3 Life Lessons I Learned from My Basketball Coaches

Adults often say youth should play sports to learn certain life lessons, but as a kid I didn’t understand the long-term benefits. I wanted to play ball to have fun. Now that I’m much older and wiser, I look back at different situations and realize what sports did teach me at a young age. Over my 20 years of playing basketball, I’ve had good coaches and not so good coaches. I’ve learned a lot from all of my basketball coaches, but I learned the most from one of them.

I attended Ventura College (VC Community College) and I played for one of the greatest coaches, Coach Mercetic — whose been recognized nationally for his success. He always said he wanted his players to learn more life lessons so that they will be better individuals once they leave school. Now that I look back at my experience playing for him, I realize all the life lessons I learned.

For example:

1. Before every single game, Coach Mercetic use to say and write a specific quote on the board. Dean Smith is known for the quote as well. “For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.” I completely understand this quote now. As a teenager, I didn’t see the importance of what my coach was trying to stamp into my brain. I later realized the quote can be applied to any aspect of life, involving teamwork. The quote means the strength of a team depends on each player, but the team can only be as good as its weakest link and top players still need help.
2. When I became a coach, I followed Coach Mercetic example of getting to know every player outside of basketball. He developed great relationships with each girl who put on a VC jersey. Coach always stressed that basketball wasn’t always going to be there and it was only a small part of our identities. So, he showed us how it helps for coaches to get to know players off of the court. Coaches are like therapists. They can have a huge influence on a player’s life journey — including highs and lows. This lesson can be applied to any aspect of life surrounding leadership and friendship. Through his leadership, Coach Mercetic also taught us it’s okay to have friends who may not have everything in common with us — like playing basketball — because this allowed us to grow and expand as people.
3. Lastly, Coach Mercetic taught me the importance of having a solid system that fits the team’s strengths. A solid system leads to team success. He taught me that not everyone is the same. Coach Mercetic also taught me not every system is meant for every set or roster of players. Every year, he adapted his system to match his current players strengths, which helped every one of his teams succeed on and off the court.

Without Coach Mercetic, I probably wouldn’t have been successful as a coach or the player. His lessons didn’t only apply to basketball, but life in general. I will always appreciate him for helping me grow into the person I am today.

— Imani Dixon, professional basketball player and former college coach