I THINK OF HER AS AN ANGEL: Five Bobcat head coaches look at how their mother impacted them in celebration of Mother's Day
5/12/2019 12:00:00 PM | General
A look at how their mothers impacted the lives of five Montana State head coaches
Our mother impacts our lives in ways that none of us can adequately express, but several of Montana State's head coaches gave it a shot this week. Here is a look at the maternal forces that forged the lives of seven Bobcat head coaches, in their own words:
Bobcat women's basketball coach Tricia Binford on her mother LYN BADER
How did your mom impact you as an athlete growing up? "Mom encouraged my brother and sister and I to do something we were passionate about even if it meant going back to college, as she went back to school after nursing career to pursue counseling. She practiced counseling for more than 20 years and had tremendous work ethic." What kind of thought will randomly pop into your head about your mom that makes you smile? "That she and my dad were willing to drive 12 hours for every home weekend (from Denver to Boise) in college to support me. She would take my teammates and I through visualization exercises before games with her sports performance background."
Bobcat golf coach Brittany Basye on her mother DIANE SCHAFF
How did your mom impact you as an athlete growing up? "The biggest thing for me is that she was my rock. She was always the positive one, always asking, 'Are you OK, how you doing?' She was always there to console me even if I didn't want it. Then, when I was playing professionally she was the one to push me. But she was my rock. I could always go to my mom." What kind of thought will randomly pop into your head about your mom that makes you smile? "I think of her as an angel. She is a guardian angel here on earth for me and for my kids. My job is demanding and she's there for me and my kids 100 percent. She has my back, and she always has."
Bobcat men's tennis coach Jared Burnham on his mother SHIRLEY BURNHAM
How did your mom impact you as an athlete growing up? "I didn't realize it at the time, but man she was a good cook and it was always healthy. You never realize that at the time, but I was ahead of the game before nutrition was a big thing, purely by accident for me but not her. She knew what she was doing." What kind of thought will randomly pop into your head about your mom that makes you smile? "The very few times she got mad are funny now, but they were scary back in the day. She knew when to do it and when not to. She's a really great person. I got lucky, hit the parental jackpot."
Bobcat football coach Jeff Choate on his mother KATRINA BENTLEY
How did your mom impact you as an athlete growing up? "My mom was never really into athletics. She's a brilliant woman, has a PhD., attended the Army War College, was a nurse. After my parents' divorce when we moved to Idaho she was always busy, but she always made sure we had what we needed. We lived in Saint Maries and my mom would drive us to Lewistown or Moscow whenever we needed a baseball bat or whatever. Most of the time moms are the ones that dropped you off at practice and picked you up, and she facilitated that. The second thing is her work ethic. She was always working two, maybe three jobs, but she was always present for us, being there to watch us compete. Sports always seemed to be the thing that brought our family together, and she was a big part of that." What kind of thought will randomly pop into your head about your mom that makes you smile? "Her spirit. She's always had a super positive approach to life. She hasn't always had things go her way, but she's always reminded me of that old quote that life's 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react. She's always taken the twists and turns that life's given her with a great attitude. I always think you can tell a parent from how their kids turned out. I have one brother that's a mechanical engineer that lives an awesome life in Kentucky, a brother that's a high school teacher and coach in the Boise area with a great family, and a sister who's a physician's assistant in Atlanta living a great life. And I've done OK, too. A lot of that is because our mom showed us how to work hard and treat people the right way."
Bobcat volleyball coach Daniel Jones on his mother MARY JONES
How did your mom impact you as an athlete growing up? "She made everything possible. She was always there feeding me, allowing me to grow, to fill out an athletic body, as I was filling out as a young man. She transported me in a lot of ways. And she opened doors and kind of got out of the way, which I appreciate now more than ever. She was an encouraging mother. She never told me what I should and shouldn't do, she just told me how much she loved watching me play." What kind of thought will randomly pop into your head about your mom that makes you smile? "She's five-foot-zero, but she's feisty. She always used to tell us that she trained in a mental institute when she was (working toward) her occupational therapy degree and she learned how to flip people over her shoulder if they were causing her physical duress, so she could always flip us over her shoulder onto the ground to get a position of dominance. (laughs) So whenever I think of my mother it always gives me a good perspective that she's five-foot, but she's feisty."
Bobcat men's basketball coach Danny Sprinkle on his mother DANETTE SPRINKLE
How did your mom impact you as an athlete growing up? "My mom influenced me in my athletics career by her sacrifice and commitment. She was willing to drive me and my friends growing up to practice and games anywhere - anytime! She was always available! She stood up for me when neighbors were writing letters and complaining that I was shooting baskets in our driveway too late at night. She always put me and mys sisters' athletic endeavors before herself." What kind of thought will randomly pop into your head about your mom that makes you smile? "The one thing that always sticks out or reminds me of my mom is when I see an act of kindness. She is the kindest person I know. She is always helping someone else and it's never about her. Another thing that makes me think of her is when I look up in the crowd and see my players' parents cheering and how proud they are. I always remember no matter how loud a gym got I could her her voice! I'm so fortunate to have her as my mom!"
Bobcat track and field and cross country coach Lyle Weese on his mother
How did your mom impact you as an athlete growing up? "My mom wasn't too involved in specific sports, but the way she impacted me was the demonstration of how hard she worked. Everything she did, she put everything into it, so I knew that whatever I did I was going to put everything into it." What kind of thought will randomly pop into your head about your mom that makes you smile? "It always makes me smile knowing how much she likes pets and children."
Bobcat women's basketball coach Tricia Binford on her mother LYN BADER
How did your mom impact you as an athlete growing up? "Mom encouraged my brother and sister and I to do something we were passionate about even if it meant going back to college, as she went back to school after nursing career to pursue counseling. She practiced counseling for more than 20 years and had tremendous work ethic." What kind of thought will randomly pop into your head about your mom that makes you smile? "That she and my dad were willing to drive 12 hours for every home weekend (from Denver to Boise) in college to support me. She would take my teammates and I through visualization exercises before games with her sports performance background."
Bobcat golf coach Brittany Basye on her mother DIANE SCHAFF
How did your mom impact you as an athlete growing up? "The biggest thing for me is that she was my rock. She was always the positive one, always asking, 'Are you OK, how you doing?' She was always there to console me even if I didn't want it. Then, when I was playing professionally she was the one to push me. But she was my rock. I could always go to my mom." What kind of thought will randomly pop into your head about your mom that makes you smile? "I think of her as an angel. She is a guardian angel here on earth for me and for my kids. My job is demanding and she's there for me and my kids 100 percent. She has my back, and she always has."
Bobcat men's tennis coach Jared Burnham on his mother SHIRLEY BURNHAM
How did your mom impact you as an athlete growing up? "I didn't realize it at the time, but man she was a good cook and it was always healthy. You never realize that at the time, but I was ahead of the game before nutrition was a big thing, purely by accident for me but not her. She knew what she was doing." What kind of thought will randomly pop into your head about your mom that makes you smile? "The very few times she got mad are funny now, but they were scary back in the day. She knew when to do it and when not to. She's a really great person. I got lucky, hit the parental jackpot."
Bobcat football coach Jeff Choate on his mother KATRINA BENTLEY
How did your mom impact you as an athlete growing up? "My mom was never really into athletics. She's a brilliant woman, has a PhD., attended the Army War College, was a nurse. After my parents' divorce when we moved to Idaho she was always busy, but she always made sure we had what we needed. We lived in Saint Maries and my mom would drive us to Lewistown or Moscow whenever we needed a baseball bat or whatever. Most of the time moms are the ones that dropped you off at practice and picked you up, and she facilitated that. The second thing is her work ethic. She was always working two, maybe three jobs, but she was always present for us, being there to watch us compete. Sports always seemed to be the thing that brought our family together, and she was a big part of that." What kind of thought will randomly pop into your head about your mom that makes you smile? "Her spirit. She's always had a super positive approach to life. She hasn't always had things go her way, but she's always reminded me of that old quote that life's 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react. She's always taken the twists and turns that life's given her with a great attitude. I always think you can tell a parent from how their kids turned out. I have one brother that's a mechanical engineer that lives an awesome life in Kentucky, a brother that's a high school teacher and coach in the Boise area with a great family, and a sister who's a physician's assistant in Atlanta living a great life. And I've done OK, too. A lot of that is because our mom showed us how to work hard and treat people the right way."
Bobcat volleyball coach Daniel Jones on his mother MARY JONES
How did your mom impact you as an athlete growing up? "She made everything possible. She was always there feeding me, allowing me to grow, to fill out an athletic body, as I was filling out as a young man. She transported me in a lot of ways. And she opened doors and kind of got out of the way, which I appreciate now more than ever. She was an encouraging mother. She never told me what I should and shouldn't do, she just told me how much she loved watching me play." What kind of thought will randomly pop into your head about your mom that makes you smile? "She's five-foot-zero, but she's feisty. She always used to tell us that she trained in a mental institute when she was (working toward) her occupational therapy degree and she learned how to flip people over her shoulder if they were causing her physical duress, so she could always flip us over her shoulder onto the ground to get a position of dominance. (laughs) So whenever I think of my mother it always gives me a good perspective that she's five-foot, but she's feisty."
Bobcat men's basketball coach Danny Sprinkle on his mother DANETTE SPRINKLE
How did your mom impact you as an athlete growing up? "My mom influenced me in my athletics career by her sacrifice and commitment. She was willing to drive me and my friends growing up to practice and games anywhere - anytime! She was always available! She stood up for me when neighbors were writing letters and complaining that I was shooting baskets in our driveway too late at night. She always put me and mys sisters' athletic endeavors before herself." What kind of thought will randomly pop into your head about your mom that makes you smile? "The one thing that always sticks out or reminds me of my mom is when I see an act of kindness. She is the kindest person I know. She is always helping someone else and it's never about her. Another thing that makes me think of her is when I look up in the crowd and see my players' parents cheering and how proud they are. I always remember no matter how loud a gym got I could her her voice! I'm so fortunate to have her as my mom!"
Bobcat track and field and cross country coach Lyle Weese on his mother
How did your mom impact you as an athlete growing up? "My mom wasn't too involved in specific sports, but the way she impacted me was the demonstration of how hard she worked. Everything she did, she put everything into it, so I knew that whatever I did I was going to put everything into it." What kind of thought will randomly pop into your head about your mom that makes you smile? "It always makes me smile knowing how much she likes pets and children."
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