Like A Second Mother

This year, Coach Kim Mulkey and her women’s basketball team of Baylor University accomplished something never done before in any sport. They recorded a perfect forty wins and zero losses in one of the most competitive college tournaments in the country (USA). But this historic undefeated season has a lot more to it… It is not that Coach Mulkey has won this NCAA basketball tournament as a player and a coach, respectively. It is not that her winning percentage as a coach is above 800%, achieving over 300 wins since the year 2000, which is when her head coaching career began.

It is the bond that she has created with each and every one of her players. This is more than a coach/player kind of bond… this is like a mother/daughter bond that has led the team into success. All-American players, like Brittney Griner, have elevated their game into a totally different level. Griner was named the AP Player of the Year and the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. With Coach Mulkey’s help, Griner has gained more confidence on the court, trusting and exploiting her abilities even more night in and night out.

Coach Mulkey’s commitment to the team and love for her players are so real that they are unbreakable. Even last year when she was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy, a disorder that paralyzes half of people’s bodies (or some body parts) usually for a short period of time, she continued coaching the team, being a mother at home and a role model to the community with passion and determination.

As for the team, she never stopped giving one hundred percent to them, never allowed her problems to be an impediment for keeping on loving and caring for her players, and always believed in them. She understood that her players lived away from home, looked up to her and counted on her, because they did not only see her as a coach or a friend, but more like a second mother!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. You are miracle workers... simply the best people on earth!!!

- Y gracias por no fumar!

Coach Mulkey with her son and
daughter. Picture from espn.go.com

Coach Mulkey hugging two of her Baylor basketball players.
Or should I say, other daughters? Picture from statesman.com