Life is Goodenough - November 19

A Day with a Super Star

I know I overuse the words “cool “ and “awesome,” but those are the words that I continue to say when people ask, “How was your day with Tamika Catchings?” She is a totally wonderful person, on and off the court, who uses her celebrity platform to help young women to develop in every area of their lives.

We had the privilege of visiting with the four-time Kodak All-American and five-time WNBA All-Star, not by phone or by Facebook, but in person in our Charleston Southern locker room! What a special day for my staff and my players! Also joining us were my daughters and husband, along with the Dubose Middle School girls’ basketball team and the women’s team from the College of Charleston.

Tamika has overcome hearing, visual, and speech disabilities to become one of the best women’s basketball players, not only in the USA, but in the world! She challenged our players to work hard everyday, to exceed expectations, to be coachable and to have a positive attitude toward their teammates. She emphasized teamwork and selflessness along with the important role that every member of a team plays because a team is only as strong as the weakest link.

Tamika was obviously born with incredible natural athletic abilities, but her daily routine of working out on her own one hour before team practice and then again at least an hour following practice has helped her develop into one of the greatest ever. If one of the best players in the world dedicates at least two extra hours per day to developing her basketball skills, why would college players not make that commitment as well? That is a great lesson for all of us striving to be our best at something.

It was also confirming to the coaches in the room for her to reiterate the character fundamentals of success that we talk to our players about daily. Sometimes our players hear our voices so much that they tune us out, so it was such a blessing and hopefully beneficial for our players to hear familiar advise from a superstar.

Having her spend time with us in our locker room was equivalent to talking in person with Tiger Woods or Payton Manning or even Taylor Swift! So “cool”! She is no doubt my favorite professional athlete; no disrespect to the other professional athletes reading this, but she is truly “awesome” and an incredible role model for all!

“I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse.” –Florence Nightingale