What Do You Coach?
“I am the Head Coach for the girls flag football team for Urbana High School and co-founder of the league which currently has 4 active teams.”
When Did You Start Coaching?
“In 2014 I was witness to an incident in which one of the coaches was simply not properly exemplifying the values and qualities of a coach. This coach was relieved of his duties mid-season, leaving the team without a coach. I decided to step up and take over the coaching position. We ended up losing every game that season. 5 years later, the same team that went winless won the Maryland State Championship and went to the NFL Flag National Championship in Florida.”
What’s Your Leadership & Coaching Philosophy?
“Coaching is about finding the fire that each one of us has in us to complete greatness that just needed a chance. I believe that coaching is finding the intrinsic motivation within any athlete, and finding a way for it to come out of someone is the most rewarding aspect of coaching. This allows a team to experience new things together and through teamwork achieve something that we could never do as one person.”
Overall my philosophy is:
- Set goals
- Set expectations
- Work together as a team at the speed of trust to achieve your goals
- Give everyone an opportunity to shine”
What Gave You Inspiration To Begin Coaching?
“Watching a coach who is supposed to be a role model and teacher of values and sportsmanship place a heavier emphasis on the score of the game, rather than the mentorship and experience of the players.”
What Do You Find Most Enjoyable About Coaching?
“There are many aspects of coaching I enjoy, but I absolutely love watching each athlete grow and realize their untapped potential. I also like when I am in public and I hear someone call to me, “hey coach!”. Sometimes hearing that brings a tear to my eye because what it means is that you had an impact on my life and therefore you’ve earned the right to be called coach.”
What Adversities Have You Faced As A Coach?
“The biggest adversity I face is when I meet these young adults and they don’t believe in themselves, because they’ve never been encouraged to do so. This turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy of their abilities both on and off the field. Changing their mindset is a personal battle for each individual and can take some time to rethink about their potential and abilities.”
What Would You Consider Your Most Successful Moment As A Coach?
“It’s more so a collection of successful moments of seeing a team member achieve a personal goal of theirs. There is no price for what that means to both the team member and the coach.”
What Is Your Team’s Culture?
“Our team’s culture can be summarized into two sayings:
- ONE TEAM – I am, because we are
- Move at the speed of trust”
What Kind Of Role Does Orases Play?
“At Orases, we believe in closing the gap of women as leaders in technology and business. There is a current lack of women leaders in these sectors and although we cannot change the past, we can take accountability of the present. This is how change movements start, by instilling confidence within women to take on leadership roles.
Orases tries to plant the seed early by discussing business with athletes on the field and bringing in women CEOs to demonstrate the potential within their own careers.”
