaches at the four year level, you got to be honest because if you're, all it takes is one athlete, deliver them and innate what you said right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and.
Speaker 2:I'll tell them too. I'm not going to put my name on it If I don't believe in it.
Speaker 3:You're not selling snake oil.
Speaker 2:No no.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:So, um, and you know there's those are tough conversations, and I'll tell the girls too. Like I said this about you, I said that and I tell them. I'll tell them exactly what I said. Um, but they know, like they know, everything I say or do comes in place from love.
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:It's not ever like me trying to belittle them or talk them down.
Speaker 2:It's just and I tell them to we're kids, we got to grow. You know we're not perfect, you got to fix some things. I still got to fix some things too, and that's where I try to like, relate to them too. I'm not perfect either, you know. So Just being completely blunt, honest with them, trying to see what they're trying to navigate and then finding a coach and a program that I think best suits them and I think that's the biggest thing is is it's hard to find that it's. It's like finding, it's like finding a relationship.
Speaker 2:Yeah it really is. It's like you're dating right, like you got to find the best fit, like the school might look great and it might sound good and the money might be there, but are you fitting into that system, do you? What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Speaker 1:Do you?
Speaker 2:fit there, you know, and so we we filters through that as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, and To get an offer today, whether it's football or basketball or football and more so, but like Back in the day when you got an offer Right from like football or whatever it was.
Speaker 3:Do you want?
Speaker 1:offer, do whatever, d2? That was like, okay, I'm in nowadays, like I've heard a. I was watching, listening to podcasts the other day and they were talking about this.
Speaker 1:When we give offers, we're offering a lot more roster spots than we actually have because, we understand that that five-star, you know it's a 5050 or or the 25% chance we're gonna get him. Okay. So to actually get an offer like they'll offer kids and pull offers all the time, especially in football with the big numbers, you know, 105 man roster, so it's, you know everybody's getting mail and everyone's getting this stuff and even there's a lot of guys getting offers. But Do they actually want you do that? What are they doing? And so I think you talked about those coaches that are like Interest.
Speaker 1:You'll know you know, you absolutely know because there's a lot of people that sell a lot of bullshit.
Speaker 2:And yeah, and you see it, I mean yeah and I try to tell them that too, like if this is a business.
Speaker 2:It is it's they like it's not and it's not trying to like shit on anybody or anything, but like they don't it what you won't do. There's 10 other girls that will. You know what I mean. So, like you got to make how you're gonna make yourself the most marketable and not make yourself a liability, and that's what it is like. Yeah, let's say you're your Same level as this other kid but you got a higher GPA. If all the jobs on campus, you've done some other stuff, you've worked in the community, they're gonna look at you and be like I'm gonna take this kid that maybe is the same same skill level as this kid, but I don't got to worry about them. Right, like you're, you're good, you're solid, your overall just solid person. So I always tell the girls like you got to make yourself the most marketable as possible.
Speaker 2:You got to sell yourself and you can't be no liability. You grades got to be there. We have to have grades. We have to be at every practice. You got to have the good attitude. Your film and they watch it and you, you mess up. You can't be all you know moping around dragging your head when you come off, whenever I pull you out of a game.
Speaker 2:If you mess up, you better still be cheering on the bench with teammates, how, however much the second third string cheers you on, you better be doing the same damn thing, you know. So I try to. I try to tell them, like it's not Skills anywhere, skills everywhere. But what are you? How are you any different?
Speaker 1:Are you separating yourself?
Speaker 3:Yeah right, yeah, I mean, that's the truth, you know, because You're gonna have a bad night. But, if the main goal is winning, then it better become. We never me, you know all times. But okay, this is a question. You to go and start talking about the parents, right? I'm sure the parents are heavily involved whenever you're trying to get their daughter to come and commit to your program right?
Speaker 3:Mm-hmm when that has been, let's just say, right, you got a girl to commit to you, right, she's in your program. Now Do you still get that involvement from a parent? Or is it kind of like alright, you have my daughter, I have full, complete trust in you. Do your thing now, let's see what you could do with my daughter now. Or are they still heavily involved in their process of, in the process of their Daughter hopefully trying to get recruited to the next level?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And I'm going somewhere with this and leading into another question.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's. That's a good question. A lot of girls that I have had recently have been from here, so Family involvement has been to the extent of like being at every game doing all that. I talk to them when I see them.
Speaker 2:I might know them on a personal level, all that, but it hasn't been necessarily like when we're going through the recruiting process again now, they're not there. They're typically not there. It is me and the kid you know going through that process and trying to make that decision. Sometimes I will tell the kid you know, definitely talk about it with your parents, about what your mom. Talk about it with your dad right. But for the most part, like when they hand your the kid over, I usually get like that complete trust.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I usually do, and I think it has a lot to do with, though, the fact that when they come to me like I do a lot of team bonding things, right. So and my family is super involved in my stuff. My mom is at every single.
Speaker 2:My mom and dad are every single home game my brother and his wife, typically at every home game they can attend. Unless you know they're working right. My family is heavily involved. So the girls, they. My mom is their second mom. If not I'm the second mom, my mom's a third mom. You know what I mean right.
Speaker 2:So they have that comfort and their families typically meet my family. So I think they feel comfortable and and and that, and they're more likely to hand over the reins. There may have been times where they're going through something and I talked to mom and dad or, you know, make sure the kid is okay, but for the most part, yeah, I, I pretty much assume a full custody of the kid okay, that's.
Speaker 3:That's that's good to be honest with you. It seems like you've had more more joy than pain you know what I?
Speaker 3:mean. And so my next. What I was gonna lead into was that I'm made. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure there might have been a time where a parent has been too involved. Possibly, if not, maybe you've seen a parent for another program or another school or whatever be too involved with their kid, and I want to know what advice would you give to parents that are like that with their athletes, like how would you, what advice would you give them?
Speaker 3:basically, to help their kid, you know and end the program Before it becomes a little bit too too far to pull them out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think my biggest advice would like as a parent, you need to be a support system, right, you need to be there for your athlete. You need to make sure you know You're there for when they want to vent, when they're going through something, maybe whenever you know they're not feeling as confident to have a few bad games, they want to come to talk to you. I think parents need to. Just Sounds sounds bad, but parents just need to be parents. Stay in that. Stay in that lane.
Speaker 2:Let the coach do with the coaching aspect of it and you deal with the supportive role of it because at the end of the day, your kid does not need more Coaching advice from you. They, you need to be the vulnerable place for them to just totally break down. If they need to Right and if they need that help to get that confidence back, you need to help with that. But as far as like being too involved, you know, maybe getting and having scuffles with the coach, maybe there's, you know, upset about playing time.
Speaker 2:I mean I think this happens a lot more in the high school levels and it does at the Juco level, because you know playing times not guarantee the best of the best. We're in college, even though it is Juco, it's still college. So like at the high school of you see that I think, more than you do at the Juco. But I just think parents just need to be that supportive role and just be the encouraging Person for their athlete. Don't be a coach, don't coach your kids. I would strongly advise against that. Don't coach your kids. They see too many aspects of you anyway so you know they have you as an authoritative role.
Speaker 2:They have you as that, that mentor, and they have you as the mom, dad, whoever they need to code to when they're going through some shit, and then you're also gonna be their coach. Like that's too many hats, you know, like separate that, because there's nothing worse than you're having a terrible day at practice. You have a bad game and you come home You're still hearing about it like there needs to be some separation.
Speaker 2:You know there's, there's gotta be, there's gotta be some boundaries. So, coat like I don't, I don't advise parents to coach. I think they should learn from other people and they should get some different perspectives. And I think parents just biggest thing is just support your kid. Tell your kid You're proud of them. Like that goes so such a long way. Tell your kid You're proud of them. Tell your kids that they're, they're great, even when they feel like they're not. And then also I think parents need to With any sport I mean basketball, we're talking about basketball, but in any sport, let your kid know that they're more than just an athlete.
Speaker 2:You know, like, don't make your whole identity about your sport. Like the kids got to have other interests too. Let them know that they're smart and they and the you know they, they're intelligent and they're whatever way that they are. And and Get them involved in other things too. Because when your career ends which it will it's hard if your entire identity is just your sport, because you don't know who the hell you are and that happened to me like it was.
Speaker 2:What do I do now?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, and God forbid something happens along the way, you get hurt or something just just takes you off the railroad.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you never know, like, as easy as as it comes, it can go. So Make sure your kid knows that they're just more than than the sport and that they're worth a whole lot more than just an X and O, you know yeah, as a parent, it's never a bad time or a wrong time to ever tell your kids I love you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm proud of you and I feel like that, that a lot of kids they don't feel that, they don't get that and, just speaking from the, the girls I've had before, maybe they have siblings, older siblings, younger siblings that they also are athletes as well. They need to hear that you know, they need to hear that I'm proud of you. Like, you're amazing. You know I love watching you play and I think a lot of kids if, if their parents did that, they would be completely different.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and when that it's funny too, you know, because it's such a hard thing, you know, for parents to get into that type of you know Talk. But what's so crazy is, though, is that, man, the moment that you can start speaking like that to your, your, your son or your daughter, their game reaches a whole new level.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Mm-hmm, it just Barks into this beautiful thing, but it's just so hard. It's so hard for parents to get to that specific place, to where it's just like, all right, you're a student and a player to Ilya, I'm your father or your mother. I love you, I support you, I want to see it. You have the utmost respect, but I had a I. I want to just share a brief story. There was a parent who got a little bit too involved, right, got a little too involved with and I'm not, obviously I'm not gonna share any specifics With and we've all, I'm sure we've all heard a story of a parent getting too involved in the kid Just fell out completely in love with the thing and they were done. They don't want to do anything with it, right?
Speaker 1:I've heard some horror stories, especially with wrestling, it gets bad, really bad.
Speaker 3:That's a tough sport, yeah it's, it's, it's it gets, and it you know, and it. What I'm basically trying to say is that If you don't think it looks bad from the outside, looking in, then you need to reevaluate it, because how bad, like when a parent is just ripping into their kid on the sidelines or during halftime. Like parents, you gotta realize that, man, that is not a good look.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:It's not a good look for you, it's not a good look for your kid, it's not a good look for anybody around, you know. But the story that I wanted to share was basically so there was a situation to where we had an athlete, we had a parent got too involved, it got bad right and it got dark for that kid. It got real, real dark. And I'm only sharing the story because I hope that somebody is listening and they don't allow this to get to the point for them and their relationship with their kid. It got really dark to where that kid started harming themselves.
Speaker 3:And so the reason again why I'm sharing that is because if there is a parent out there who thinks that it is ever a right time to say, man, you suck, you were terrible, like your words hurt. Your words hurt. You know, you may not think they hurt and you might be saying the right thing. Your kid might have been very terrible that game, but your tone and your vocabulary does matter, because if you don't think it does, I promise you I shouldn't say I hope that doesn't become your situation. You know what I mean. So yeah, man.
Speaker 3:I just I think you nailed it, though.
Speaker 2:I think you nailed it when the self-worth of a kid is wrapped up in a sport. That's a lot of harm, so yeah, I get that and I've seen that. I've seen that I get that and I've seen that. I mean I love my family, I love them to death. I love my dad to death. I love my mom to death.
Speaker 2:They were hard on me for sure, and like my dad was real hard on me and I know it's because he knew that I could be better and he probably was pissed off because I wasn't doing the stuff I should be doing. Right, like he's probably like you're good and you don't even try. Imagine if you committed yourself.
Speaker 2:You know and I know that's the thought process behind it and I can see how it's frustrating, because I think the same thing about my girls. Like damn you're good, imagine if you gave a shit. You know Like that's frustrating, but you do have to watch how you say it.
Speaker 1:And like.
Speaker 2:That's why I think, why I'm also different than most coaches, I will. I've never, ever cussed at my girls or said anything negative to them in any way.
Speaker 3:Be little dumb or anything.
Speaker 1:I can't do that.
Speaker 2:Because I know, like I know how it felt when that happened to me I've seen other people go through it but also like I want my girls to feel comfortable to come up to me and be like I'm not confident right now.
Speaker 2:And like, for example, last year, one of my girls, jenna Holder. She had a rough couple of games. A rough couple of games Didn't play very well. She straight up asked to talk before a game came into my hotel room and was just like I'm gonna be real honest with you, I have no confidence right now and I don't think I should start. I think Assyria should start over me.
Speaker 2:She's been playing better than me and she felt comfortable enough for us to talk about it and we had a conversation about it and we talked quite a while about it and I just had to reassure her. You know, like there's a reason why you're still in there, like you know that you still and I'm not gonna pull her now. Why am I gonna pull her after starting lineup? Now, now she's reaffirms everything that she just said. I'm never gonna get that back. I'm never gonna get that confidence back.
Speaker 2:And I told her like if I have enough confidence in you to keep rocking with you, starting you when you're averaging returnovers and points at this point, that's saying something right. You're still doing something right. So you know, I mean I hope I'm having the open and honest communication with my kids and I feel like I have done that pretty well where they have. They have told me I don't feel like I'm doing good. I suck right now and I have to try to change that mindset and you gotta try to change it and get them to see beyond last game or beyond that one mistake.
Speaker 2:Like we gotta move forward, so that's yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So obviously, I mean you have a lot of stuff Like you have your master's in sports psychology and you have three seasons on your belt at PC With the women's program, not including your time with the men's program. So, like, what's your like ultimate goal? Like, what would you like to achieve? Is it go to a coach at university someday? Is it like, what does that look like? Do you want us at the Juco level? I know that's like a big question but like there's always, we always have goals that we set big goals and some people might laugh.
Speaker 1:And if you don't want to share those, that's fine. But I just thought I'd ask.
Speaker 2:My ultimate. I don't want to ever go to a four year. I'll just make that very obvious. I don't I like the kids too much to want to go to a four year.
Speaker 2:I get too involved. I'm a very I'm not saying I'm like a very emotional person, but like I get attached and like these kids, they're my kids and they will always be my kids, even the ones that are no longer playing for me, I mean even the ones that maybe have quit because it's not for them, those are my kids still. I would do anything for those kids. I just I can't leave the Juco level because I feel like I get more of a chance to make those connections than at a four year. We're more about business and I want it to be developmental in all aspects, not just basketball but just life. These kids need to most of the time, they need to mentor in just life in general, but definitely want to stay at Juco. My ultimate, ultimate goal would be making PCA successful program.
Speaker 2:I mean, I'm from here, I played there. I have so much loyalty to this school, this town, these kids. I was them. You know like I was them. The girls that are on my team now. That was me a few years ago, but it was me Like. So, yeah, I just want to make sure the kids know that they can get out of here and do something with their life and if they want to come back to this community to try to make it better, by all means 100% do that, but just hopefully making this program a successful program by the time I leave and just helping the kids out and hopefully give them something more than just basketball. Hopefully I've gave them a few life lessons along the way and they're better people for it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what would successful program? What would that look like for you? I mean, I know your standards are high and but like what would a successful portable college program leave or be? If you were to leave me like, okay. Like when it's all said and done. You've done it. And like you're like okay, I'm proud of that.
Speaker 2:Like I feel like I could leave all this.
Speaker 1:Yes yeah, what would that look like?
Speaker 2:That'd be tough.
Speaker 2:That'd be like at least making it to playoffs every year, consistently being competitive.
Speaker 2:All my kids graduating with an AA, 80% of them going off and playing somewhere else.
Speaker 2:Ideally I would like everybody to go off and play somewhere else if that's what they want. But so, like right now, like I think of I keep stats of who's gone where and who's and you know who's not, and I'm like trying to base it off of, like who wanted to leave and did they leave, yes or no? And if I didn't get that kid out, like I feel some type of way, like I feel like I let them down, I didn't do my job. So, like, ideally, what I would want to walk out on would be you know, we're competitive, ranked one or two in the conference, we're making playoffs consistently. My kids are going places. I got kids in different states and all my kids at least at least graduate with their AA and know that they can go on to get a bachelor's and have the high enough GPA to go if they just want to go to school and they feel confident and they know that they're intelligent enough to do that and that would be ideal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then you know, of course, I'm sure just you being the coach you are and instilling that into them, you're gonna have, at least by a few coaches, Maybe you know, develop a few of your former players as coaches as well.
Speaker 2:That would be pretty cool.
Speaker 1:Never know, might get to coach with some of them and coach against some of them as well.
Speaker 2:I know.
Speaker 1:That'd be cool.
Speaker 3:That's always cool, those stories right, yeah, that is, and I hope you have the all the success.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you will for sure.
Speaker 3:It'd be awesome to see that turn around at PC for sure. That would be amazing. Yeah, yeah I mean, I mean. Yeah, so November's coming real quick, right, it's coming. You're gonna be a ghost pretty soon, right? You're gonna be head into it. You're gonna be really involved. So where are you at right now with the programs? What's the program doing right now leading up into November?
Speaker 2:Well, right now I think we're going back to fundamentals. I feel like we haven't built too much on like team concepts of like as far as what type of players we're running and all that. It's more just learning right now. So we're learning different types of defense, how I wanna play defense, some of the rules and procedures I wanna do, and we're doing a lot of conditioning and weight, trying to get us in shape, cause, like I said, we got low numbers but we're also little, so I wanna take advantage of that. So we're trying to be in the best shape we can possibly be. Like I want practice to be 10 times harder than a game, like I want them to be cruising and I want us to get stronger, I want us to develop that. But I'm just trying to basically right now, just get them in the weights, get conditioning and get that IQ up. I think that's my main goal at this point.
Speaker 1:That's perfect. First game is the first game is win again November 2nd Once the first home game.
Speaker 2:Ooh, I think like a week later, I'm not even sure the exact date.
Speaker 1:Who do you guys play Not?
Speaker 2:sure yet Not even sure the exact date.
Speaker 1:Google it, yeah, well anyways, yeah, hopefully you guys come out and support PC Women's Basketball and the Men's Program this year. Definitely try to make it out there and get some of our kids out there as well.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, thank you, aliyah, for taking the time to we've been talking about this for a while and finally able to make it happen, and so very grateful for all that you're doing and your days are full PE teacher and full time women's college basketball coach. Not too many people around the country can say that they have two full time jobs right yeah 100%, Really more than that. I mean teaching is more than a full time job itself. So no, congratulations on everything you're doing and definitely looking forward to all this success year and a half.
Speaker 2:Thank you appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Thank you guys. Syria beat Russia.