LLB: Welcome, Jamika, to the Loving Life Blogcast! I appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to talk with me!
JT: Thank you for inviting me.
LLB: We know you love all things Volleyball so tell us how many years have you been involved in volleyball either as a player and/or coach?
JT: I started playing volleyball when I as a freshman in high school so it's been about 10 years that I've played the game of volleyball and within this time frame I've coached the game as well.
LLB: As a volleyball player what was your greatest strength?
JT: My desire when it comes to games is to win and if you are on my team I will motivate you to win as well! So the love of the game and the desire to win which motivates me to bring my "A" game each time I step onto the court. Also, my personality and drive allowed me to be selected as team captain when I was a player and this has transitioned me into becoming a coach by demonstrating leadership skills and motivating others to reach deep within in order to elevate their game to the next level. My greatest strength would be rally everyone to never give up!
LLB: As a volleyball coach what are your intentions for your players?
JT: To teach them life skills not just volleyball skills and to instill within them problem solving skills that will help them on the court but off of the court as well. My intentions for my players is for them to have self-confidence in themselves as young ladies in today's society.
LLB: How would you best describe your coaching style?
JT: My coaching style is very practical, fundamental, straight forward, mixed with honesty and a huge desire to win volleyball games! I have an open door philosophy with my college players and I teach both of the teams that I coach that they will get whatever it is that they practice! Therefore, if they practice excellence in everything that they do then they'll received excellence back in everything that they do!
LLB: Coach, how good are you at evolving your coaching strategies and skills during the game?
JT: The more I coach the more I find myself in various coaching predicaments. I find that I'm continuously learning and I'm always watching other coaches and I'm picking their brains for various ways of doing things better and/or teaching certain skill sets so over the years as a player and now as a coach I adjust my coaching strategies throughout the game according to what is needed at that given moment and time.
JT: School is always first!
LLB: As a head coach talk to me about the strategies you put into place to help players that are a beast on the court, but a mouse in the classroom?
JT: I send my players that are struggling in the classroom to tutors, study hall, career service center, I will monitor their study habits helping in any area that I'm capable of assisting, I'll talk to their teachers/instructors to find out the area of concern then construct a plan that is designed specifically for that student to be successful. You see, in order to have a team I need players so I'm willing to do all that I can to help my players remain players.
LLB: Are there any unique team-building activities that you emphasize in your program?
JT: We do a lot of character building and talking about various subjects and situations that allows for sound strong character building.
LLB: Please expound on that thought just a little bit.
JT: We talk about subjects like leadership and what is expected of a leader and we watch video footage to see how well we've played and then we set realistic achievable goals to improve our game by mastering certain volleyball moves/techniques that will make us better players. We talk about body language, attitudes, how to be a good teammate and from their perspectives what a good teammate is.
LLB: Again, Jamika, thank you for taking the time to talk with me about a career you've chosen that gives you joy and an opportunity to do something that you absolutely love doing. Also, we wish you all the best in your career and for you to become the most winningest coach in women's volleyball history! It's good to see you are Loving Life!
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