One of Several Life Lessons

As an eighth grader, several of us were asked to practice with the Lady Vikings. What an exciting moment!! I was, however, a nervous wreck as we entered the gym and headed to the locker rooms to change clothes. Practice was fast-paced and serious, but we worked hard to keep up and act like we knew what we were supposed to do.

At one point, we were practicing a stall pattern to use when we were ahead or waiting for a last second shot at the end of a quarter. We learned that we could hold the ball for up to 4 seconds, dribble it for up to 4 seconds, hold it again for up to 4 seconds, and pass it without penetrating the forecourt. It all made perfect sense. At one point in the execution of our well-designed stall pattern where no lateral passes should ever be made, someone threw the ball away. I went and got it and brought it back to the court. Coach Carter was explaining the importance of eliminating turnovers, “It’s simple,” he snapped, “you just cost us 4 points…2 points that we had the chance to score…and 2 points that you gave them because of stupidity.” I was still holding the ball, eyes wide and lips parted, when he started guarding me. He continued to talk to us all about the importance of good decisions, quick passes, and no turnovers. He said, “Listen, Smith, you hold it, you sit on it, you put salt and pepper on it and eat it, but don’t you ever throw that ball away.” “Yes, Sir,” I stammered, “Yes, Sir.” End of discussion.

We continued to practice with the awesome Lady Vikings, as we played a few junior high games of our own. I practiced shooting whenever my brothers went to the gym and on our grassless backyard court. Before my 9th grade season, Coach Carter asked me to go with him to a tip-off tournament and keep some scouting charts. I had no idea why he thought I should go, but naturally I went. He gave me some papers and told me he expected me to record the defenses, offenses, out-of bounds plays, and out-of bounds defenses of the teams we were watching. “Oh, my,” I thought, “who does he think I am?” Though I was just a thirteen year-old kid, I was determined that I would not let him down. Needless to say, I watched the game with more focus than I had ever mustered for anything in my life. I saw patterns, recognized the stimuli that created changes in offenses and defenses, and also saw individual strengths and weaknesses of players. I was writing constantly. After that time, I never looked at a basketball game in the same way.


Coach Carter expected great things from us wherever we were…on the court, in the classroom, in our community. There was never any doubt that we would be well-disciplined, mannerly, timely, and respectful. Some…no… many might say that “He put the fear of God in us.” He had high expectations and seemed to believe that we could do things that we had never dreamed of accomplishing. Over time, I began to realize that he was right. With his rigorous standards, we all stepped up to a new level of functioning. I believe that each of us found strengths and power that we were previously unaware of through his strong leadership.

That sense that I am someone special, that I can do anything I set my mind to, that I will control the way I think, behave, and interact with people has stuck with me for a lifetime. Many Americans don’t realize that the following common phrase was invented by Norman Carter when he was coaching basketball in Taylor County… “If I say, jump! You say, how high?” Some may be surprised to know that, but for those of us who played for Coach Carter, we can’t respond right now, because we are too busy jumping!