Colleen Day
Episode 95
23 NOV 2020
The Associate Head Coach for the women’s basketball team at the University of Akron. She previously was an assistant coach at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, after having spent ten seasons as an assistant coach at Miami (Ohio) University, where she had competed as a student-athlete, being a four-time letter winner there and three-time team captain. She has since been inducted into the Miami University Hall of Fame for her success on the court.
Notable guest quotes:
“I grew up in northeast Ohio… going to St. Columbkille for… first through eighth grade. I have five siblings, a traditional Irish Catholic family.”
“We had a really active campus ministry (in high school)… They really allowed us to run a lot of things, whether it was just prayer group, Bible study. They always held Masses on Sunday where the student body could just attend, which was really neat ’cause our chaplain was able to really direct his homily and conversation around things that really mattered to us.”
(at college) “We had… right in town… a church… and I was able to get involved with that right away, lectored and also was a Eucharistic Minister there… It was great for me because I knew Sundays we usually had basketball off so I could still get there… I felt like it really kept me grounded… to be able to make sure I was going to Mass and kinda able to reset myself for the week.”
(she and her husband) “we’re both so centered in Jesus through our ministry through coaching… I definitely think both of us see it as a ministry… but we try to keep our players and our service to them at the forefront of it. So, we’re able to remind each other a lot what’s important and not get caught up in the things that we shouldn’t.”
“There are a lot of athletes who have strong faiths, so that alone sometimes can just be a connection with them.”
“We can get so caught up in winning as college coaches. And yes, we do get paid to win, but we also get paid to serve our student-athletes. And, again, between myself and my husband, we try to keep that at the forefront of what we do and not get caught up in the egos that a lot of times can overtake this profession.”
“Yes, I love getting a defensive stop or drawing up the play to win a game or something like that, that’s all fun, but, the day-to-day, I love the relationships with the players and I love some of the things that we’re able to do with the community.”
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