For 22 years coach Sally Brooks has led her team with Passion, Vigor,
and Determination. Her efforts have paid off with 400 wins. We sat down
with her on Monday to discuss this magnificent achievement. Here's part
of that conversation:
Sally - In anything I do I expect to win and I expect to be successful. In my mind why else do you do it if you're not trying to win. It's not just a job, I could go out and get any job where I maybe get more sleep or less responsibility or that type of thing.
Randy - You mentioned the word responsibility, how much of a responsibility is it, or that you feel, taking care of people daughters that are on your team?
Sally - That's something that I like, I'm not always successful at that, but I think it's probably, it's the most important thing that coaches and teachers, parents. I think coaches, Parents, and Teachers are all in it together.
Randy - Probably more so than people in this community know, you have your players involved in the community. What do you expect them to learn volunteer time that they put in?
Sally - People say, oh your job is so stressful, there's so much pressure you have to win. Yes we feel that way, but really it's not life or death. There's people out there everyday that are just trying to feed their kids, that's life or death. That's way more important than what we do. Sometimes you just got to have some of that reality, and I just think it makes you a better person. I've been given a lot in my life and I want to give back and I feel like players just being a college athlete have been given a lot and I want them to give back also.
Randy - Your father played basketball at West Texas A&M, coached there, how much of an impact did his passion for the game have on you wanting to coach?
Sally - It wasn't until I moved away, then I can look back and think how lucky I was because that shaped who I am.
Randy - Is it special when you go to Canyon to West Texas to see their Hall of Champions and that there's a plaque with his picture on it?
Sally - That's a great honor to be in anybody's Hall of Fame, I know it was a well deserved honor. The unfortunate part of it is he was at the awards ceremony a few years ago, but even then Alzheimer's had taken over. I don't really think he was aware of what was going on, so that was sad part of it. But his kids know and his grandchildren know. Justin, my nephew, his grandson, plays here on the men's basketball team and we played at West Texas the other day, after the game he said 'did you see the thing in the front about PaPaw Dennis?' That was really special.
Randy - How special was it for you when you played them here in December, you had the Walk to Remember for Alzheimer's, to look the court and see your daughter Bailey the first one on the treadmill to walk?
Sally - To have Bailey up there on the treadmill, we had a hard time getting Bailey here you know, and then be able to win that basketball game was a really special night.
Randy - The other night when you won the 400th game, Kannon was one of the first people on the court to congratulate you. What does it mean that they are involved in the games with you?
Sally - He probably takes our losses harder than we do, and he loves our wins more, so that's a great thing. It's family involvement, that's the way we spend time together.
Sally - In anything I do I expect to win and I expect to be successful. In my mind why else do you do it if you're not trying to win. It's not just a job, I could go out and get any job where I maybe get more sleep or less responsibility or that type of thing.
Randy - You mentioned the word responsibility, how much of a responsibility is it, or that you feel, taking care of people daughters that are on your team?
Sally - That's something that I like, I'm not always successful at that, but I think it's probably, it's the most important thing that coaches and teachers, parents. I think coaches, Parents, and Teachers are all in it together.
Randy - Probably more so than people in this community know, you have your players involved in the community. What do you expect them to learn volunteer time that they put in?
Sally - People say, oh your job is so stressful, there's so much pressure you have to win. Yes we feel that way, but really it's not life or death. There's people out there everyday that are just trying to feed their kids, that's life or death. That's way more important than what we do. Sometimes you just got to have some of that reality, and I just think it makes you a better person. I've been given a lot in my life and I want to give back and I feel like players just being a college athlete have been given a lot and I want them to give back also.
Randy - Your father played basketball at West Texas A&M, coached there, how much of an impact did his passion for the game have on you wanting to coach?
Sally - It wasn't until I moved away, then I can look back and think how lucky I was because that shaped who I am.
Randy - Is it special when you go to Canyon to West Texas to see their Hall of Champions and that there's a plaque with his picture on it?
Sally - That's a great honor to be in anybody's Hall of Fame, I know it was a well deserved honor. The unfortunate part of it is he was at the awards ceremony a few years ago, but even then Alzheimer's had taken over. I don't really think he was aware of what was going on, so that was sad part of it. But his kids know and his grandchildren know. Justin, my nephew, his grandson, plays here on the men's basketball team and we played at West Texas the other day, after the game he said 'did you see the thing in the front about PaPaw Dennis?' That was really special.
Randy - How special was it for you when you played them here in December, you had the Walk to Remember for Alzheimer's, to look the court and see your daughter Bailey the first one on the treadmill to walk?
Sally - To have Bailey up there on the treadmill, we had a hard time getting Bailey here you know, and then be able to win that basketball game was a really special night.
Randy - The other night when you won the 400th game, Kannon was one of the first people on the court to congratulate you. What does it mean that they are involved in the games with you?
Sally - He probably takes our losses harder than we do, and he loves our wins more, so that's a great thing. It's family involvement, that's the way we spend time together.
