Updates & Commitments

The journey only begins after you fall. I am a fallen one, a get back up soldier. I am not a soldier with fight; I am just one that perseveres. I am no military hero; I am just hoodiespeak.

I am a deli clerk and a basketball coach. I am married and I have one kiddo. I claim her as my own, even tho she belongs to a dad already. Our family has a bright future, even if nobody sees us coming. We love each other hard and support each other through everything life brings. When we grow, we grow together.. and even if we are not together, we are still together in everything we do and accomplish.

I want to establish this page for my family (what little I do have) and for the parents of the kids I coach, so that they can read my stories and be encouraged. I want to also express here insights that I learn, things I can teach and illustrate when I have the chance to coach. Right now, I lead a group of 4th-8th grade student athletes at The Gym of Springfield. I coach them a class on Tuesdays called "IQ-Spacing-Analytics" and a class on Thursdays called "Setup-Seek Out-Score."

Today, I get to coach them in their first scrimmage together. We are not a team necessarily, just a class of students who are all aiming to get better. We have some novice and beginner players, and also some who are more experienced and advanced. I use the strengths of each of my players in order to witness to and benefit the whole group. Every single player, no matter how small or big, contributes something special to our group. Our lessons are unique and take time to break down the game.

With the leadership and support of The Gym, I am able to do amazing things in the lives of these hungry kids. I see them want to do better, and I see them distracted by everything they see. I see them perk up when I challenge them and speak from the heart. I see them lock in and get what I'm sharing with them. They are still distracted kids and I cannot change that, but I plant seeds that reach deep at times and sprout growth. I know that my style of coaching makes a difference because I am already receiving positive feedback through written emails to the establishment.

Parents have noticed the changes and progression in their kids from just 5 weeks, 2 days a week, 1 hour a day. We teach disciplines that carry over from on the court effective play to off the court tangible skills. When I speak to my players, I explain to them the importance of the lessons I teach. I do my best to show them how to translate these tools from one setting to the next, whether in sports such as basketball, or in life.

This is how I give back to my community, to the youth of the future, and to know that the world I hand off to my kids is going to be showered with kindness, generosity, discipline, integrity, and respect. I know that I will work to no end to see brave young people develop and grow in these same values and principles that helped me go so far. I believe that these lessons are designed and will fulfill their mission of making these kids into good players, but even better people. My style may not be great coaching to some, but with time and dedication, I will achieve success in coaching just like I did as a player and a person. I commit in proving to many that I provide good coaching w/ a great witness.

Great coaches sometimes overlook horrible players while looking out for their own successes. I want to be that good coach who is available and willing, intuitive even in seeking out those players who struggle, but with heart and passion for the game. I may not be a great coach to the good player for this approach, but I'll be the great witness to many other potentially good players in the process. It takes a village to coach a team, but it takes a chief to get them to the promised land.