 Hello everybody. Welcome to the Alabama 4-H ESPN page. This is your host, Warren J. Williams. And my next guest is one of my local coaches who is the coach of the Ufala High School Girls Basketball Team, Coach Jameet Clayett. Mr. Jameet Clayett, could you say hello? Hey, hello. How you doing? My name is Jameet Clayett. Ufala High School here at Varsity Girls Basketball Coach. Okay. So how you doing, Mr. A. Coach Clayett? I'm doing well. How about you, sir? Doing good. Doing good. You ready for that season? And we're ready. We've been working hard. So, hey, we're ready. We actually got practice here in about two more hours. But, hey, we're ready. We're working hard and looking to come to the big goal this year. That's good. That's good. So, in this interview, I have a couple of questions for you if you don't mind if I ask. All right. All right. So the first question, Ashley, what was your major in college? My major in college was physical education. I have a bachelor's from Troy University, where I graduated in 2013. Then two years later, I decided to go back to school and I obtained my master's in athletic administration. And currently, I'm back in school again to get my second master's, which I'm interning currently at the moment here at UFALA Higher School. My second master's is in instructional leadership, where I can be an administrator in the school system. I actually be graduating in December. I'm in my last intern. Well, in my first intern class now, my second intern will start in the fall. I'll be graduating in December from the University of West Alabama in instructional leadership. That's nice. I didn't know that. Well, class of 2020. Moving in silence. Moving in silence. Hey, I know what you're talking about. All right. Well, next thing. Next question is, what is a day like as a coach? Wow. First thing I'll say, it can be stressful if you live, but you know, a day like as a coach, man, to be honest, I was just speaking with a former player who I've coached in the past, man, just giving her some words of encouragement as far as, you know, what to major in, because she's headed to Wichita State. And I was telling her what you're going to major in. And she was like, I don't know. I said, well, what you like to do? She was like, place basketball. I said, well, if you can't play it one day, you know, that ball is going to stop dripping. So you might well, you might as well be a coach. She's like, yeah, yeah. So, you know, I say that to say this, a day being a basketball coach, it's like you're doing a hobby, something you're doing for fun. And I told her this, I said, if you can do something without pay, then it's not a job to you. So, you know, I've been coaching basketball for maybe 14 years. And I'll say seven pay you seven unpaid. So I did it for seven years for free. So again, it's something that I enjoy doing it. But the life of a coach man is rewarding because you're able to help kids through sports, discipline kids through sports. I love every minute of it, got a passion for it. You know, again, basketball teaches life skills. I'm very big on teaching life skills. My team that I have currently, they'll tell you, I use the game of basketball to teach them life skills. Because the game basketball is like, you know, you want to succeed in life, you're going to go through trials and tribulations in life, just as well as on the basketball course. You're going to play teams that are better than you. Teams that's going to beat you. You're not going to win every single game. I don't know a coach in this world that has won every single game that he has coached just like life. You're not going to win every single battle. You're going to have some speed bumps, you're going to have some obstacles in life. But again, how you face those obstacles, how you face adversity, you know, it's a true definition, you know, of where your heart lies and how you make it far in life. So, man, you know, the life of a coach, man, it's rewarding, man, to get phone calls from every day from all types of coaches from the college level, high school level. So, man, you meet a lot of people networking. It's kind of like a fraternity, you know, it's a brotherhood slash sisterhood, you know, so you meet other coaches. Hey, you coach here, you coach there, man. And, you know, it's a great feeling. It's really rewarding. Yeah. I consider basketball one of the best, I guess you could say social sports. This is where you can really make friends out on the court. Everything's competitive. Yeah. Well, next thing, what is the best thing about your job that you like to do? Wow. The best thing, that's a good question. The best thing about my job, again, is interacting with my players, getting more personal, building relationships. That's the biggest thing because, you know, basketball versus football, where football, you've got maybe 50, sometimes 50 to 100 football players out there. You're going to get no kid, but basketball, you're talking about dealing with 8 to 12 kids or 13 kids, whatever. So, you begin to form a bond with them, a relationship where you can get personal with them, man. And when you get personal, you know, it's about helping them become productive citizens in the world that we live in here. So, you know, it's basketball, man. You know, it's a sport where, you know, you gain a lot of social skills because you got to interact with people. You gain a lot of distance skills because, again, everything is not going to go your way. You gain some motivation. You know, you got to play a lot of games. So, you're fatigued, you're tired. So, you got to, again, you got to go back to, goes back to adversity. Life is about adversity, how you respond to it. You know, when things are going well in life, guess what? You don't have any problems. You're living a good life. But boom, the minute you come to a speed bump or the minute something happens and you face adversity, how are you going to respond to it? So... Oh, yeah, definitely. There's a lot of players in the NBA and in college level who always go back to their coaches saying they had to build a good relationship. They always keep training. And even sometimes they'll come back like Tony Johnson, he'll sometimes call, come back to our school and practice, get some reps up. Definitely, man. Like I said, building those relationships, that's the most exciting and enjoyable, you know, thing to me is building that relationship and seeing them basically get somewhere that they never thought they could. You know, I pushed them, pushed all my players and things that they say they can't do, you know, they find out that they can't do. You know, things where they lack confidence, they leave with confidence. You know, self-esteem, low self-esteem, they leave with confidence. You know, so the thing is, man, you know, building relationships is the thing that really, really gives me as far as a coachman and just really makes me feel good when I see that smile and I say, hey coach, I did it. And then, you know, I don't mind sharing a story with you. I had a kid that I never thought, you know, who I thought never would get it. You know, I would tell her to do this, tell her to do that. You know, if she had an attitude or I thought she wasn't getting in and she had problems with whatever. But later on when she went to college, she sent me a text message. She was like, coach, I just want to say thank you, you know, for being hard on me. Thank you for this with me. Thank you for teaching me life skills and the things that you taught me because I'm way out here in this part of the United States and the first thing I could remember is the things that you taught me on and off the court. So that goes back to building relationship. You know, I built a relationship with her on and off the court, not just her basketball coach, but a father figure, you know, being a brother, being a mentor, you know, all of those roles. So it's very important, you know, building a relationship. That's good. That's nice. All right. So this question, I feel this is a very good question. What advice would you give a youth interested in your job as coach? Wow. The best advice is number one, patience. You know, even with coaching in sport, you got to be patient. When I say patience, patience with players, patience with parents, you know, patience with an administration because again, you know, when I say patience with players, you're not going to have, you're just not going to have ready-made players, you know, players that's already good. You got to develop and you got to build your culture, build your great program. When I say patience with parents, you know, parents, it's got to work both hand in hand, patience with the coach, coach patience with the parents. You know, you're going to have parents that, you know, want their kids to play. You're going to have parents who are going to be giving you, you know, that look or their attitude. Well, my child is going to play, but you got to let her know that it's different from rec league to high school. And then so you got to be patient with the coach because again, a coach, I don't, I believe it takes a coach three years to build a program, makes the program his, you know, his or hers. So, you know, being patient with administration, things that you want, the things that you need for your program, you might not get it firsthand, you know. You know, it's a couple of things that I didn't have my first year, but as I began to be patient, the things that I needed, the things I asked for, I began to get it, you know. So, you know, being patient in this sport, also being passionate. Love what you do. Again, nobody wants to work or nobody wants to do anything that they don't love. And so, you know, in anything you do, you got to put some love in it. You know, if I didn't love the sport of basketball, I didn't love coaching, I wouldn't be doing it. You know, do something you love to do because of, because again, it's not a job then. It becomes a hobby. And everybody loves hobby. Everybody in this world have a hobby. You know, so basketball is a hobby to me. Coaching is a hobby to me. I enjoy doing it. I've done, I've coached it for free. And now I'm coaching it and getting paid for it. So, you know, you know, passionate, being passionate, being patient. And you know, and I'll say this last thing. Being confident. You got to be confident in yourself as a coach. And when I say confident, I'm saying, you know, you're going to hear things from the outside, you're going to hear things from the inside, but you got to be confident and you got to trust the process, your vision, your values, your goals, what you have as a coach and what you have for your team. You got to be confident in it. You know, you can't second guess yourself. Just got to be confident and be strong and just keep it moving forward. I definitely know I need help with my patients. I snap out of my brother and he makes me back. Oh, yeah. All right. So, next question is, who inspired you to do better in life? Who gave you that push in order to work as hard as you have, you know, from, I guess you could say, high school to where you are now? Wow. Definitely have had several people play an important role in the man I am today. But if I could really pinpoint and stick my hand on one thing, it would be my mom. 7th grade here, you follow city schools in that more middle school. A tragic happened in my life and I was in 7th grade, my mom passed away. So, when that day struck, you know, there's some things that I don't want to do. I want to quit in life. You know, I want to stop going to school. I was just pressed. I was sad and I was mad. You know, mad at God, you know, for taking my mom away with a young age. I didn't know where to turn, didn't know where to go. But I met a young man by the name of Corey Jones, Boys and Girls Club director, who was very influential in my life and kind of steered me, kind of guide me. You know, I was a member, I was 13 years old, and you follow Boys and Girls Club. And he, you know, he poured into me, the staff there poured into me and that became a turning point in my life. And along with that staff and just thinking about my mom, that gave me motivation to, you know, if mom was here, she would want me to do it this way. If mom was here, she would want me to be successful. If mom was here, she would want me to graduate and go on the college. So, you know, it was tough and difficult that mom wasn't there for my 8th grade graduation. It was difficult that mom wasn't there for my high school diploma. It was difficult that mom wasn't there for my college degree. So every degree that I get, I dedicate this for my mom. Every degree that I get is for my mom. It's my motivation to do what I love to do. So, you know, she would definitely be along with Mr. Corey Jones and the You Follow Boys and Girls Club staff definitely pay the role in my life to be where I am today. I get what she's saying. I get it. Because my grandma, she died in February and I was there. It just happened. But, you know, got to pick yourself up. And I said, Lord knows, my grandma, if she had a choice, come down, slap me, be like, boy, you better get you. But all that couch, you better keep working. Plus, yeah, Mr. Corey, you know, Mr. Corey. Because I had to end up taking care of raising me after mom left. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, that's what he said. I know. But yeah, Mr. Corey, I know he's helped a lot of people. He's very wise. Especially when he was at the Boys and Girls Club. Oh, yeah, most definitely. All right. So, last question. Oh, yeah. Okay. All right. So, who do you think is going to be the hardest team you're going to face this season? The hardest team? I'll say this right here. The most, I don't feel like nobody's hard for us. I feel like it's a challenge. I feel like confident that we're the better team this year. And that goes back to being confident when I told you before. So I said the most challenging teams will be, I will say, I'm going to some tournaments that's in Hoover, Alabama, so I'm playing some really good teams up there. Also going down to Mobile, Alabama. I'm going to play some 6 and 7-8 schools down there. So those games will be challenging. Also, we're moving to a different area this year with three new teams. So, again, that area will be a little bit challenging for us. But again, I'm the type of coach. Hey, I respect all fear none. So, you know, we're going to take it one game at a time. And hey, the results will speak for itself. Hey, you're right. You're right. You guys got a good team. Appreciate it. Yeah, I could see y'all been working hard. I can't wait to see y'all progress and see the record y'all hold. You know, got to get that championship. Oh, yeah. It's been a long time coming. Well, Coach Clyde, that was the end of questions. I appreciate you coming on here, speaking your mind and answering these questions. I liked all these answers. Very inspirational. And just before you, and before you leave, what would you like to, I don't know, as an inspiration to kids? What would you like to leave as an inspiration for kids going through probably what you've been through or just going through life in general? Gotcha. Well, I'll say this right here. The best motivation that I can give to a kid, the best encouragement is everyone can succeed in their own way. You know, and that's something that model everyone can succeed. Whether you're working on a garbage truck, you be the best garbage truck man. Whether you're working in a janitor in the lunchroom, you be that best lunchroom. Whether you are a truck driver, you be that best truck driver. If you're a lawyer, you be that best lawyer. If you're the doctor, you be that best doctor. Everybody has their own niche where they can succeed at it. So be good at it. Also, you know, in life, again, there's going to be speed bumps. There's going to be obstacles. There's going to be adversity. Everybody has, I don't know, one person in life that hasn't been through any speed bumps or adversity or obstacles. The question is, how are you going to respond to it? Always have a plan, because guess what? Your plan A is not going to always work. If plan A was going to work with me, I'll be in the NBA. That's everybody's dream. So NFL play, NBA, you know, so you got to have a plan B. What's your plan B? How are you going to respond to adversity when plan A don't work? You can't just give up. If I didn't have a plan B, then my plan A would be nothing. You know, again, when Travis struck with me, I had a plan B. You know, I went on off to school. So, you know, never give up, keep your head up. Again, how are you going to, that it goes back to that word adversity. That means a lot, adversity. How are you going to handle adversity? So, and we have a hashtag. I say here with my team, my basketball girl is pound outwork everybody, pound outwork everybody. If you're in the classroom, outwork your classmate. Hey, if you're on the football field, basketball court, if you're on the baseball field, outwork your teammate. If you have a job, if you're a salesman, outwork your, your, your employee, outwork your colleagues, outwork them in everything, be the first person to get up in the morning. When I was in college, I would get up at five, five, 30 every morning because I wanted to beat the sun up. I believe that, you know, I believe that people, if you want to be successful, you got to work in the morning and get a head start as a sleep. You get a head start over your day. A lot of times people like to sleep in and call the students, nine, 10, 11, 12 o'clock. Hey, I'm up at five and six a.m. in the morning. I'm working, doing schoolwork. I'm writing down my goals. I'm writing down my visions. You got to work when everybody else is asleep. So, you got to pound outwork everybody in every aspect of your life. I know what you're saying. I woke up at, I wake up every day around six. I woke up today at six, 13. I get to work every morning around seven a.m. I wake up about five, 30, six o'clock. I don't set a long clock. My passion wakes me up. Me coaching basketball is my passion. I'm trying to believe, hey, I don't have to set a long clock. My passion wakes me up. What I love, I wake up every morning, love what I'm doing. You know, the moment that I don't love what I'm doing, that's the moment, hey, I'll give it up. But again, I don't set a long clock. My passion wakes me up. Again, I'm ready. I'm in that mode. I'm ready to go out working. To me, some people be like, I wake up at eight or nine o'clock. To me, I'll be like, dang, that's late. I don't like myself if I wake up at nine o'clock. It's just like wasting the day. I say, live life to the fullest. Wake up at six. Get your life started. And I think that's the end of it. Well, thanks, Coach Clyde, for your time.