Olympian, Former Basketball Star Tamika Catchings Shares Journey with Greenville students

October 17, 2017

Tamika Catchings was 3 years old when her family found out she had a hearing problem.

Then, when Catchings was in second grade, her family moved to Abilene, Texas, and she endured “the worst year” of her life. Students made fun of her looks, speech impediment and hearing aid.

But on Tuesday night, Catchings spoke at the quarterly Coaches 4 Character program at Greenville’s Redemption World Outreach Center as an NCAA, WNBA and Olympic champion.

Now retired from the WNBA, Catchings owns a tea shop in Indianapolis, works for Pacers Sports & Entertainment and travels for speaking engagements and basketball camps.

Throughout her speech, Catchings’ pushed the students to believe in themselves and their dreams, take advantage of the opportunities life presents and fight to overcome challenges.

“We all have an opportunity to decide how we’ll handle the struggle you go through," Catchings told the crowd. “You determine the type of box that’s around you.”

Prior to Catchings’ speech, Bailey Betsill and Jackson Duncan, both eighth-graders at Sevier Middle and National Beta Club members, were presented with The Greenville News Coaches 4 Character Award. Both were recognized as well-respected students and were presented with a plaque by Catchings and The News.

Betsill plays softball and volunteers with Paris Elementary, Mountain Creek Baptist Church and the Feed the Need Program. Duncan plays golf and basketball and volunteers his time to Sevier Middle and others.

Throughout the night, Catchings discussed her journey, which included moving at least five times from her third-grade to 11th-grade school years. She also recalled defining moments: deciding in seventh grade she wanted to play in the NBA, deciding in eighth grade she wanted to play for Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols and deciding during freshman year of college she wanted to play in the WNBA.  

Catchings also opened up about her setbacks, including tearing an ACL during her senior year at The University of Tennessee, and shared dark moments, like when she wanted to give up or didn't feel as if she were good enough.
Bria Felicien with the Greenville News and Tamika Catchings present the Greenville News award to Sevier Middle School eighth graders Bailey Betsill and Jackson Duncan during Coaches 4 Character at Redemption Church on Tueday, October 17, 2017.
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“For (young people), sometimes they look at basketball stars or professional athletes like we grew up, were born straight in like gold and never had an issue,” Catchings said a few days prior to her speech. “And like everything was perfect our whole life until we got to be a professional athlete.”

Catchings said she wanted to share her natural competitive spirit -- which she has cultivated throughout her upbringing and at Tennessee and in Indiana -- with the children in Greenville, so they can apply it however they choose. She emphasized throughout the night that her belief in herself and faith got her where she is today. 
“I’ve been told that if you plant a mustard seed, what it ends up growing to, is huge,” Catchings told the students. “Well, that’s my faith, too.”

Mike Dunleavy is slated as the next Coaches 4 Character speaker on Dec. 13. Visit coaches4character.com for more information.

​​By: Bria Felicien -- Greenville Online

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