I Felt The Need To Write, So I Did....

       After reading some of these comments on social media I felt compelled to write this. Mainly, because I surprised myself at how emotional I got/am. I've always felt extremely blessed and fortunate to have parents who always made sure their kids were in the best schools, the most diverse environments and always protected. We never wanted for anything. My parents have always taught us right from wrong, disciplined us, and prepared us for this thing called "Life".
       For those of you who know my Dad, he loves to lecture. It drives us crazy most of the time. 90% of the time, Tony Coleman is speaking the truth and teaching a valuable lesson. I remember being in the car with him and my brother growing up....it always seemed like the time he would educate us on "race". I remember getting frustrated and angry with him often during these talks. He would tell my brother that being a Black Male, life was going to be different for him. Harder. That Anthony was going to experience prejudices along the way that he wouldn't understand, that would frustrate him, but he had to rise above. My Dad, being a retired Police Officer, would always emphasis to Anthony, "No matter what, always say yes sir and no ma'am to a officer. Always." Anthony would always throw in a "but Daddy", just to be cut off by my Dad with a, "Always, Anthony. Always."
      Dad told Anthony the inevitable would happen, he was going to be racially profiled at some point in his life. Simply, because he was a black male. I remember these conversations, vividly, because they made me so angry.
      I was angry not because of what my little brother, who I love more than anything, was going to experience...but mad at my Dad. I didn't want to believe that the world we lived in was that messed up. That people could be so cruel. That race, indeed was a factor and did matter. As a 12/13 year old, I couldn't wrap my brain around the fact that people were treated differently, after all these years, because of their skin color. Heck, at almost 28, I still can't quite understand it. That was the innocent, naive and adolescent me not wanting to face reality. More so, hoping that wasn't reality.
      I didn't want to believe that the same people I shared my Elementary and Middle school hallways with, could quite possibly, think the way my Dad preached about. It couldn't be true.
      And then...I grew up. I saw some of the evils in this world. I experienced many of those same prejudices my parents warned us about. I've been stereotyped. I've seen Anthony and Mikey's struggles that have come with being black men. (And anyone who knows those two, knows how amazing they are. Two of the most respectful and educated men I know).
      Those Elementary and Middle School classmates became my High School and College classmates. They weren't innocent, naive, adolescents anymore either...
      I say all of this because it literally breaks my heart to read these comments. Comments from people I have walked the hallways with, shared a beer with in college etc. I've never really got too emotional over silly things people post on Facebook or Twitter. Some people are just ignorant and have hate in their heart. For some reason, today, reading over these comments, I teared up. I shocked myself.
      No need to repeat and share those comments. I am also not here to share my personal opinions on the matter, but I will say this....if you believe Officer Wilson should have been indicted, fine. If you believe Officer Wilson should not have been indicted, fine. My issue is the lack of compassion. Ladies and Gentlemen, a young man lost his life. Can we just take a moment to think about that? Before we post anymore insensitive comments regarding the Grand Jury's decision, remember that. Remember that there is a family grieving over the death of their son/brother/cousin/friend/etc.
      I can't help but wonder, if something so unfortunate were to happen to my brother, or my cousin, or my nephew...would these same "friends", or people I roamed these hallways with, shared beers with...be making these same, hurtful and insensitive comments?
      I cannot thank my parents enough for raising me the way they did. A great education, strong family values and morals, constant life lessons and all. I just have to always remember, not everyone is as blessed as me. Not everyone has the same family support. Not everyone has access to good schooling and education. Not everyone was raised the way I was raised.

Respect OUR game

I was talking with a good male friend of mind last night, he asked what I was doing, and I told him watching the Women’s Tournament games.  His response, “I’d rather watch paint dry.” He was joking because he knows how much it bothers me when guys diss the Women’s game, but I still had a feeling deep down, that was how he felt.

Him and I dated in High School and some in College, (I am only telling you this to give some background), so he has been “around” the Women’s game for a while now.  It has always been like pulling teeth to get him to watch a women’s game, even mine! He played College Basketball himself, so you would think he would have some appreciation for our game.

Men/Guys/Boys, whatever, who diss the women’s game has to be one my biggest pet peeves. Majority of the guys who diss our game, are the same ones at the gym, decked out from head to toe in Jordan gear (complete with headband), who never get picked for the pickup games.  (you know “that guy”)

I hate the excuses, “oh, they can’t dunk “ or  “it’s not exciting enough.”

Well, if you’re coming to a women’s game to see Blake Griffin or LeBron-esque dunks, you are well, foolish. And, please, tell me what exactly exciting “enough” means. 

I mean, realistically, how often are you going to go to a men’s game, at any level, and see a spectacular dunk? Not that often. And, I’ve been to plenty of men’s games that, for lack of a better phrase, weren’t “exciting enough”.  But if you are a fan of the game, you are a fan of the game.

Back one summer in college, I was in the gym shooting one night and Grieves Vasquez was at the other end. When we were both done shooting, we sat down and talked for a little bit. Mr. Vasquez had the nerve to say, “if we won a National Championship it would be harder than when you guys did.”…Um, WHAAAT?!?! What kind of sense does that make? I was fuming, to say the least. Not only did he disrespect our National Championship, but also the women’s game in general. I didn’t speak to him for weeks….

…Until, one night that same summer he was hanging out after our pickup games. He said, “let’s play 1on1.”

Game. On.

And, yes, I beat him. If you don’t believe me, ask him, he will be the first one to admit it. His excuse, “I wasn’t playing for real.” (Ladies, how many times have we heard a guy say that. Smh).

The turning point came that same summer when Coach David Adkins invited me to work out with Greivis, Kevin Durant, and a few other MD guys. I was always in the gym shooting while he was working these guys out, so finally he just invited me to join. (Meeting Coach Adkins was one of the best things that has happened to me basketball wise). After a few weeks of these workouts, Greivis finally came up to me and apologized. He told me that he just didn’t think girls worked as hard, or cared as much, but that I proved him wrong.  Greivis and I ended up being really good friends and workout buddies. Every offseason you could find us in the gym with Coach Adkins.

Greivis is a prime example that most guys are closed-minded when it comes to women’s basketball, and women in sports, in general.

We work just as hard, want it just as bad, and sacrifice just as much, if not more. We play the game because of our pure love for it. We know we aren’t going to make multi-millions, but we are lucky enough to have a professional league to continue to play the game we love, our game.

There are plenty of guys out there who love and respect our game. So, thank you! One of the most rewarding things to me is when a guy comes up to me and says he started watching women’s basketball after our championship run in 2006. I think for most guys, all it takes is going to or watching a few games and you will learn to appreciate what we do, maaaybe even like it.

….And for the rest of you men/guys/boys (whatever) out there, have fun continuing to sit on the couch, ranting and raving about how awful women’s basketball is, wishing you could do what we do! :)

....Check out the videos below....

Working out with Coach Adkins and G Soph year 

Working out with the boys before training camp my rookie year 

Baby, Baby, Baby Ohhhhh!

Okay, so I've had all these videos on my computer for some time now, and nothing to do with them. So tonight, I had one of those "light bulb" moments. Why not make some movies?!?! Owning a Mac makes life so easy (#Winning?), and I must say after a few "blonde moments", I figured out how to operate iMovie pretty easily.....(with a little help).

Now, I'm not claiming to be a young Scorsese or James Cameron, but I did have a lot of fun putting this "movie" together. So Enjoy! : )

My nieces and nephew are the loves of my life! The entire time I was editing this video I was cheesing from ear to ear. We had so much fun the few days they stayed with me while the madness of Skylar's arrival was going on.

I am kinda addicted to iMovie now....so expect more videos!

 My Loves and I

 Skylar Jo at Christmas...

It's About Time....

Well, I created this blog about, hmm, 6 months ago, give or take a few...And just never got around to posting anything. Upon a few request...Hereeeee we goooo....

I'm here in Hungary playing right now, and I must say, I am really, really enjoying myself. My teammates and coaches are awesome, and such nice people surround me. When you are away from home, months at a time, being around great people helps a lot!

I'll spare you the last 2 1/2 months, and skip right to the good stuff. This past weekend was the Hungarian Cup Championship. It’s the top four teams in the league, battling for the weekend. Yes, this is different than the actual playoffs, and don't ask me what the point or difference is, because your guess is as good as mine. : ) Butttttt, I am proud to say we are the Hungarian Cup Champsss...Ayyyyyeeeeee! 

We faced our rivals, Pecs, in the championship game. For those of you not familiar with how an overseas game atmosphere is like, let me explain, really quick...

You are allowed to bring drums, horns, bells, whistles, flares (okay, maybe not flares, but you get the point), to the game. The fans yell, scream, curse, and sometimes, even fight during these games. So, yesterday, was all of that combined, times 10. Pecs' fans are by far some of the craziest fans I have every seen. They had to be restrained yesterday from literally going on the court and beating up the refs. Annnnd, while we were cutting down the nets, they started throwing boxes of tissue at us ha-ha! Yep, that crazy. 

The game itself was a lot of fun. A lot of going back and forth, our fans yelling, their fans cursing, us going up 10, them going on a run, just a good championship game atmosphere. I was just really getting into that zone, it was the beginning of the 2nd quarter, I grabbed a rebound, (I may or may not have got pushed in my back. That is open for debate : ) ) and landed wrong on my ankle. My thought bubble goes as followed "Bleep, not a Bleeping again, are you Bleeping kidding me". I sit up and notice my foot is completing facing inward...my thought bubble, "Oh Em Geeeee, WTF, my foot should not look like that.!!!" Out of instincts and pure adrenaline, I grab my foot, and snap it back into place. (Sorry for the visual). As I write this, I still can't believe I popped my ankle/foot back in place. Anyway, needless to say, I was in some pain, but more than anything I was soooooo upset because I knew I wasn't going to be able to finish the game....And, yep, here come the tears. Not because I'm in pain (I'm too tough : ) ), but because the game was so important, and I was having so much fun playing in "that" moment.! 

Buuuuuut, ladies and gentlemen, MY ANKLE IS FINE, I'll only have to miss a week or so. Praise em'!

I'll cut out the rest of the dramatics and skip to the last 10 seconds of the game, when we knew we won. They cut it to 6 with a couple of minutes left, but we ended up winning by 9. The last 10 seconds, my teammates who were on the bench with me, all came over, hugged me, congratulated me, (one even tried to get me to hop on one leg, to center court to celebrate at the final buzzard), then ran to the court to celebrate. This was Sopron's first Cup Championship in two years. My head coach, who is the nicest/craziest guy you'll ever meet, wanted to win this game so bad. He came and hugged me with tears in his eyes, and told me I was his hero. (being a little too nice, he must have been caught up in the moment). 

Anywaaaay, I sat there on the bench, with my bum ankle, and watched my team celebrate. I am used to being on the court, celebrating with my team, so this was new to me. As I sat there seeing how excited everyone was, how much this win meant to them, I couldn't help but smile. It was nice to take a step back, and watch from the "outside", and be sincerely happy for my teammates, coaches and the staff I have grown to love over the past couple of months.

We start the "real" playoffs tomorrow. First and Second rounds are best of 3 series, and the finals is best of 5. So, wish us luck!!!!

Special Shout Out to my Lady Terps!!!! Got the first round win against St. Francis. They play Georgetown tomorrow. Look out for my girls; they are going to make some noise in this tournament. 

Lets GOOOOO Maryyyyland!

Sorry, for such an uneventful first blog, I promise they will be better : ). andddd not all about basketball....

Oh yeah! Check out my website marissacoleman4.com and the foundation website teamtylerfoundation.com annnnnnd (lol) my AAU team website MC4dream.com

Cup Champsssss!!!

My teammate Kata and I

Amber, Coach Sheri and I