My philosophy is to help the kids be better and to focus on improving their skills. I don’t focus on winning, I focus on playing the game, learning the skills and having fun. Winning is a fortunate outcome at times, but not always. As long as they are having fun and improving, I am happy. My number one goal with the kids is for them to understand that they are student athletes, with the student part coming first. I really focus on their studies and make sure they get their schoolwork done. School is first, always.”

The best thing a coach can do is understand the players and make sure to keep the mood and the vibe honest and fun, just because you don’t want to get to a point where practice seems almost like a job. If that does happen, you’re gonna start to lose players. Team bonding is the best way to keep the team together, whether it’s having a movie night or if they go out for a fundraiser, cracking jokes, wear costumes for practice or we do things like a Christmas theme practice or secret Santa.

I believe that we can succeed as a team and not as a single player. Each player knows what to do on the court and if they execute their job well then everybody is going to succeed on the court which will help everyone win the game. Before playing or practicing I gather them together and we do restorative justice circles where everybody expresses how they are feeling and frustrations to figure out what we can do to address these issues.