Coach Motivates Her Girls, Both On and
Off the Court
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Page 2

Coach Motivates Her Girls ,Both On and Off the Court in the following way

Explanation:

The coach leans forward, her hands pressed on a table in a room off the gymnasium. A basketball game is about to start. She is silent for a minute or two. Her players shift uncomfortably.

When Dorothy Gaters finally speaks, her message is familiar and firm. As usual, it's about fundamentals.

"Move your big feet." ''Box out." ''No fouls."

If they don't do that, she doesn't hesitate to take it up a notch on the court.

"You're embarrassing yourselves!" she tells them. She is the same, even when they're winning handily.

That candor might be hard for the members of the girls' basketball team at John Marshall Metropolitan High School to hear. But they listen. They know this is a woman who can take them places.

For 40 years, Gaters has brought respect and pride to a West Side Chicago neighborhood that has seen more than its share of hard times. They understand this and also how much Gaters cares about them and their futures. And that's whether they end up playing basketball after high school or not.

"Just do something. So that you can be self-supportive, help your family, and set an example for those who are going to follow you," the coach tells her players. They call her Ms. Gaters or often just "G."

This current crop of players helped Gaters reach her 1,000th career win in November. The victory placed her among an elite group of coaches at any level of basketball.

Gaters' attention to detail and her competitiveness have led her teams to eight Illinois state titles and 23 city titles.

"She's the first coach who really taught me the game of basketball," says Pondexter, whom Gaters first saw play in a YMCA recreational league and then helped hone her talent. "I credit it all to her, my humble beginnings."

"School before basketball," says Tineesha Coleman, a junior who hopes to play in college.

"She's a sweetie pie," Greyer says, quickly adding, "Off the court. OFF the court!"

But though Gaters is tough, it is a tough love, her former players say. They recall a coach who occasionally took them to movies or out for burgers and fries.

They note how Gaters has quietly provided a coat, clothing or shoes for a player who needs them.

Gaters started coaching in 1975, and understands how one can learn and succeed, in big ways.Gaters liked basketball, even played a bit herself. But she didn't know much about coaching, so she watched the boys' coaches carefully and took in any games she could find. She won her first state championship in 1982.

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