Basketball has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. From the black top of my driveway, through the neighborhood parks, the high school gym, my college and now to Webster. I have been fortunate enough to have been associated with terrific coaches throughout my years as a player and as a coach. The lessons I have learned throughout my playing and coaching days have guided me to where I am today. I am very proud of my accomplishments and the success I have enjoyed. As I continue my coaching career I will continue to provide my players with learning opportunities and experiences that will help them be successful and happy in life.

Good sportsmanship on and off the court is something I expect all my players to learn and practice. I expect to see good sportsmanship before, during, and after games, no matter the outcome of a game. It is important to me that my players learn to play with a sense of responsibility and class. I do not expect my players to taunt or "trash talk" the opposing team in any lewd or offensive way. My players will not complain or show any disrespect for the officials. Learning to play with good sportsmanship will not only make them better players on the court, but better people off the court as well. It will teach them life skills such as staying in control under tense conditions, speaking with maturity, and respecting others.

As a coach I think my players and I should always be presentable since we represent our school, our district, and our families. For example, for road games I expect all players to be wearing pressed pants, shirt, and tie.

I expect my players to be role models in school. I do not want my players getting in trouble, arriving to class late, or being a distraction to the learning process. I teach them to use manners and respect in their every day lives and to communicate with other students and adults in a polite manner.

As role models I also expect my team to accompany me and become involved in community service. I think it is a great learning experience and a way to help out the community. It is very important to me to establish a good relationship in my working community.

All my players understand that school is very important to me and should be to them as well. I have basketball study halls where my players do homework or study a subject that they need to improve. I'm constantly aware of my players' academics and if one of their grades is dropping we will create an action plan together.

There are three main objectives I consider when I am coaching the game of basketball: hard work, playing defense and passing the ball unselfishly. I expect them to be competitive in every situation no matter if we are losing or winning. Winning teams always play hard.

My players learn the best defenses for the right situations whether we are playing man to man or zone. Each player will master the technique of on the ball defense and off the ball defense. Learning to play unselfishly will put our team in the best position to achieve our goals. It is important that we learn to pass the ball unselfishly and to trust are teammates. If one player has a better opportunity to score than another, my players will pass the ball rather than try to earn points for themselves. Playing unselfishly is a big part of becoming a team and dedicating yourself to the team and its goals.

Winning is the result of playing fundamentally sound basketball. Winning is like one big puzzle and there are many pieces to that puzzle. It includes the fundamentals of the game, playing as a team, respecting and trusting your coach. I expect my team to work as hard as they can on all the things we have worked on and winning will take care of itself.

I never expect one of my players to be upset with themselves or the team after a game if we lose. I teach them if we put everything we have into that game and leave it all on the court then we have nothing to worry about. I teach them that it is better to learn from a loss, forget about it and move forward to prepare for our next game. We will continue to work hard and improve on all of our skills, so that we become better than our last game.

Finally, it is very important to me that all my players learn to value the gift of life. I want them to love their family, their friends, and their teammates. There is more to life than just basketball and I know I have tried to communicate this to my team.

One year one of my players became seriously ill and ended up in the hospital. I was very upset about the situation so I visited him one day and spent nearly six hours at the hospital. During those six hours various team members called him on the phone and many players visited him while I was there. Those were some of the proudest hours of my coaching career and makes all the hard work worthwhile. That is what it is all about, being a team, loving each other, and being there for each other on and off the basketball court.