It seemed more a matter of when, not if.

Coach Darren Cahill stepped aside at the end of 2018 to devote time to his family.

But it seemed he was never far from wherever former charge Simona Halep was this season.

And on Thursday a bit lost amidst the Kim Clijsters comeback campaign Halep announced that Cahill would officially be back as her coach in 2020.

After a year without him on my team, Im happy to announce that Darren will be back by my side next season. So, D, last time I killed you. And Im planning to kill you again, Haleo said on her social media Thursday morning. Welcome back. Cant wait to finish what we started. See you soon.

Halep began the season without a coach.

Although, as you can see by the photos below, Cahill was sitting courtside from her early practices at the Australian Open.

Early in the season she had a trial run with Thierry van Cleemput, who had just ended a long coaching association with David Goffin.

But they quickly realized they werent a good fit.

Halep announced after Miami that she would be working with fellow Romanian Daniel Dobre, a coach she had worked with before and knew her well.

With Dobre on board, she won Wimbledon for the first time. (Hes not even mentioned in the WTA website piece about Cahills return).

Halep isnt the first player this year to reunite with a longtime coach who brought his player to the highest heights.

At the US Open, there was plenty of drama as Kamau Murray, who had taken on Monica Puig after a break was announced with American Sloane Stephens, dumped Puig and returned to Stephens.

WTA Musical Chairs, Part MMCXI: Murray dumps Puig for Stephens

In this case, no such drama, as Cahill was most definitely a free agent.

Halep, who turns 28 in a few weeks (time flies), didnt have the hard-court summer shed hoped for after that momentous Wimbledon victory.

She returned in Toronto, but retired after losing the first set to qualifier Marie Bouzkova in the quarterfinals. The official reason was a lower leg injury.

It didnt seem all that serious, but in the weeks before a Grand Slam, you take no chances.

She did return in Cincinnati the following week and won a marathon over Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second round. Halep then was beaten 7-5 in the third set in the third round by eventual champion Madison Keys.

At the US Open, after winning the first set routinely against Taylor Townsend in the second round, she ended up being eliminated in a third-set tiebreak.

Then, she pulled out of a planned participation with countryman Horia Tecau in the mixed doubles.

She was to have played the inaugural event in Zhengzhou, China this week, but withdrew with an ankle injury.

Halep remains entered in the Premier 5 in Wuhan the week of Sept. 23, then the Premier Mandatory in Beijing.

She currently stands No. 2 in the race to the year-end final in Shenzhen, with Karolina Pliskova and Bianca Andreescu right behind her. But youd expect her to make that event, as well.

The announcement was for 2020. Were told Halep will continue to work with Dobre during the season-ending swing in Asia.

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Halep and Cahill to get band back together for '20 - Tennis.life - Tennis.Life

It might seem unusual to find coaches on the same college volleyball team who are gay men and married, but that describes our situation and we couldnt be happier or more honored as we run the program together.

Were Coleman Lee and Garrett Case and we coach the womens team at Central Methodist University in Missouri, a Division I NAIA school. After serving at separate colleges, we were given the opportunity to be with the program together last season at Central Methodist.

This will be the first season we will lead the team together as husbands.

After a season as an assistant coach and then recruiting coordinator and interim head coach, Coleman was named head coach prior to the season. Garrett joined the Central Methodist team last season as an assistant when Coleman was recruiting coordinator. That year, the school reached the NAIA National Tournament for the first time while also breaking into the Top 25 poll.

Weve done all this openly gay men and now husbands, meeting with nothing but support from the administration, students and faculty. Were happy to share our stories.

I grew up in Raymondville, Missouri, a town of 475 people and lived on a dirt road where my parents owned and operated a small business.

Throughout my childhood my brother and I played pretty much every sport imaginable, but volleyball was not offered for boys in our area. In high school, I focused my attention on basketball while also serving as the manager of the volleyball team.

Once high school was over, the only thing on my mind was going to a university in a city much bigger than mine where I could meet other people like me. I spent two years at the University of Missouri, Columbia, before transferring to Drury University in Springfield.

After transferring to Drury there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to coach and teach, but mainly I wanted to be a part of giving kids of all backgrounds a positive experience in life.

My dad was one of the hardest workers I have ever known and my mom is still my biggest fan coming to games in my adulthood where I both coach and play. We were raised in a religious household and God has always been the foundation for everything that I do.

I lost my father in 2007, marking by far the most difficult time of my life. There were times that I didnt want to face the day, but instead of letting the tragedy question my faith, I dug deeper into my belief knowing that God still had a purpose for me even if it had to be without the man who taught me everything about life.

There isnt one day that goes by when I dont thank God for the blessings that he has given me in my career along with the greatest blessing of all, which was bringing Garrett into my life.

After my first year as a middle school math teacher and the high school varsity coach at Fulton High, I was offered the assistant coaching job at Westminster College, a Division III school in Fulton, Missouri.

During my time at Fulton I met Garrett at an adult open gym in Springfield. I had given up on the chance of being married after several long-term relationships that didnt work out and I struggled to meet anyone who shared my interests and goals.

Meeting Garrett was an eye-opening experience. At the time he was on staff at Missouri State and we had so much in common. We dated throughout my time at Westminster, but at the time neither of us had told many people that we were gay and I had no intentions of revealing anything that would cause problems in the relationships I had with my students.

My coming out story went as smoothly as one could hope. My mother had several questions, my brother vowed to be my lifetime bodyguard if anyone bothered me and my sister in law swore that she knew since the day she had met me. I was lucky enough to have one of the coming out stories that everyone hopes for.

In 2015, I started a volleyball club in the mid-Missouri area. Along with Garrett, I created a coaching staff dedicated to ensuring athletes in our area the opportunity to play at the next level. In 2017, Garrett was offered a job at Seward Community College. We made a very tough decision to move to Liberal, Kansas, in order to pursue Garretts coaching career.

We were married May 27, 2017, and in early July while we were in the process of moving, I was offered the assistant coaching position at Central Methodist. At this time, we were both open with our relationship and working for head coaches whom we absolutely adored.

The only problem is we were living eight hours apart. After my first season at CMU, I expanded my club to the Kansas City area. I knew that I would not be able to spend the time in the office and focused on my CMU team that I believe they deserved, so the administration at CMU allowed me to assume a part-time position as the recruiting coordinator while Garrett was able to join our staff as the full-time assistant.

After the most successful season in the history of the Central Methodist Volleyball program in 2018, our head coach accepted a position at another school and I was named interim head coach.

In early July, following the arrival of vice president of student life and athletics Natasha Wilson, the interim title was removed, officially announcing Garrett and myself as being in charge of our own program.

I have always treated my students and players like family and that is still a hashtag I use for my club girls. I wanted to work for a university that valued inclusion as much as I did and I found that along with the sense of family at Central Methodist.

Even after Garrett and I married, I never planned on us working within the same program. We had many conversations about the reality of two married men both coaching volleyball at the collegiate level.

Not only did Central Methodist give us the opportunity to work within the same program, but not once in my time at Central Methodist have I been treated differently than other colleagues. I am grateful for the opportunity not only to work alongside my husband, but to work for a university that celebrates unity and not uniformity.

I would like to thank Vice President Wilson, Dr. Joe Parisi, and Dr. Roger Drake for this opportunity and for establishing an environment at CMU where all students, faculty, and staff are celebrated for their differences. We are very blessed to work for a university that promotes unity and not uniformity.

I grew up in Sparta, a town in Southwest Missouri with a population of 1,000. I lived down a gravel road outside of city limits with my mom, dad and two sisters.

Growing up I was very focused on my academics, my faith and almost all the extracurricular activities school offered.

I didnt play sports in high school but I was president of the drama club, speech and debate team, National Honor Society and managed the girls volleyball team since there wasnt boys volleyball offered.

I was very active in church and attended youth group every Wednesday. I graduated from high school as valedictorian of class of 40. I was offered a volleyball scholarship for a NAIA school in St. Louis, but my mothers health wasnt good, so I chose to stay close to home and go to Missouri State.

Coleman and I first met at an open gym in Springfield on Aug. 1, 2014. My friend Jake Barreau, who was the assistant coach at Missouri State University, asked me to go with him.

To be honest, I dont remember seeing Coleman at the open, but I did get a Facebook friend request and message from him afterwards. He said it was fun playing with me and he hoped to see me around at other open gym nights. I ignored the message.

At the time I wasnt fully OK with myself being gay. I was raised in a household that made me think I couldnt be gay and be born again Christian (I now feel very confident in both my sexuality as well as my relationship with God).

When Coleman messaged me, it was easy to just brush it off. A few months later, he messaged again asking about volleyball at MSU and how the team was doing. It sparked up a conversation that lasted weeks, with nonstop texting.

On Dec. 6, 2014, we found a free weekend to hang out for the first time, and I now consider it our first date. Coleman was the first guy I had ever been on a date with and we had a lot of fun.

On Dec. 14, 2014, I asked him to officially be my boyfriend (because Im a romantic like that). It was less than a month, but I knew that God had brought him into my life for a reason. For the first time in my life it felt like things finally made sense just being with him. All the confusion I felt growing up and the questioning of what was right or wrong just answered itself.

Coleman was the answer. I knew that God made me the way I am, no mistakes, no flaws. I knew for a fact that I was gay and I was finally being true to myself, my friends and my family.

Having the courage to come out to people was the toughest part. I sat down with Jake one day and just cried uncontrollably telling him about Coleman and that I was gay.

Telling him made me feel so much more confident, and from then on I havent felt the need to come out to anyone else. I dont hide my relationship with Coleman, but also dont feel a need to announce it to everyone I meet. I post about him on my social media, so I think its pretty clear we are together.

On March 30, 2016, I asked Coleman to marry me. I do consider myself very lucky to have found my soulmate so early in my life. Not many people get to say that their first relationship is also their only relationship.

It still seems crazy to me that we could actually work at the same program together; its something I never thought possible. To say we are blessed would be a huge understatement! The staff at CMU has been so supportive of us and our vision for the program.

We work so well together that it does blow my mind at times. I dont know how many people would be able to spend 24/7 with their spouse at home and work, but I truly love it. I cannot thank God enough for the situation he has put us in. We are so lucky to be able to do what we love with the person we love.

The main thing that we would like to say to anyone who reads this message is that God is love.

Both of us struggled with the idea of being gay while also being religious and after meeting each other and starting this journey it was clear that God had a plan for us all along. Instead of excluding us from his wonderful promise, He did everything possible to bring us together to share in His word.

We should all live our lives in the same manner, celebrating differences and rejoicing uniqueness.

We were lucky enough to find a community and a university that supports us in our success and embraces who we choose to love.

Our hope for anyone struggling with their sexuality is that they find a support system where they can flourish as an individual.

While we were both lucky to have families that were understanding and supportive, there are still people in the world who encourage uniqueness and diversity. Those are the people that we should surround ourselves with on a daily basis.

We hope that our story opens peoples eyes to the fact that there is no need to hide who you are. Instead, your journey and goal should be finding people, organizations or churches that base their judgment off of what you do and not who you love.

Coleman Lee, 33, is head womens volleyball coach at Central Methodist University and also runs the H2 Columbia Volleyball Club. He can be reached via email clee@centralmethodist.edu and on Instagram (@colemanj32)

Garret Case, 24, is assistant womens volleyball coach at Central Methodist University and has also coached club volleyball for six years. He can be reached via email gcase@centralmethodist.edu and on Instagram (gcase1470)

Story editor: Jim Buzinski

If you are an out LGBTQ person in sports and want to tell your story, email Jim (kandreeky@gmail.com).

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Theyre gay, married and coach volleyball together on same college team - Outsports

SHANGHAI, China Less than 24 hours after he popped that first bottle of bubbly in celebration of the Raptors NBA championship last June, Nick Nurse began to see just how much life had changed.

The day after that Game 6 win over the Golden State Warriors in Oakland sealed the deal and after a long night of celebration, the first-year NBA head coach awoke to a video invitation on his phone from Chicago Cubs organist Gary Pressy.

Nurse still has the invite on his phone and was only too happy to play it for a couple of journalists who have made their way to China to chronicle the Nurse-coached Team Canada journey through FIBA World Cup play.

Nick, great job on the great run to the championship, bud, Pressy begins on the video. That was super. Now make sure I see you in the summer here at Wrigley Field. Make sure you bring the hardware and make sure you bring your singing voice because wed love to have you do the stretch. And theres a song here that fits the moment.

Pressy then turns around to his organ and starts playing Take me Out to the Ball Game.

Growing up in Carroll, Iowa, a town of about 10,000, the Cubs dominated Nurses summers long before basketball became his focus, so you can understand just how monumental that moment was for him.

Over 11,000 kilometers and some seven weeks later, Nurse still cant believe his boyhood dream of singing complete with the Harry Carey glasses, no less Take Me Out to the Ball Game at a Cubs game has been realized.

Melvin Ejim of Canada listens to Nick Nurse, head coach, during a Canada training session at Bendat Basketball Centre on August 14, 2019 in Perth, Australia. (Will Russell/Getty Images)

The Cubs were well aware of Nurse by the time the Raptors won. He made the journey to Chicago soon after he was named the Raptors head coach to pick Joe Maddons brain about leadership ideas.

Nurses turn to take the mike at Wrigley came about a month later and he did so in front of friends and family and his entire coaching Raptors staff that was in Chicago for a year-end retreat.

I just kind of always wondered how I could get myself (to do) the seventh-inning stretch, a to-this-day Cubs-crazy Nurse said. I just never really had any ideas of how to get there and now I have one. Winning an NBA title is a pretty good way of doing it.

Nurse admits he didnt practice too much for the big moment but with 2 1/2 year old son Leo just learning to sing, dad may have got a little practice in singing those famous words just a few times each night before young Leos bedtime.

His life ever since that winning night in Oakland has been a daily reminder of how quickly change comes with the kind of transcendent success that accompanies an NBA championship.

Certainly in Toronto Nurse gets stopped constantly by well wishers and enthusiastic fans wanting to tell him how much they appreciate the job he and the Raptors did throughout that championship run.

But even while in Australia, where the Canadian team spent more than two weeks getting ready for this FIBA tournament, Nurse was stopped time and again by well wishers.

Thats the biggest lifestyle difference, Nurse said, seated in a meeting room at the Team Canada hotel in an upscale Shanghai neighbourhood. Of course, all over Toronto its happening. Getting on flights, you know but Im not sure how I feel about it. I try to be as gracious as I can about it. Im not sure. Its just wild to me, I guess. Its just different. Its just so different. Five months ago my life was pretty normal.

Nurse does recall one time where the attention got awkward and it had nothing to do with the well wishers themselves.

Nick Nurse encourages his team during a timeout during the friendly against the Australian Boomers at RAC Arena on August 17, 2019 in Perth, Australia. (James Worsfold/Getty Images)

One thing that felt a little uncomfortable to me was (in) Winnipeg with this team, Nurse said of a stopover to play an exhibition game against Nigeria before the team continued on to Australia. When we went to Winnipeg it felt like all of a sudden I was more of the focus than the team was. I didnt really like that very much.

Presumably, the good has far outweighed the bad for Nurse these past few months.

He puts that realization of a boyhood dream in Chicago right up there with his Arkells performance (not bad for a guy who just learned how to play the guitar) as the highlight of a real whirlwind three-month run since helping deliver the Larry OBrien trophy north of the border.

I would say both the Cubs singing and the (on-stage performance) with Arkells were right up there, he said. Hard to beat either one of them.

But in reality, every day since he and every member of the Raptors held that OBrien trophy aloft, there is a reminder of how that success has altered his life.

In China, before every game and following the playing of the national anthems, Nurse walks across the floor to shake hands with the opposing head coach. Invariably, almost consistently, comes the congratulatory message. The coaching fraternity is a tight-knit one and when one meets the man behind the reigning world champs, the accolades flow.

A lot them have gone out of their way to be very gracious in congratulating me, Nurse said. To say, Hey, we watched it or I watched and we were really pulling for you. It has been really nice. You walk across there to shake hands before a game and give them a Canada pin and a lot of them are like Man, we were watching every game and we were really pulling for you.

Ask the players here in China playing for Canada about the best parts of the experience and one of, if the not the first mention, is playing for Nurse, an NBA champion.

The level of coaching is amazing, centre Owen Klassen said earlier in the tournament. These guys are the top coaches in various leagues and Nick Nurse, obviously you could say hes the best coach in the world right now if you wanted to.

But whether it has been Klassen or Orlando Magic big man Khem Birch, Nurse and his staff have been getting rave reviews from the players.

Having achieved a number of his life goals this calendar year, one, or at least one that Nurse is ready to talk about, remains coaching a team in the Olympics. He was there as an assistant in 2012 with Great Britain but on his bucket list is to get there as a head coach.

He believes the possibility is there with Canada.

Yeah, I think from that moment (in London) I would have said I wonder how I could ever be involved again, Nurse said of his initial Olympic experience.

Great Britain went 1-4 in that tournament, beating China and almost knocking off the eventual silver medallists, Spain, before losing by a single point.

Nurse got a taste of the Olympic experience but he wants more. He did manage to meet the Queen in the Olympic Village in London, even shook her hand, but he missed out on marching in the opening ceremony.

Nurse signed on with Canada for this summer believing he would be coaching NBA talent for the most part and with a definite eye towards another Olympic experience.

That NBA talent he envisioned on his roster didnt materialize for this summer, but he remains optimistic it can down the road, perhaps as soon as next summers Last Chance Olympic qualifying tournament.

The disappointment of not having perhaps the best roster Canada could construct has in no way taken away from the enjoyment of the tournament or the lead-up to it.

Theres been lots to enjoy, Nurse said of his first summer with Canadas national team. First, from a logistics or tactical thing, its been a really overview learning experience for me to figure out where were going. Ive learned a lot about the setup, the team, the structure of FIBA, just everything. Im ready now. I see where we need to go and Im really ready.

And if that sounds like Nurse has plans, you are hearing right.

One hundred percent, 100%, he said. I feel really good about theres a lot of things, answers that got filled in for me.

Nurse is not the least bit daunted by the absence of the NBA talent this summer. He is as proud of this group as he possibly could be and has enjoyed coaching them. Only three of a possible 17 NBA types committed and only two Cory Joseph and Khem Birch wound up playing after Kelly Olynyk got hurt during an exhibition game.

I dont think were a million miles away from (getting) those guys, Nurse said of an NBA talent base that includes Jamal Murray, Dillon Brooks, RJ Barrett, Dwight Powell, Shae Gilgeous-Alexander and more. Its not like Im looking up this huge Jamal Murray mountain to climb, and figuring out how Im going to get there. (That goes for) a number of players, so I dont think its going to be as big a mountain to climb as everybody thinks.

Its at this point that Nurse pauses and gets a little uncomfortable with the subject.

I dont quite want to get into talking about that, he said. Lets finish it off with this group first, because a big chunk of this group has earned their way forward, right? So, I think that theres not going to be that many spots available next (summer).

But that doesnt mean Nurse isnt going to be out there working the NBA front lines to ensure hes got plenty of options.

One can, and Nurse has, imagined what it would be like to have his pick of the growing Canadian talent base in the NBA, but thats not his focus right now.

You can, I try not to, he said. Its not really going to make a difference to imagine until were done and then get to work and get some commitments.

And it glosses over the sacrifices this group has made. Nurse does not want to do that.

Nurse will be the first to tell you he has had one hell of a summer since winning an NBA championship.

Clearly, he has plans to keep the good times rolling. That goes both for the Raptors and for Canada Basketball.

mganter@postmedia.com

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Life has changed for Raptors coach Nick Nurse in wake of NBA title - Toronto Sun

When Arkansas fans criticize the play-calling in last Saturdays 31-17 loss at Ole Miss, they should also consider that at least four plays that night were well-designed and perfectly set up in the play script to result in touchdowns, if not for the Hogs poor execution.

So, maybe it would be fair for fans to shift their criticism from play-calling to whatever is happening on practice field, where one would hope the Hogs execution would have been ironed out before game time.

Remember these plays?

Still, those were all great designs that flopped due to execution. Any one of those plays going for a touchdown changes Arkansass attitude about winning this game in hostile surroundings, the confidence soars. Instead, the Hogs plodded through four quarters offensively it seems like this has been the case since Chad Morris and Co. first arrived.

Bobby Petrino, appearing before the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Monday at a downtown hotel ballroom, recalled several stories from his four years as Razorback coach, and one illustrated his amazing attention to detail that provided his program with a winning edge (21-5 his last two years, 34-17 overall): The game-breaking fourth-down touchdown pass from Ryan Mallett to Joe Adams in 2010 vs. LSU, a 31-23 win in Little Rock that sent Arkansas onto the BCS Sugar Bowl against Ohio State, was the result of detail and practice that dated back to the previous spring.

Petrino noted Monday that he and his staff had picked up something in the previous years LSU matchup: In similar down-and-distance for a medium yardage fourth-down call, LSU would play its safeties at the sticks meaning even with the first-down marker. In this case, defending this day was the precocious youngster who a year later would become the acclaimed Honey Badger, Tyrann Mathieu. Joe Adams clicked his feet before finishing his double move on the safety; if the safety did something unexpected and dropped beyond the first-down line, Mallett would hit Adams there. If the safety maintained his spot at the sticks, Adams was by him in a flash. Mathieu froze, and Mallett hit Adams stride for a 39-yard scoring pass that pretty much finished that game.

Forget all the great designs, as we know Petrino had a file cabinet full of them. It was the attention to detail that amazed observers (and no doubt frustrated many players, who nevertheless played above beyond their perceived capabilities because of the coaching) during Petrinos four years as UA head coach. And, in this case, running that same play for months on end, knowing maybe you might see the scenario again at the end of November, then it comes to pass and sends you to New Orleans? Thats a prescience that exceeds most football coaches abilities.

The media sees little if any of Chad Morris practices, whether in spring or in August or week to week during the season. Who knows what level of detail he and his staff apply to everyday activities and whether its in the ballpark of previous Hog coaches like Petrino and Lou Holtz? Morris, when he took the Arkansas job, brought an awfully young and collegiately inexperienced staff from SMU for the offensive side, while he turned the defense over to a mostly SEC veteran crew led by John Chavis. Fourteen games into his UA tenure, Morris still deserves trust from supporters that hes been around big programs (Clemson) and knows good coaches, and that he made quality hires to assist him.

All we can tell from 14 games so far is, if you toss aside the current trope that the talent level left him was poor, it appears Morris and his staffs attention to detail severely lacking on the offensively side and with special teams. You dont dream up installing a surprise WildHog formation for Ole Miss, with weeks to prepare, and it look so feeble, or try to pull off an assortment of trick plays (including some mentioned above) and fail on all of them simply through lack of execution. It seems more like an attention to detail that falls way short not just of a Bobby Petrino level, not just of an SEC coaching level, but of a college football level, period.

If this issue continues this week, Colorado State is good enough to beat the Razorbacks by two touchdowns.

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Not Tending to Detail May Be Hogs Offensive Coaches Failing - THV11.com KTHV

The weight room gains of dozens of current and future Jayhawks eventually will be traced back to a dog named Hunter.

Years before new Kansas basketball strength coach Ramsey Nijem became the youngest strength coach in the NBA, it was Hunter, a black lab/pit bull mix, whose digging in Nijems Bay Area backyard uncovered a gold chain that Nijem thought was lost forever.

While dozens of classes, three universities and countless hours in weight rooms on the west coast all contributed to the foundation of Nijems career, it was that chain that started it all.

At age 19, fresh out of high school and in search of what would come next, Nijem, now 28, attempted to walk-on to the UC Santa Barbara basketball team but did not land a spot.

After the setback, Nijems brother suggested he become a personal trainer. Thats where the chain came in.

It was a basic braided gold chain and attached was a pendant that said love in a Chinese character with diamonds on it, Nijem recently told the Journal-World of the gift given to him by his mother.

Needing money for his first personal trainer certification test, Nijem took the chain to a local pawn shop. The man behind the counter said he didnt need the diamonds but thought he could melt down the gold and offered Nijem $800.

Done deal, said Nijem, collecting the exact amount he needed for the test. Thats when it took off.

From there, Nijem sought out training internships during his sophomore year at UCSB. None existed. Instead of moving on, he kept asking every couple of days.

I think eventually they realized there were two options that they had say no or say yeah, Nijem recently recalled on the PJF Performance podcast. Either way, I was going to keep showing up.

Just before Year 3 at UCSB, Nijem met sports performance director Jeremy Bettle and the two set up an athletic training internship.

Coaching 20 hours a week and taking 18 hours of classes, Nijem threw himself into the strength training world morning, noon and night.

If the question is, How do you get to be the youngest NBA strength coach, I dont think (the answer) has a lot of Netflix involved, Nijem said on the podcast.

After graduating from UCSB in three years, Nijem went on to Cal-State Fullerton, where he sought a master's degree in sport performance and worked with a man named Jared Coburn.

During one of their first meetings, Nijem asked what it would take to complete the master's program in a single year. Coburn smiled and said it was extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get through it that fast.

Nijem pushed back and asked again, Yeah, but what would it take?

That year set the stage for his first full-time job as the head strength coach at Santa Barbara City College, where he worked two years before joining the Sacramento Kings.

He definitely took the harder route and did it in a shorter amount of time, Coburn told the Journal-World. It was very impressive that he was able to pull that off.

Throughout their time together, Coburn marveled at Nijems drive and desire to carve out his own path.

As a coach, you can just sort of copy what people do, Coburn said. But Ramsey questions things. He has sort of a skeptical approach, hes an innovator and he wants to generate new knowledge.

Nijems thesis, on which Coburn assisted, and his doctoral dissertation, which he successfully defended to earn a doctorate from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in 2018, were geared toward innovation and highlighted his passion for learning.

When I got done with my master's, I bought a backpack just because I felt like that would keep me true to continue learning, Nijem said. Learning encourages growth, and growth is one my core values.

While Nijems rise through the academic ranks was fast-tracked by his determination, it moved at a snails pace compared to the path that led him to Kansas.

On Friday, Aug. 16, one day after news broke that former KU strength coach Andrea Hudy was leaving for Texas, Nijem received a voice message from KU coach Bill Self.

Nijem called Self back that same day and, a week later, was on KUs campus, touring the facilities and talking to Self and his staff about the job.

Seven days after that, on Friday, Aug. 30, Nijem officially accepted KUs offer, and this past Friday the newest Jayhawk wrapped up his first week at KU by closing out Week 1 of boot camp.

It happened fast, said Nijem, whose girlfriend and current dog plan to join him in Lawrence in the near future. I packed two bags, hopped a Southwest flight and got to work. It had to be the right move at the right time, and it came out of nowhere. The fact that my first day was boot camp, I love it. I just want to work.

Nijem is not limiting himself in any way. Rooted in academics and science, Nijem believes character, buy-in and old-fashioned effort are every bit as important as numbers and data.

Well focus on everything, Nijem said. Strength, explosiveness, speed, injury risk reduction, character building, leadership, previous injury history, (NBA) combine preparation, everything. The science is the foundation of everything we should be doing in this. And then at that point it just becomes, OK, who am I training and what am I training for?

The reason the Bay Area native opened his mind to the idea of leaving Sacramento for Kansas was multifaceted. And it started with Self.

For me to be a fly on the wall and learn from a Hall of Fame coach about coaching, and not just coaching basketball but coaching humans and young men, thats an opportunity that I was excited about, Nijem said.

He added that KU was the only school for which he would have left Sacramento, and his interest was piqued further by KUs status as a blue blood in the basketball world.

The tradition of Kansas basketball is definitely like no other, he said. ... So for me to be a Jayhawk and work on Naismith Drive, thats a cool story.

It became even cooler on Day 1, when he received a box of Kansas gear from KU equipment guru Larry Hare.

The contents of the box have become Nijems uniform his scrubs or suit and tie and it did not take him long to embrace wearing them.

To open that up and have that new logo and the colors and be a Jayhawk, it feels good, Nijem said. I dont necessarily have a strong collegiate tie, and I have buddies that have been to Arizona, Arizona State and other schools. So when the tourney starts and they start talking their talk, now I can engage in that and have a good time with it. I look forward to being 50 years old and watching the tournament and cheering for the Jayhawks.

In some ways, Nijem already has been rooting for Jayhawks. Former KU guards Frank Mason III and Ben McLemore were two of Nijems favorites back in Sacramento, and they provided him with a deeper understanding of what Kansas was about when the opportunity arrived.

Both called me and I called them, said Nijem, whose Twitter cover photo is the iconic picture of Mason in a KU uniform, arms spread, eyes up to the sky. Those are my guys, man. We could talk about them all day.

Theres little doubt that both players, along with other Sacramento stars, like Buddy Hield, DeAaron Fox, Marvin Bagley III and more, will come up often as Nijem trains the Jayhawks.

Marvins 20 years old, Nijem said. Weve got players on this roster that are 20 years old. And Ive already had a conversation with certain guys about the things that leave an impression with the GM and trainers and strength coaches. Part of my role is not only to prepare you mentally and physically, but also to prepare you as a leader, for the charisma, too. Its about more than being good at basketball at that level.

Nijem believes the skills that served him best with Sacramentos young roster will continue to benefit him at Kansas. And Self said Nijems age and ties to the NBA were big time bonuses to his candidacy.

Ive never felt like its held me back, Nijem said of his age. Some people will size you up and say, Whos this young guy? But I dont get into the whole ego thing. Im here to help young players and thats it. Being able to relate to players culturally and through social media and Instagram and music and talk the way they talk, those things help create buy-in.

With all of those factors working for him in the NBA, too, the obvious question is why leave? The answer ties in nicely with the way Nijem raced his way to multiple degrees in such a short time: his drive.

I used to have dream jobs, he said. And the NBA was a dream job. But that was part of my decision-making here OK, youve achieved that. Now I think I just have a dream life and purpose... I had to take a step back and say, Wow, this is a great opportunity; for me to turn it down would be stupid.

As Nijem moves through his first month with the program, its all about learning again. Thats why the boot camp beginning was the perfect starting point. Boot camp is most definitely Selfs show. And that fact has afforded Nijem the opportunity to observe and ease into his new gig.

Sit back and take some notes, is the way Nijem explained it.

Ive got a little clipboard on me and Im jotting down notes and its not just how theyre moving, he said. Its attitude, whos talking, how are they talking, whos quieter and things like that. Quiets not a bad thing, but do I need to check in with him a little more because hes not as forward with his thoughts? For the first month Im getting to know all those things, and the rest of the time Im diving into it.

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Ramsey's road: A dog, a chain and a fast path to becoming the strength coach at Kansas - KUsports

[Sandy Bressner - sbressner@shawmedia.com]

At first, nobody quite knew how to address him.

"I have a little kid," Melvin said. "When all the little kids play sports, [I'll be] 'Coach Brian'. I kept calling him 'Coach Dan'...in an offseason meeting, he's like 'I'm tired of people calling me Dan.'"During a later meeting, Chief made it clear: 'You can call me Chief."

So, Chief it was.

"[Chief] is my sounding board," Melvin said. "Whenever everybody is kind of going crazy and I just need some calm in the storm, I actually go to him...he's just consistent. He's always there. He's always there for all of us coaches, and of course, the kids."

Chief takes it to heart.

"I try to impress upon these kids [that] I'll do anything coach Melvin asks me for," Chief said. "In everything you're doing, if that's your boss, then that's your boss, and you put everything into it.""Nothing is beneath you if you're doing it for the guy on your left and right," Chief continued.

"Nothing is beneath you to serve your brother to your left and your right. If these guys can get into enough rhythm of doing that, the outcomes of the games won't matter."

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After 26 years in the military, 'Chief' gives back again as Burlington Central coach - Friday Night Drive

The Leaf-Chronicle Published 5:00 a.m. CT Sept. 11, 2019

More than 400 Austin Peay State University freshmen will soon have access to "near-peer" mentors to help them navigate university life all the way to completion.

College Possible, a national nonprofit that connects high school and college students with mentors, on Wednesday announced thepartnership with APSU.

Members of APSU's largest freshman class take a tour of campus in August.(Photo: Contributed/Denzil Wyatt, APSU)

Austin Peay State University prides itself on bridging gaps in not just access, but also completion, for students from a wide variety of backgrounds, APSU President Alisa White said in a news release. This partnership taps the potential of one of our most powerful assets, recent graduates, who are uniquely equipped to mentor students following in their footsteps.

The program, called Catalyze, builds on College Possible's 20-year history of training AmeriCorps service members to help low-income high school juniors and seniors enroll in and complete college, according to the news release.

College Possible intends to scale similar near-peer coaching programs to institutions nationwide. Recent results show that 92 percent of program participants who were enrolled in college in fall 2018 returned for the spring 2019 term.

This initiative reflects a spirit of innovation and commitment to equity that has enabled Austin Peay to boost graduation rates for low-income students in recent years, Loretta Griffy, APSU associate vice president for student success and strategic initiatives, said in the release. Its about helping students to build relationships that create stronger connections to our campus community. It is about supporting students as they navigate the transition to university life.

College Possibles Catalyze coaches are recent college graduates. Many have navigated challenges that could have ended their own educational journeys. Each coach is located at the university, maintains a full-time presence on campus, and engages in the university environment alongside their students, the release said.

The College Possible success coaches will join college-focused student success teams under the guidance of Nancy King Sanders, APSU executive director for the Center for Teaching and Learning.

Read or Share this story: https://www.theleafchronicle.com/story/news/local/clarksville/2019/09/11/austin-peay-state-university-freshmen-get-americorps-mentoring/2278483001/

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Freshmen at Austin Peay State University to get mentoring from AmeriCorps coaches - Clarksville Leaf Chronicle

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What a hockey lifer needs to say about the game before he dies - Sportsnet.ca

He had spent 17 of his 46 years behind bars, locked in a pattern of addiction and crime that led to 16 prison terms. Now, Meko Lincoln pushesa cart of cleaning supplies at the re-entry house to which he had been paroled in December, determined to provide for his grandchildren in a way he failed to do as a father.

Keep on movin, dont stop, Lincoln sings, grooving to the R&B group Soul II Soul on his headphones as he emptiestrash cans and scrubstoilets at Amos House. He passesa bulletin board plastered with hiring notices a line cook, a warehouse worker, a landscaper, all good jobs for someone with a felony record, but not enough for him.

Lincoln, who is training to be a drug and alcohol counsellor, wants those lost years to count for something more.

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I lived it, he says. I understand it. My past is not a liability. Its an asset. I can help another person save their life.

Yet because regulations in Rhode Island and most other states exclude people with criminal backgrounds from many jobs, Lincolns record, which includes sentences for robbery and assault, may well be held against him.

Across the country, more than 10,000 regulations restrict people with criminal records from obtaining occupational licences, according to a database developed by the American Bar Association. The restrictions are defended as a way to protect the public. But Lincoln and others point out that the rules are often arbitrary and ambiguous.

Licensing boards in Rhode Island can withhold licences for crimes committed decades ago, by citing a requirement that people display good moral character without taking into account individual circumstances or efforts towardsrehabilitation.

Such restrictions make it challenging for the formerly incarcerated to enter or move up in fast-growing industries such as healthcare, human services and some mechanical trades, according to civil liberties lawyers and economists. These include the very jobs theyve trained for in prison or in re-entry programmes like Lincolns. And without jobs, many of those released could end up back in jail, experts say.

Lincolns hope of getting licensed as a chemical dependency clinician will be a test of how much the system is willing to forgive. His 16 prison terms resulted from charges including narcotics possession, resisting arrest, obtaining money under false pretences, malicious destruction of property and assaulting police officers as well as repeated parole violations for returning to drugs, according to the Rhode Island Department of Corrections.

Lincoln says his crimes were committed while he was intoxicated or high, or trying to obtain heroin and crack cocaine. He would buy drugs, dilute them and resell them to other people with addictions, actions that resulted in robbery charges. He sold fake drugs to undercover police and hit a drug dealers car with a crowbar.

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Licensing restrictions are among the many obstacles to establishing a stable economic footing after prison. Incarceration carries a stigma, and many employers are wary of hiring people who have spent time in prison.

But states with the strictest licensing barriers tend to have higher rates of recidivism, according to research by Stephen Slivinski, an economist at the Centre for the Study of Economic Liberty at Arizona State University.

In many states, a criminal record is a stain that you cant wash off, Slivinski says. There is no amount of studying that can take away this mark in your past if a licensing board wants to use it against you.

Meko Lincoln, 46, wants to be a licensed chemical dependency clinician, but his years in prison could work against him

Even Rhode Island, a state on the forefront of sentencing reform, has some of the nations most restrictive licensing regulations, according to separate analyses by the liberal National Employment Law Project and the libertarian Institute for Justice.

For Lincoln, obtaining a licence could mean the difference between the $25,000-a-year (21,000) job as a peer recovery coach hes being trained for at his re-entry programme at Amos House and the $50,000 he could earn a year as a chemical dependency clinician a licensed drug and alcohol counsellor who can treat people with addictions, not just mentor them.

Licensing legitimises us as somebody, he says. Its recognition.

And there is a need for more black counsellors like Lincoln as the share of minorities dying of opioid overdoserises in Rhode Island and across the country.

He has the life experience that would allow somebody else to say, Well, if Meko can do it, I can possibly do it, too, says Amos House chief executive Eileen Hayes, who offered Lincoln the chance to train as a recovery coach after witnessing his progress

Lincoln conducts security checks during his overnight house manager shift at Amos House

In May, as instructors passed out certificates during a ceremony on the last day of his recovery coaching class, Lincoln tried to focus on all that he hadaccomplished in the six months since his release from prison.

He had stayed clean through a 90-day rehab programme. Moved from the bottom bunk in the rooming house he shared with 19 other guys into his own basement apartment nearby. Got a job, making $11 an hour as a custodian.

Soon he would start a paid internship as the weekend night manager of the mens residency at Amos House, where he had lived until February.

Amid his classmates cheers and applause, anxiety crept in: what if this is as good as it gets?

Now Lincoln amblesthrough the crowded Amos House cafeteria dispensing hugs, elbow bumps and compliments in Spanish and English. Bald, clean shaven except for a short goatee, with 18inbiceps bulging beneath his shirt sleeves, Lincoln is unrecognisable from the skeleton he used to be in the depths of his addiction.

I see something nice! You blinging! he shoutsto a woman with a new set of teeth.

He wrapshis arms around a man in his sixties who is recently back from detox and snagsa piece of his cinnamon roll. A guy in line for chilli and Spanish rice who knew Lincoln from prison callsout to him: I just got out. I got no ID. No transportation. No nothing.

The people seeking food, job training, counselling and shelter here are a constant reminder to Lincoln of how quickly sobriety can unravel. This was his second pass through Amos House, a social service agency whose clientele include the homeless, people seeking help with addiction and the formerly incarcerated.

The first time, Lincoln relapsed soon after completing the 90-day programme, availing himself of the drugs being sold just blocks away. He returned to prison for three years for heroin possession, stealing drugs and beating up a drug dealer.

Instead of facing life on its terms, I kind of folded like a lawn chair, he says.

Lincoln plays with his seven-year-old grandson, Jahvon. He wants to provide for his three grandchildren in a way he failed to do as a father

Rhode Island Superior Court justice Kristin Rodgers told Lincoln during his 2016 sentencing hearing that he could not blame his relapse on the pressures of sobriety or his difficult childhood.

The problem with you, Mr. Lincoln, is that when you go to the dark side, you go big, Rodgers said, according to the court transcript. And you have victims that are out there. There are robberies, theres drug dealing. These are not victimless crimes, sir.

Lincoln responded that his crimes were driven by the disease of addiction, committed largely against others in similar situations.

I never take anything from anybody that aint taken something from me, he told the judge. And when Im on drugs, its the people thats using drugs.

Lincoln grew up in a south Providence neighbourhood surrounded by poverty, drugs and violence. His father was in prison for murder and struggled with his own addiction. His mother raised four boys largely on her own.

He says he began drinking and smoking marijuana with older teens at age 12 then started using crack cocaine and selling it, picking up his first possession charge at 14.

He sayshe was talented enough at football that he was approached by college scouts, but that dream evaporated in a string of arrests and stints in juvenile detention. He dropped out of high school his junior year.

He was homeless, high and just 19 when his first daughter, Janelle Hazard, was born. At 21, Lincoln served his first term in prison 14 months for robbing a drunk man of a bottle of liquor in 1994.

Hazard ended up in foster care, begrudgingly getting to know her father in weekly prison visits during a 10-year sentence Lincolns longest for a 2002 robbery conviction. While serving that sentence, he learned he had a second daughter:the two remain estranged.

Lincoln saysthe 2002 conviction resulted from a false accusation by a Providence narcotics detective. Public records show the detective pleaded guilty to charges related to drug dealing in 2010 as part of a larger cocaine operation.

Over his years in prison, an older inmate taught him to read and write. He read the Quran and embraced Islam, a religion he says taught him how to forgive himself and others.

During his last stint, Hazard brought her own two boys for Saturday visits. Her sons developed a bond with their grandfather, throwing mini footballs in the visiting room decorated with Disney characters. Her third child, a girl, was born while Lincoln was imprisoned.

Lincoln and Heath (right)spend time with Lincolns daughter Janelle Hazard and her children at a playground in Hazards housing complex

Lincoln would mail his grandchildren CD recordings of his voice reading them books. He wants to be a model for them, in the way he was not for their mother.

When she was being raised and needed me, I wasnt there, Lincoln says. I wanted to present them with proof that they could one day become something they want to be.

He participated in behavioural therapy and entered a chemical dependency program, which inspired him to consider counselling as a career.

Lincoln met his fiancee, Andrea Heath, shortly after his release from prison:Ive never met someone whos been so motivated and makes me want so much more in life,she says

In his last six months of incarceration, he recallspropping a folded paper name tag on a table in the day room. As guys around him played cards and chess, Lincoln played therapist. I was trying a shoe on to see how it would fit, he says, acting as if I had an office.

Other inmates made fun of him. But some sat down to talk, venting about their cellmates or corrections officers.

In October, two months before he was paroled, Lincoln wrote a letter on a piece of notebook paper to the coordinator of the mens programme at Amos House. If given the opportunity to be released back there, I will not repeat the cycle, he wrote.

When he got out, Lincoln had been sober for three years the longest hed been clean in decades.

Hazard, now 27, picked him up, driving him to his grandsons school. He jumped out of the SUV in his blue prison-issued sweatsuit, yelling, Surprise! Then Hazard and the boys, now eighrand seven, dropped him off at Amos House, hopeful it would be the last time.

Lincoln committed to daily 12-step meetings, workingthrough childhood feelings of abandonment during group therapy, and copingwith feeling insecure, powerless anduseless. Through it all, his urine tests remained clean.

In July, Lincoln embarked on accumulating the 500 internship hours he needs to be certified as a peer recovery coach his first step towards his goal of becoming a licensed drug and alcohol counsellor while holding onto his afternoon cleaning shift.

As Lincoln headsto an afternoon prayer service at his mosque, an unshaven man with matted hair stoppshim on the steps of Amos House.

Ive missed you, man, slursLincolns childhood friend, his face drawn and pupils constricted, as he pullsLincoln in for an embrace. You know how sometimes you feel like youre walking around and youve got no soul?

Lincoln asksif he wantsto get clean. His friend doesnot answer. Instead, he asks:You dont got no five dollars? No bud on you? Lincoln shakes his head no. I love you.

The entirety of Rhode Islands state prison population is confined to one square mile in Cranston, where 2,640 inmates are divided among six facilities surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards.

Rhode Island reduced its prison population by 23 per centbetween 2008 and 2016, in part by giving inmates time off their sentences for participating in academic classes, rehabilitative programmes, paid work or job training.

Lincoln drives past the corner in Providences West End neighbourhood where he was last arrested

Jorge Henriquez shaved more than one year off his five-year sentence for dealing cocaine by taking classes and working in the prison car body shop.

The 32-year-old father of two is halfway through a course in heating and air conditioning, a fast-growing field, and is excited about the prospects of a lucrative and legal career.

When you have a record, theres not a lot of good-paying jobs out there, saysHenriquez, who is scheduled for parole in February.

Rhode Island does not officially bar people with criminal histories from being licensed in HVAC, but under state law, licences in HVAC and other mechanical trades can be revoked or suspended for felony convictions.

Bill Okerholm, the HVAC instructor, says that the union of plumbers, pipe fitters and refrigeration technicians accepts people with records as apprentices on a case-by-case basis. But of the 250 men hes trained at the prison in the past five years, Okerholm cant recall anyone who has been licensed after their release.

Lincoln cleans a bathroom at Amos House, where he works as a custodian for $11 an hour while training to be a peer recovery coach

Guys like Jorge deserve a second chance, saysOkerholm, noting Henriquezs enthusiasm and attention in the course. Theres a great need in these trade jobs for someone like him.

With a quarter of the USworkforce in a licensed occupation, compared with just 5 per centin the 1950s, more than two dozen states have begun to loosen licensing restrictions but Rhode Island is lagging behind.

While opponents say current licensing regulations are ambiguous and inconsistent, supporters of the licensing regime say undoing the restrictions would usurp the authority of state boards and create additional burdens for agencies. More important, supporters say that the regulations are aimed at protecting public health and safety, and that it would be irresponsible to let people with criminal records, especially those involving violent offences, enter certain professions.

An attempt at change with a bill that would have limited licensing denials to people whose crimes directly relate to an occupation died in the Rhode Island General Assembly in June when the house introduced an amendment excluding those convicted of a violent crime. The broad definition, which included robbery, larceny and burglary, would have excluded people like Lincoln.

Some state agencies expressed concerns that were valid and cant be disregarded, Rhode Island house speaker Nicholas Mattiello, a Democrat, says. He adds that the house would revisit the issue when a new legislative session begins in January.

of the US workforce is in a licensed occupation

Criminal justice policy analysts say the licensing barriers discourage people with records from applying in the first place because they are routinely told their convictions make them ineligible.

Few states collect this type of data, but in Texas, 15 per centof prospective applicants to the state Department of Licensing and Regulation in the past four years were deemed ineligible through a criminal history evaluation letter an optional preliminary review of their convictions, the agency says.

In many of those cases, determinations were based on decades-old convictions or crimes irrelevant to the licences being sought, according to letters obtained by the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. The department says those who wish to be reevaluated may now do so under new criteria established by lawmakers that only crimes directly related to the job can be grounds for denial.

About a dozen states have enacted more modest reforms, according to the Institute for Justice. Californias 2018 bill requires convictions be substantially related to an occupation for licences to be denied. Florida, New York and Iowa recently eased licensing restrictions for a limited number of occupations. Meanwhile, bills introduced this year in South Carolina, Louisiana, Missouri and other states failed to advance.

Partaja Spann-Taylor, one of Lincolns classmates in his recovery coaching course, is a reminder to Lincoln of the barriers to developing a career post-incarceration. The 34-year-old whose criminal record is far slighter than his pursued jobs in health care and social services when she got out of prison a decade ago only to be met by rejection after rejection because of her criminal background.

Partaja Spann-Taylor hugs a client at Amos House. Getting homeless, drug-addicted women off the streets inspired her to pursue a masters in social work

Spann-Taylor was charged with delivering cocaine and reckless driving in 2006 when her then-boyfriend made a drug delivery. She was released on bail after two weeks in jail and got five years of probation and a suspended sentence.

In 2008, when she was four months pregnant, she was incarcerated for 30 days after her friends got into a fight at a nightclub. She was charged with assault, even though she said she did not participate, because her presence violated the terms of her probation.

After her release, Spann-Taylor tried to enrol in a free training programme to become a certified nursing assistant.

She was rejected. Her felony record disqualified her, she was told shutting her out not only from future licensing but from training as well.

A lot of people would say, Well, stick with the retail and the food service industries. Theyre the most forgiving in terms of your background, Spann-Taylor says. But I needed to make a living for me and my daughter.

Inmates at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections in Cranston can shave time off their sentences by participating in job training, but some may encounter licensing barriers upon release

She considered a career in physical therapy. But thattoohas licensing barriers. She saysan admissions officer at New England Institute of Technology told her that she would need to pass a criminal-background check for clinical placement or employment.

So Spann-Taylor waitressed at a steak house while getting her associate degree in human services and then a bachelors degree in social work.

After graduating from college in 2013, she got a job as a court advocate for domestic violence victims, but the offer was rescinded before she could even start when her felony conviction showed up in a background check. A second job offer, a teaching position at a prison, was also rescinded because of her criminal record.

It took five more years of waitressing before Amos House offered her a job getting homeless, drug-addicted women off the streets of Providence.

In May, Spann-Taylor, now a married mother of two, enrolled part time in a masters programme to become a clinical social worker even though her felony record could end up disqualifying her from licensing.

Under Rhode Island law, licensed clinical social workers must be free of felony convictions unless the professional board determines those previous convictions arent a risk to public safety. The state health department says it has no record of anyone with a felony conviction applying for a licence in social work or chemical dependency counselling in the past five years.

Spann-Taylor knows she will struggle to persuade the licensing board to overlook her record. Even if she obtains her licence, some major health insurers will not contract with providers with felony backgrounds. At times, she wonders whether the $40,000 shes accumulated in student loan debt will be worth it. Still, she feels she has little choice.

People lose hope when the door keeps closing in your face, she says. I got frustrated thinking I was just going to be a waitress for the rest of my life. Ill keep trying to bust through these doors until they open.

Lincoln, a convert to Islam, prays in his basement apartment. He says the religion taught him how to forgive himself and others

Lincoln knows that with his lengthier prison sentences, he faces even higher career hurdles. So he focuses on what he can control learning as much as he can about counselling, piecing together as many internship hours as possible, staying clean and making things right with his family.

His training ground as Lincoln calls it was the red three-storey house where he spent the first three months after his release, learning how to abide by rules and routine outside prison walls and how to feel the emotions he buried while he was incarcerated or high.

Once you put the drugs down, all those feelings you were trying to numb come rushing back you sold yourself short, neglected your family, the guilt, Lincoln says. I didnt know how to be a dad. I didnt even know how to be a human. I just existed. I breathed. I ate.

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'A stain you can't wash off': Legal hurdles make normal life impossible for former convicts - The Independent

The start of the Mystics' first playoff series won't be marred by the semi-regular travel woes that plague the league's playersduring the regular season.

WNBA commissionerCathy Engelbert announced on Sunday that the league will cover the cost of charter flights for Connecticut and Washington's opponents in both Game Onesinthe semifinals round of the WNBA playoffs.

With both second-roundWNBAplayoff games taking place in the Pacific Time Zone on Sunday and WNBA semifinals set to tip-off on Tuesday in Connecticut and Washington, D.C., the league has arranged and will cover costs for charter flights for the winners of Sundays games," she said in a statement released by the league."We believe it is in the best interest of the players to provide them with an opportunity to arrive expeditiously in the city of the first game of the WNBA semifinals and have a full day on-site to practice, rest and prepare.

WNBA players, who fly commercial flights, have often voiced concern about their travel arrangements.

Earlier this season, Elena Delle Donne wrote on Instagram that she was "sick of" taking commercial flights cross-country, citing a fellow passenger's derogatory remarks made while the Mystics were on a flight to Las Vegas.In 2018, the Mystics game against the Aces was canceled after the Las Vegas-based team's travel woes resulted in them traveling for reportedly 24 hours and arriving only a few hours before game time.

The issue alsowas one of the central points in WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike's essay on The Player's Tribune in 2018 after players opted out of their CBA. Players have to renegotiate a deal before the 2020 season.

"This is not purely about salaries. This is about small changes the league can make that will impact the players," she said in the essay."This is about a six-foot-nine superstar taking a red-eye cross-country and having to sit in an economy seat instead of an exit row. Often with delays. Imagine the last time you took a red-eye business trip and you sat in the middle seat with your knees all cramped up, and how shook you were for that entire rest of the day."

The top-seeded Mystics, who clinched a double-bye to the semifinals, start their postseason on Tuesday at home.

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Mystics semifinals opponents to get travel help from league - NBCSports.com