PASSION...from player to coach

Making the transition from a basketball player to basketball coach isn't an easy one, especially when one's passion for playing the game still burns greatly.  My transition came about due to the many injuries that I endured while playing the game in college; from complete dislocations and fractures of ankles to tearing major ligaments in both knees.  Each comeback was more difficult than the last, and eventually the pain that came with playing the game far exceeded the enjoyment that I used to get when playing the sport.  I had to come to the realization that I could no longer play this game at the competitve level that I so badly had hoped for, but what about the passion that still took hold of me?  I made the decision to convert that same passion I had for playing the game to the way I would coach the game.  This passion is what separates me from a lot of the other coaches that instruct the game.  Being able to break down certain concepts and fundamentals of the game and teach them to a student is one thing, yet being able to do it with passion is what my students feed off of and is what makes the difference.