For the upcoming basketball season, Mayfair has a new coach to lead the boys down the road to success. I’ve been lucky enough to get a chance to interview the newest member of our school’s coaching staff, Coach Meekins.
Q: How do you like Mayfair so far? How were you feeling about being in a new campus?
“I really enjoy being here at Mayfair. The thing that’s been most attracted to me about Mayfair is the cultural diversity that we have on campus. Because the truth of the matter is for anyone that aspires to go to college and be in a four-year university, unless it's a HBCU, you're going to have this type of diversity on campus. So for middle schoolers and high schoolers to see this at this age is going to be beneficial for them as they matriculate to college.”
Q: What are your goals for the 2024-25 basketball season?
“As a new coach here, my first goal is to establish a winning culture in which establishing a winning culture goes beyond wins and losses and it's bigger than the wins and losses. It's more about developing the guys to become young men and making sure they're ready to be productive members of society. In terms of giving back to the community and in practice, they take school weights and practice all together with the same amount of intensity and with the same amount of seriousness. So my goals mainly provide our school with true student athletes where kids excel in the classroom and on the court.”
Q: Do you have a specific NBA player that you look up to?
“I don't have a player that I look up to in the NBA, but I do have a few players that I would advise my players to look up. One being LeBron James not just because he's one of the greatest of all time. In my era, I’ll say Michael Jordan is the greatest. I would say with Lebron, the way his personalized work is, like, he's the first one in the gym and the last one out. Secondly, the way that he values his family, that's big for me. Family is first and above nothing else, and so to see LeBron provide for his family, be with his wife and how he treats his daughter—all with a loving relationship. So I don't have anyone I look up to ‘cause LeBron's a little bit younger than me but, I do admire him from afar.”
Q: What motivates you most when times get tough?
“I would say my kids and also my players motivate me. I'm spiritually motivated and motivated by God. So when things get tough I say my prayers, put my feet on the ground and I just go get it. I have faith that God is going to work it out and I just got to go get it. That's probably my biggest motivation but also knowing that I have to prepare my student athletes,and my own kids for success as well.”
Q: What made you want to become a basketball coach?
“I love the game of basketball. I grew up playing it. I always tell my players that basketball can open up so many doors that nothing else can open up. I have players now that played in Italy, Europe, Japan, China, all across the world and basketball is what took them to these places.”
Q: What do you look forward to most this basketball season?
“The overall growth of each individual student athlete, but also the overall growth of each team and our program as a whole. So just watching them work hard in class, watching them work hard in the weight room and then seeing their hard work transfer to wins in the season. ”
Q: What is the best basketball memory you had so far?
“I'd say one of my best basketball memories is winning a CIF Championship in 2016 at Price High School. It was very memorable because it was my first year at that school. Maybe we can do a repeat this year.”
Q: Do you have a favorite NBA/college team?
“My favorite team is the Lakers, I was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. The Lakers are my pro team and USC is my college team. I try to take little pieces of information from anywhere and apply it to my program. My culture philosophy as a coach is you have to steadily look for ways to improve. So whatever set or play that can help me be better for our student athletes. Whoever has some good knowledge for me, I’ll use that.”
Photo Credits by Samara Battle.
留言