A few weeks ago, our team opened the season in the State Farm Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic. As the host team we had to put a lot of work into hosting the event including help set up for a pre-classic banquet. The guest speak was an old friend of mine, Lin Laursen. If you coach women's college basketball, Lin is a household name -- one of the best coaches in our profession. She is not known to many that don't follow women's basketball because she perfected her craft in the junior college ranks where she is the all-time victory leader. Her record was an amazing 971-145, winning 3 national championships and sending over 140 players into the Division I ranks. She won 27 conference championships, including 21 in a row. In 2008 she was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.When she flew in to Baton Rouge, I picked her up at the airport and we stopped for a cup of coffee and to talk some basketball. Actually, I asked a lot of questions and she did a lot of talking. I wasn't going to miss out on an opportunity to learn.
Coach Laursen was in the first year of her "retirement" after a lifetime of coaching and I asked her what she missed the most.
"The van rides."
It was a short and simple answer but it immediately hit home with me. As an NAIA coach, I often drove the van with the players through the hills of West Virginia to play our basketball games. There was nothing more enjoyable than a van ride home after a victory. After a loss, there was an opportunity to talk and teach as we weaved through the mountains. At times, I learned more about our players in the van than I did on the court.
So as we leave another Thanksgiving holiday, be thankful for the great game of basketball -- be thankful for the good wins -- be thankful for coaching friends, good players that are also good people and be thankful for the "van rides."
