First things first, I would like to welcome you to this first edition of the Coach’s Diary: Through the Eyes of a Coach. As a co-founder of this fast growing company, ShoreBall Enterprises, I’m also proud to say that I am the head coach of the Nandua girls’ basketball program. This upcoming season will be my third year as a coach in this program. I served two years as an assistant coach for the varsity team and served as a head coach for the Junior Varsity team last year. I compiled a record of 14 wins and 3 losses combined, during the past two years of my tenure.
During those two years, I had the privilege to work with a dear friend of mine, Kim Giddens, who formerly played for ODU during her playing days. Coach Gids, as I call her, coached the girls’ basketball team for four years and was successful during those years. I’ve learned so much as a coach under Coach Gids. I always wanted to be a coach for a long time and I thank Coach Gids for giving me the opportunity back in 2009. No matter how much I prepared myself in wanting to be a coach, nothing prepared me better until I actually became a coach. Learning on the job was the best experience in becoming the coach that I wanted to be. In having to go through that process under Coach Gids, I couldn’t have asked for a better situation to start my coaching career. For that, I owe a lot to Coach Gids and a tremendous amount of credit will be due to her.
This past summer was a bittersweet time for me. One morning on a weekday, I received a text message from Coach Gids saying that she was stepping down as coach for the girls’ program and that I had been promoted to take over the program. It was a bittersweet moment for me, because it was unfortunate that she was stepping down, but at the same time, it was an exciting time for me as a coach to have the opportunity to run a program. We’re talking about Coach Gids, who is probably one of the best, if not, the best female basketball player in the history at Nandua High School. To lose that presence in the program – it was hard to even imagine that day coming. But that day has come and pass and I’m proud to say that this 2011- 2012 upcoming season is a start of a new era. Join me through my journey as this new era begins.
