During the WNBA’s regular season, Alex Montgomery plays basketball with the San Antonio Stars.
During the WNBA’s offseason, she’s a head coach at Steilacoom High School near Tacoma.
Montgomery has always put an emphasis on how working hard can beat a team with a lot of talent.
When I got into the league, I didn’t really have a mid-range shot. They just knew me as a three-point shooter, and I didn’t attack the basket. But hard work—I just kept working day in and day out. That’s who I am and that’s how I’ve got here.
–Alex Montgomery
It has been somewhat of a struggle for Montgomery as the Steilacoom coach. Her team lost the season’s first five games and she has observed an aura of inconsistency with the team at practices.
It’s like the girls don’t want to work as hard. They want to be working hard one practice and then taking it easy the next. Or ‘We won the game, so let’s take it easy.’ And I’m like, ‘No, you’ve got to grind. You’ve got to grind.’
The team’s previous coach, who took another job, asked Montgomery about assuming his position on one occasion while she was in Tacoma.
When the school announced that Montgomery was going to be the new girls basketball head coach, most did not know who she was until they looked her up and saw she plays in the WNBA.
After overcoming some early growing pains, she says she is beginning to see improvement in her team. Montgomery acknowledged that getting her players to where she wants them to be will not be something that happens at the snap of a finger—or the blow of a whistle.
I really enjoy it. I’m teaching them every day and they are actually getting it and grasping the concepts. It’s just about continuing to push them. It’s not going to all happen overnight or in a moment. It’s going to take time.
(Original Story: Tacoma News-Tribune)
By: Akiem Bailum (@AkiemBailum on Twitter, Instagram)
