Coaching couple learn about love, life and basketball side-by-side
Posted: January 31, 2012 at 1:26 am
MEG WOCHNICK STAFF WRITER • Published January 30, 2012 Modified January 30, 2012
OLYMPIA – Like any husband and wife who are in the same profession, Mychael and Monica Heuer understand each other’s triumphs and struggles.
Not much needs to be said when one arrives home late after a loss; stats and facial expressions tell the story of a game and a sport they’ve coached for 20-plus years. Yet, a victory can spark a mutual excitement for the other one’s success.
But once they arrive at their home on Olympia’s west side, they set aside their titles as head women’s college basketball coaches – Monica at The Evergreen State College and Mychael at South Puget Sound Community College. They’re simply husband and wife, and dad and mom to their 7-year-old son, Alex.
“We have to make sure we’re a family first,” Mychael Heuer said.
Basketball isn’t a 24-hour-a-day subject with the Heuers, but it is part of their daily lives – consummated when Mychael proposed to his wife in 1993 at a high school girls basketball game in California where they were coaching against each other.
“My team knew, but I didn’t know (about the proposal),” Monica recalled. “I thought, ‘Oh, great, everybody came to this game today.’ ”
CHALLENGES AND SUCCESS
Up until two years ago, Monica, 43, and Mychael, 44, were the wife-and-husband coaching tandem for the Evergreen women’s program, serving as head coach and associate head coach, respectively, for eight seasons. They’ve coached side-by-side for almost all of their 17 years of marriage. They still work on Evergreen’s campus where Monica is the assistant athletic director and Mychael is the acting director of the college’s career development center.
Both grew up playing basketball - Mychael at El Cerrito High School in Oakland, Calif., against future NBA superstar Gary Payton, and Monica at Redwood Christian in nearby Castro Valley, and later as a four-year player at Cal State Hayward (now Cal State East Bay).
Their paths first crossed in Sacramento during a summer 3-on-3 national high school basketball tournament. A player each coached separately introduced them in 1992. They were married two years later.
Not long after, they both took to the college ranks.
Dave Weber, the former Evergreen athletic director (2000-10), coached against Mychael and Monica in high school. And when Weber was hired as the AD and men’s coach at nearby Patten College (now Patten University), he hired the Heuers to start a women’s team from scratch in 1995.
Monica was there for two seasons before being lured to San Jose State and San Francisco as an assistant for an NCAA Division I program. Soon after, Mychael took over as Patten’s coach, leading that school to a 21-11 record in 1999-2000, and one victory away from making it to the NAIA national tournament.
A year after Weber headed north to take the AD position at Evergreen in 2000, he hired both Heuers to coach the Geoducks’ women in basketball.
“I definitely wanted someone who could do it, and they could do it,” Weber said. “They did a terrific job down there.”
The challenge of being a husband-and-wife coaching tandem wasn’t their only obstacle early on in their careers.
While at Patten, the Heuers were still newlyweds. They were learning how to be married, in addition to coaching an NAIA women’s basketball team in its first year of existence, as well as trying to make it all work with 8-to-5 jobs. And in Mychael’s case, he also was going to school.
“You have to figure all of that out at one time,” Monica said. “Moving forward to coming here (to Evergreen), we had figured out some things. It wasn’t perfect; it was still challenging.”
SIDE-BY-SIDE COACHING
In the Heuers’ eight years together on the bench at Evergreen (2002-10), the Geoducks’ best season came in 2004-05 when the program posted its best record in the 15-year history of the program at 16-14 overall, 10-8 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference.
Mychael calls the first few seasons a “learning process,” learning to be an assistant under his wife. By the end of their tenure together, “they worked really well together”, Evergreen forward Danielle Swain said.
There were trying times for the Heuers off the court.
Their second season in 2003-04 was especially difficult. After a kitchen fire they temporarily moved in with friends. Mychael’s father died. Monica’s mother was diagnosed with cancer.
And in April 2004, the couple became parents when Alex was born.
“We strengthened our relationship since coming here,” Mychael said. “We really relied on each other to make it through that tough time. How you focus on basketball goes back to getting in that zone. That’s our comfort zone.”
JUGGLING LIFE, JOBS
Now, the two run their own separate college programs.
In 2010, Mychael was hired to coach at SPSCC, only to see the program forfeit its final 10 games when roster numbers dwindled to dangerous proportions because of injuries and eligibility issues. This season, the Clippers are playing a full NWAACC West Division schedule of games – with moderate success (3-13 overall record).
Evergreen just returned from weekend games at College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon, both losses. The Geoducks are 4-18, and trail Southern Oregon by a game to get into the conference tournament in three weeks.
It is that time of year. Weekends are a scheduling grind. Weeknights are not much better with practices and sometimes SPSCC games.
And when one parent does have free time, it usually means getting Alex off to practice – in soccer, not basketball.
“I never thought I’d be a soccer mom … in the rain,” Monica said. “I know he’ll come around.”
The Heuers have succeeded in finding the right balance among basketball, personal relationships, their careers and family.
“You don’t go through 17 years of marriage without bumps and tribulations, but we’ve survived it,” Mychael said. “It’s nice to have somebody to share the understanding of what you’re going through and being able to have your spouse be able to also love what you do.”
Meg Wochnick: 360-754-5473 mwochnick@theolympian.com
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Coaching couple learn about love, life and basketball side-by-side
Coaches Worldwide Celebrate International Coaching Week 5th-11th February 2012
Posted: at 1:26 am
The phenomenal growth of the business and life coaching industry worldwide is being celebrated during International Coaching Week, 5th-11th February 2012, with the release of the ICF Global Coaching Study.
London, UK (PRWEB UK) 30 January 2012
The International Coach Federation (ICF) commissioned from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) a survey of the coaching industry based on 12,000 respondents from 117 countries. It followed the first survey in 2007 when 5,415 respondents from 76 countries gave an insight into the coaching industry, in one of the largest pieces of research at that time.
“The findings from the new survey will prove especially useful in highlighting the growth in coaching, and uncovering the trends that have emerged over the past five years,” says Hilary Oliver, President of the UK-ICF.
“The aim of International Coaching Week is to enable coaches to promote the value of working with a professional, and to encourage the public to make contact with them. It’s also an opportunity for coaches to give something to the community and work pro-bono for groups or individuals they don’t normally work with.”
Coaching is increasingly regarded as a key part of an individual’s learning and development, and many companies consider it crucial to their performance.
“Anyone looking for a coach should first of all identify their own objectives in working with a coach,” advises Hilary. “The coach’s role is to provide support to enhance the skills, resources, and creativity that the client already has. Our website is a useful starting point as it lists accredited coaches in the UK, and provides information on the coaching process.”
The ICF is the largest worldwide resource for professional coaches and the source for those who are seeking a coach. For more information on finding a coach in the UK see http://www.coachfederation.org.uk
For media enquiries or more images please contact kate@thewriteimpression.co.uk or call 0845 5272 801
Editorial Notes
1. Interviews:
This year’s UK-ICF President, Hilary Oliver, and last year’s President, Deborah Price, are available for interview. Please telephone 0845 5272 801 to arrange a time.
2. About the International Coach Federation (ICF)
The ICF is the largest worldwide resource for professional coaches, and the source for those who are seeking a coach. It’s a non-profit organisation formed by individual members - professionals who practise coaching, including Executive Coaches, Leadership Coaches, Life Coaches and many more, from around the world. Formed in 1995, the ICF now has over 19,000 members, dedicated to advancing the coaching profession by setting high professional standards, providing independent certification, and building a network of credentialed coaches.
###
Hilary Oliver
UK-ICF
01922 660088
Email Information
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Coaches Worldwide Celebrate International Coaching Week 5th-11th February 2012
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FIT IN FIVE: Slow, steady road to fitness
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STRETCHING
AEROBICS
WEIGHT TRAINING
RESISTANCE TRAINING
ACTIVE ROUTINE
LIFE changes after cancer diagnosis and treatment. Most of the time, it’s for the better. Most patients will do their best to keep the disease from returning. Aside from better food choices, exercise plays a big role in maintaining health, mobility and general well-being.
According to medical and health website WebMD, studies suggest that “higher levels of physical activity are associated with a reduced risk of the cancer coming back and a longer survival rate after a cancer diagnosis”.
But what kind of exercises are good for cancer patients? Doctors propose a combination of flexibility, aerobics and resistance training. Anything that isn’t high-impact but keeps you moving and fit goes a long way to keeping you healthy.
It is best to consult your oncologist for advice on exercises suitable for you. Your body has gone through a lot, so start slowly and build your fitness as you go along. Here are some exercise suggestions to get you started:
1. STRETCHING
Often overlooked, stretching is extremely important to increase flexibility. It is so easy that everyone can do it and consistent stretching gives better muscle flexibility. “Stretching is important to keep moving, to maintain mobility,” says Colleen Doyle, director of nutrition and physical activity for the American Cancer Society in the article. If you’re not yet ready for more vigorous exercise, you should at least stay flexible.
2. AEROBICS
Biking, walking, jogging and swimming help burn calories and increase heart rate. You may even lose weight in the process. Because aerobics exercises train the heart to be more efficient, they build cardiovascular fitness and reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes.
3. WEIGHT TRAINING
Weight lifting helps build muscle normally lost during cancer treatment. Invest in 2kg or 4kg dumb-bells for home use and if the weight feels too easy, just increase the repetition of exercise.
“Ideally, cancer survivors should do aerobic exercises and weight training,” says Dr Kerry Courneya, professor and Canada Research chair in Physical Activity and Cancer at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada on the webMD website. “Both types of exercises are critical to overall health and well-being of cancer survivors.”
4. RESISTANCE TRAINING
Using your own body weight for exercise also helps build more muscles. Exercises like bench dip and push-ups are good for upper body muscles and can be done in your own space or while watching TV.
5. ACTIVE ROUTINE
Start a new active routine by taking the stairs instead of the lift, You can also buy a pedometer. If you are desk-bound, take short breaks for walks and stretching. You can even lift heavy objects like detergent bottles and cans to build muscles.
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FIT IN FIVE: Slow, steady road to fitness