Continuing our attempt to highlight OUR coaches in Louisiana we caught up Coach McConathy from Airline. Coach McConathy has basketball in her blood everywhere you look in her family! She's taken this Airline girls basketball team to new heights and they will be a team to keep an eye on in the coming years! Another great role model for OUR girls. Below is our Q&A:
Many of our followers understand how difficult 5a is but some may not understand how your district could be the toughest in the state… can you talk about some of the challenges you face night in night out?
We try to prepare our girls the best that we can and I utilize the scouting system we used when I played at Northwestern State. In our district we have a saying: “No Nights Off”; every game is a tough game, the last two years we have produced the state champions in 5A and this year we had four in the quarterfinals! We never look at our opponents as if they are state champions, but we look at them as worthy opponents that we can try to conquer. Teaching our girls mental toughness to be able to compete at the level that is needed is one of the biggest musts in our district play.
Your team fought its way into the playoffs last year despite losing 17 games you had one of the most difficult schedules in the state can you talk about last year and how satisfied were you with the season? How do you plan to build off that momentum from last year and get over the hump in a few of those close game?
We were not satisfied with how the season went. We lost a lot of close games and the girls recognized that we were so close to getting over that hump. We ended on a positive note, even though it was a loss to Ouachita Parish, they saw that they could compete with the best in the state. We have the majority of our starters returning and we will increase our intensity in practice and develop more close game scenarios. By showing them that they can win those close ones will accelerate their confidence that they need.
Your team has been recognized as one of the up and coming basketball teams in 5A. What do you feel are the reasons for your team's success?
We are led by a young group of girls that are fighters. They lead by example, and are always up for the challenges that I give them whether in practice or in games.
What led you to choose teaching and coaching as your profession? Who are some mentors that have help you become the coach you are today?
I am a fourth-generation coach. The Greene family has a family tree of coaching. It is in my blood and a passion I cannot describe. My dad, Chris Greene, former South Beauregard High School coach, is my biggest mentor. My father-in-law, Mike McConathy, Northwestern State Men’s Basketball coach is my other mentor. Between those two, my chalk-talk sessions and knowledge grow daily! They are the reasons why I coach the way I coach today!
Do you have any advice to a younger coach in terms of what makes a good coach?
Be a sponge. Be patient and soak up as much knowledge as you can from as many coaches as you can. Some of my best knowledge that I gained in the coaching world was from a cross country coach!
I ask this question to all the coaches I interview. What do you feel are some ways that Louisiana can improve the girls basketball moving forward? What do you feel really works and made you glad to be a coach in Louisiana?
Competition. I feel like coaches need to challenge their teams by playing teams they don’t normally see in their schedule. I feel like we have a core group of coaches in Louisiana that truly care and love the game of basketball. Seeing their passion and all of us feeding off each other to better the game is what made me glad to be a coach in Louisiana.
What would you like to see implemented to assist young girls develop prior to high school? What are things middle school kids need to know or should be working on to prepare for the high school level?
FUNDAMENTALS...you must be able to dribble, pass, and shoot a layup correctly before you become the best player in the state. We need our middle school coaches to teach kids proper footwork, man to man principles and basketball knowledge.
What is something you hope your kids carry on with them throughout their lives after leaving your program?
I have a F.I.S.T culture. I teach Fundamentals not just in basketball, but in life; I tell my girls to live a life with Intensity, if they do that they will become whatever they want; Servanthood-to lead by example and with the willingness to give; and Trust, by being a person of this type of character it will allow for them to be the great women they are destined to be.
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