When the W.N.B.A. season ends, I usually head overseas for a winter of basketball. The trip provides additional income and a chance to hone my skills. But after my latest stint overseas, in Israel, I had a life-changing experience.
I traveled to Bahrain, a small island country east of Saudi Arabia, to watch my fiancé, O’neal Mims III, finish his basketball season last fall. At his games, I was usually the only woman in the arena. Within 48 hours of my arrival, Muhammad al-Khalifah, a relative of the king, asked me to coach his Muharraq women’s basketball team.
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They were used to being coached by men who tended to discourage them. But I saw nothing but tremendous potential, and I tried to nourish it. I made it clear that I was invested in the team’s improvement, and the players made it clear that they were serious as well. We practiced two to four times a week, usually at night. The players picked me up, and we had time to talk during the drive.
One day, we worked on layups for nearly half of practice. I challenged each player to make 10 in a row; anyone who missed had to run sprints. With most of them wearing long-sleeve shirts, long pants and head coverings, they ran and ran and never complained or pointed fingers, no matter how tired or uncomfortable they might have been. They worked so hard and encouraged one another every step of the way. If I ever feel hesitant during a workout, that memory will push me.
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Her toughest challenge was finding a place for us to practice. At the Muharraq athletic club, our team was last to get time in the gym, behind the men’s team and even men’s pickup games. Fatima did all she could, and she taught me what a captain and a leader really is.
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Every day in my final week, I felt I was losing something very special. We grew close on the court and even closer off it.
By sharing their thoughts on their culture and Islam, they destroyed my preconceptions about the Middle East.
Those nine women halfway across the world changed me forever and, I hope, helped me become a better person.
Chicago forward Mistie Bass coached the Muharraq women's team. This was the first full season for Bahrain's eight-team women's league.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/sports/16bass.html?ref=sports Mistie Bass is a far more open minded and wiser person than a lot of people in government and in the American people at large. She listened and learned.