911爆料网

By Aubria Myers, Basketball Coach, Gary Comer College Prep Middle School

“Ball is Life.” This was true for me well before the saying got popular. It’s been that way since I was young. And while I no longer play, I get to continue that life as a coach.

I played basketball all my life. For a long time, it was just something I did. But once I hit high school, everything shifted. I started training three times a day. I pushed myself. I wanted to see how far I could go.

Then, in my sophomore year, I got a concussion. During a game, I took a hard hit to the head against another player. This was before concussion protocols were really a thing, so because I wasn’t dizzy and nothing hurt, I kept playing. However, about a month later, when there was a break in the season for the holidays, I started getting severe headaches, and nothing was helping. It wasn’t until I was throwing up during one of our conference games and passed out on the way to the locker rooms that I was rushed to the ER. Upon arrival at the ER, they asked me if I had hit my head, and when I said a month ago, they gave me a concussion screener test, and I was far from passing it.?

The concussion was severe enough that I was on homebound instruction for three months. I couldn’t return to playing for about six months. That injury completely changed me as a player. When I came back, something was different. I wasn’t giving it my all anymore. The fear of getting hurt again was there. The spark felt dimmer.

I also played softball in high school and poured my energy into that, but I knew I wasn’t going to take it to the next level. Basketball had been the dream. Losing it the way I did left a mark.

For a long time, I thought that chapter was just over.

I had joined Comer the year before after graduating from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and as a second-year teacher, I was more focused on getting my classroom together than taking on another responsibility.

Our athletic director had heard that I played and started recruiting me to coach— the Comer girls basketball team was a passion of his and had not been as popular for a couple of years. He wanted to bring it back to life. I was told I had a passion for the sport (true) and that I could help teach discipline and structure (also true). So, I said yes.

And I’m so glad I did.

Coaching has done more for my students and for me than I ever expected. I get to watch students discover something they want to work at. I’ve seen it keep some of our campus’s high flyers out of trouble. I’ve watched students learn how to manage their emotions, respond when they’re frustrated, and, most importantly, fail and keep their heads up.

For me, coaching has been a way to stay connected to a sport I love in a way that feels purposeful. It brought back the joy of being around basketball without the pressure to perform or risk of getting hurt. It reminded me why I loved the game in the first place.

Our very first game last year?

Awful.

The girls were completely lost. They cried afterward. That loss mattered a lot to them.

And that’s when I realized something important: it wasn’t just about basketball. The idea of trying and failing made them uncomfortable,? let alone actually doing it in front of a crowd.

So we changed the approach.

Practice became about competition, repetition, and joy. We focused on getting better, not being perfect. Slowly, I started to see shifts. Less yelling at each other. More hyping each other up. More ownership.

Basketball became a place where they practiced accountability. They came to me with drama and own their part in it, sometimes because they don’t want to lose playing time, but often because they genuinely don’t want issues to grow bigger than they need to be. They built a community, and I’m glad I got to be a part of that. I’m still glad I get to be a part of building this team today.

Yes, I want a network championship. I want a city championship.

But more than that, I want to sit in the stands years from now and watch them play in high school. I want to see their growth— not just as athletes, but as young women. I want a program that girls love being part of.

“My team and I at the Gary Comer College Prep 6-12 ESPY awards.”
Front row: Stephanie
2nd row, from left to right: Aubria Myers, Melody, Demi, Demetria, and Khalia
Back rows: JaNiah, Zamaria, Katana, and Kamaria

Basketball isn’t just about winning.

It’s about learning how to try.
How to lose.
How to hype your teammate up.
How to control your anger.
How to take responsibility.
How to belong.

And if we get a championship along the way? Even better.