North Carolina State University Athletics
Yow Still Riding High Following 'Hope'-ful Festivities
1/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
It's been a triumphant return for NC State women's basketball coach Kay Yow. After missing 19 of her team's games while receiving treatment for her recurrence of breast cancer, Yow returned last Thursday, guiding her team to a victory over Virginia. Then came a spectacular weekend that featured an alumni game with former players on Saturday morning and a reception Saturday night at the Dail Club at Carter-Finley Stadium. On Sunday was the second-annual "Hoops For Hope," to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which raises awareness of the disease and money for prevention research. At halftime, NC State presented a check for $43,820 to the NC Triangle Affiliate of the Komen Foundation on behalf of Coach Yow and the women's basketball team, money that came from ticket sales and a pre-game silent auction. And not lost in the busy weekend was the Wolfpack's second win under Yow's guidance, an 11-point victory over Boston College. On Thursday, Yow and her team travel to Winston-Salem to face Wake Forest.
Coach Yow shared some of her thoughts -- and many, many thanks -- about her eventful week back at the helm of Wolfpack women's basketball.
--Tim Peeler
NC State women's basketball coach Kay YowI have been back on the bench coaching now for a week. It felt really good to be able to be back at practice and at games. I am still limited in some things that I used to be able to do. There are still a lot of other things that I can do. I am really happy to be back and this has been a fun week for me, filled with regular activities like games and practices and highlighted by a weekend reunion of my former players and the “Hoops for Hope” game against
Boston
College.
There were so many great events surrounding this weekend. It started for me Saturday morning at practice, which we moved to early in the day so that our former players could have an alumni game at 11 a.m. I joined our practice in progress because I had to make sure I got my rest. There were so many former players in the coliseum, while we were practicing that morning. Following that practice, they had their alumni game there at Reynolds Coliseum. There were 30 or so former players who participated in the game. That was my first chance to see and greet some of the former players. I stayed there until after 1 p.m. and just talked to a lot of them, before they began taking some tours of the renovations we are doing upstairs and downstairs. I went home to rest. That was just a really most enjoyable time, to be able to visit with everybody who came for the weekend’s activities.
Some of the former players I see quite regularly, because they live nearby. Others who had come from further away like
Northern Virginia. Their dad came down with them, so I got a chance to see him also. Usually, when we play in an area and there is a former player living nearby, they will come to the game and I get to see them from time to time. With some of these people, our paths hadn’t crossed in a really long time. We have about 150 former players, coaches and staff and about 110 of them came to the alumni weekend. It was just really something.
Our reception on Saturday night had about 200 people there. It was organized by two former players, Kristen Gillespie and Debbie Antonelli. They made it all happen. They planned the program, which had a video and had players from the different decades speaking. It was quite overwhelming, actually, for me to be with so many of my former players. It was an incredible day, one that I will really cherish. It was scheduled to go from 7 until 9 p.m., but we went past 10. And then, I think everyone else went out and visited for a lot later.
On Sunday, wow! I got to Reynolds Coliseum for the game around 11 a.m., because I had an interview with NBC-17 television. Then I had an interview with Fox Sports, which was televising our game. Debbie Antonelli, who does color for Fox, did that interview. Then I went down to get ready for the game. When I came back up, all the former players and staff had lined up on the court for us to go through. When I came through that line and saw all the pink in the stands, it immediately brought to mind all the support of all the people who are battling and surviving cancer have right here in our own community. Just by being in attendance and purchasing a ticket, with all the proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, those fans were helping to fund research. I talked to a number of people on Sunday, and they all said what an amazing experience it was. You can tell people about it, but you have to be there and experience it to know what it feels like. It was so uplifting. It was uplifting for people who didn’t have cancer, just to be there and to see it. I think that is the way life is, when you give, you really do receive. So for the people who bought their ticket to show their support, and then for them to be there to cheer on the people who came across the floor at half time, I think they received a great joy from having been part of that, knowing that they made a difference in the life of those people, in that day, in that moment.
It was an amazing feeling. You could feel the sisterhood of all the people there. And, I should say, brotherhood as well. There are men who battle breast cancer as well, and I hope they don’t feel left out. The research funded by the Komen Foundation is for everybody and every person who is facing the disease.
The whole day was an overwhelming experience. It was so strengthening. It provided courage. I am so grateful and want to thank everyone who made the “Hoops for Hope” game so successful, from the sponsors, to each and every individual volunteer who was a part of each and every part of the game, to the people who bought items at the silent auction.
I think I am still on a high from the whole weekend. I was very aware that I have to get rest. So after I left the coliseum after the alumni game, I rested until I went to the event that evening. It lasted a little longer than I thought, but it was most enjoyable. I slept and I didn’t go to the coliseum until 11 the next morning. I try to get as much rest as I need and I try to eat well. While each event was draining in its own way, it was also energizing in its own way. The whole weekend was more energizing than draining for me. My cup really did overflow, for sure. “Hoops for Hope” is an event for our community and our area, and my heart is fully invested in it. I would just like to see it be something that continues to grow so that we can come together in this very special way on this very unique day.
Now, I am just taking things day by day. I am not looking ahead. I am just trying to make all my appointments and do everything I need to do today. I will let tomorrow take care of itself. When it arrives, I’ll be focused on it. I have no idea how everything will truly go. I am going to try to get my rest, eat well and just remember that I don’t have the same energy that I had before. I have to continue to work my way back and not over do things. I haven’t traveled with the team yet, but we go to
Wake
Forest on Thursday, which will be a short trip. We still have to go to
I have always been very big on attitude. I just continue to read my favorite book in the Bible, Philippians. That book, no matter what, lifts me up, gives me really good thoughts and helps me keep perspective. It is a powerful book about being joyful in the midst of circumstances and the fact that attitude has little to do with circumstances. I learn a lot by reading what Paul wrote in that book. My own circumstances, they have brought me closer to so many Christian friends and people who genuinely care. My fellowship with them has greatly increased my own joy. My battle with cancer has brought me closer to God and to God’s people who He has used to encourage and lift me up. I know that many have had me in their mind, in their hearts and in their prayers. For this, I am so grateful and appreciative. I just hope that each of us will continue to reach out to so many others who are in difficult circumstances. We need to let them know that we are thinking of them, that we love them and that we are praying for them.
I read something that said “Christ’s love in us is the spiritual lubrication that keeps the machinery of life running smoothly.” I see that love and unity go together. Love is truly the tie that binds. There was a lot of love on Sunday in Reynolds Coliseum. You could feel it. That is the amazing part of the experience. You have no doubt that it exists in all the people who were there.
Finally, I want to share these two passages that I read recently. The first passage is about the 23rd Psalm, from the Maxwell Leadership Bible. This really helped me and it will help other people out there. “In this song, we see that the shepherd provides, gives rest, confidently leads, renews and restores, guides and directs, corrects and comforts, feeds and anoints, loves and furnishes permanent shelter.” The second is from Psalms 118, which says “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good and His mercy endures forever.”
From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who helped make last weekend such an overwhelmingly joyful occasion.
