Page 54 - Cityview_Jan_Feb_2014

SPORTS

IN THE ZONE

by brittany jackson

Oh the Places You’ll Go!

W
hat is it that doesn’t have to end for girls when
dr. Seuss wrote? “oh the their playing careers are over. I con-

places you’ll go! There is fun tinue to run my basketball academy,
to be done! There are points to be and I am also pursuing a career in

scored. There are games to be won. broadcasting. And many women can
And the magical things you can do now enter the coaching arena—a

with that ball will make you the path blazed by Pat Summitt. It’s
winning-est winner of all.”
no coincidence that so many of the

I think those words are so ap- girls who played for Coach Summitt
plicable today for great young female are now coaches—because Coach

athletes who want to compete on Summitt expected all of us to always
the biggest stages—and for girls
be learning. for example, after head

and woman who are interested in a coaching stops at Western Carolina
career in sports.
and North Carolina State, Kellie

Now there are so many places
harper coaches now at Missouri
a girl can go! When my mom was State. Niya butts is the head coach

playing high school basketball, it was at the university of Arizona. Nikki
practically unheard of for a girl to go Caldwell coached for three years at

to college to play sports (although uCLA and is now at LSu right here
my mom did play basketball at in the Southeastern Conference. I

Middle Tennessee State univer- played with gwen Jackson, and she
sity). When I was finishing my high is now coaching at Austin-East high

school career in 2001 at bradley School in Knoxville, and I played
Central high School in Cleveland, with Courtney Mcdaniel, and she is

Tennessee—after playing volleyball, coaching at greenback high School.
softball, and basketball—there were And, of course, current Lady Vols

really only two well-known colle- head coach holly Warlick played for
giate women’s basketball programs: uT, as did one of Coach Warlick’s

those at the university of Connecti- assistants, Kyra Elzy!
cut and the university of Tennes- Women are boxing and fighting

see. growing up not too far from in MMA, tearing up the X games,
Knoxville, I knew I wanted to play dunking in basketball—and also

for Tennessee, but today, there are broadcasting at the highest levels
so many great programs all over the (former Lady Vol Kara Lawson plays

country: duke, Notre dame, baylor, in the WNbA and is a broadcaster
to name just a few.
on ESPN) and serving in major roles

oh the places basketball can take as coaches and high-level executives
you! basketball has taken me all over for professional sports teams. The

the world—throughout the united world has changed—and girls today
States while I was playing for the should know they can do anything.

Vols and later, when I played profes-
sionally, to Italy, greece, Turkey, Former Lady Vol and four-time NCAA Final Four

Poland. And so many of personal and participant brittany jackson is the owner of the
professional friendships have been Brittany Jackson Basketball Academy, where she

made through sports, too.
oversees player training, camps, and clinics for all
And oh the careers you can have! ages and talent levels. For more information, go to

unlike decades ago, a love of sports
www.BrittanyJacksonBBall.com
Photograph by
bryan allen

52 cityviewmag.com maRcH aPRiL 2014