Hey Alaina, sorry to bother you while you’re practicing, but do you have time to answer
47 Questions?
Yeah, absolutely.
Congratulations on your new position as head coach of the Pomona Pitzer Women’s Basketball
team.
How does it feel?
Thank you, it feels awesome.
We have a really awesome group returning and I’m just really excited for the year.
As a former Pomona Pitzer basketball player yourself, did you think you’d be back coaching
here so soon?
No.
What’s the best advice a coach has ever given to you?
Make the easy pass.
What’s the best advice one of your players has ever given to you?
Don’t wear the opposing team’s color on game day.
Who’s one of your coaching role models?
Honestly probably all the coaches I’ve played for or coached with.
They’re definitely all role models.
Also I‘m from the bay area so I grew up watching Stanford Women’s Basketball and
Tara Vandermeer As head coach, what does your day to day schedule
look like?
It’s different every day, which is honestly one of my favorite parts of the job.
You scored over 1000 career points during your time as a student athlete at Pomona. Do you think you still have it?
We’ll see.
Kamill!
Still got it!
So I heard you spoke at the NCAA Convention in 2018.
Can you tell me what you spoke about?
At the time I was a student athlete and I was chairing the student athlete engagement
committee.
It was a committee designed to engage student athletes in the policy making process.
So mostly focused on social issues, social violence prevention, kind of issues that are
more important outside of athletics, but still really relevant to student athlete experiences.
Why is that subject important to you?
I think athletics has a lot of room to grow.
I think like most things if you become complacent and satisfied in where you are, that’s never
a good mentality.
In all of those arenas, I think athletics has the opportunity to be a pioneer I guess,
and I felt like as a student athlete it was a really cool opportunity to be involved in
that process.
So I joined it and it was great.
In your coaching experience, what’s the coolest place you’ve been to for a recruiting
trip?
I just got back from Chicago, which is really awesome and I’m going to DC this weekend
which I’m realy excited about.
I spent two summers there as an undergrad at Pomona and I’m really excited to be back.
What excites you about this new position?
Everything.
Our team.
Our group of student athletes is really really awesome so I’m really excited to just be
with them and to be back in September when they’re on campus again.
What scares you?
I would say less scary and more just knowing that there are things that are gonna come
up that I can’t prepare for and being ready for those things.
I think I’m actually just really excited to meet all those sorts of new challenges.
Do you have any superstitions?
Not really, when I was a player here I had this pair of green socks that I would wear
basically for almost every game.
I got them in middle school and wore them throughout high school and college for big
games.
What’s one thing about you that you think people would be surprised to learn?
I have a twin brother.
What’s one skill you wish you had, but don’t?
I wish I could whistle without a whistle.
Can’t do that.
What’s one thing you can’t live without?
Snacks.
What’s your dream vacation destination?
Hawaii probably.
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Either my dad’s cooking or Some Crust.
What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
I just recently red Celeste Ing’s book, “Little Fires Everywhere” which I really
liked.
I’m actually like 10 pages in right now to John Wooden’s book on leadership which
I’m pretty excited about.
What’s the last TV show you binge-watched?
Grey’s Anatomy What’s your go-to pregame pump up song?
I would say I don’t really have one song, but I think people would be surprised to know
that I listen to slower music vs. super fast pump up music before games.
If you could coach a sport other than basketball, what would it be?
Probably using your feet more?
I think that would be kind of a fun twist to basketball.
Staying hydrated during the game is vital.
Gatorade or Powerade?
Water.
What’s your go-to halftime snack?
Our go-to halftime snack which is shared throughout the whole team is we have these fruit chews
that we eat, coaches and players.
Little bit of a half-time sugar boost.
If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
Probably just teleportation.
Being able to hop from one place to the next.
What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?
I drove across the country after I graduated college with two of my friends from high school.
Hey Kamill.
Hello.
So when did you start playing basketball?
When I was like 5 probably.
With my twin brother in the driveway.
And which do you like better, coaching or playing?
Playing when I was a player, coaching now that I’m a coach.
What’s your goal for the team this year?
Probably just to get better everyday.
What’s your favorite drill to do in practice?
I love shell drill as a coach, as a player, any shooting drill.
Love those.
You should get back to work.
If you could coach a sport other than basketball, what would it be?
Probably softball, I played softball in high school.
How do you stay calm during a close game?
Adrenaline, your adrenaline is pumping, there’s no time to panic.
Lakers or Clippers?
For LA, probably just the Sparks.
If we’re talking NBA, definitely a Warriors fan.
Who’s you’re favorite player of all-time?
I’m partial to Point Guards, so probably Sue Bird, Steve Nash, I really enjoyed I remember
when I was in middle school or high school, Courtney Vandersloot was a point guard for
Gonzaga, she was great.
And then when I was in college I probably like watching Jordan Canada the most, she
played at UCLA.
What’s your favorite memory of your playing career here?
Probably just hanging out in the training room with my teammates, we also had a really
awesome win my senior year, which was great.
What’s your favorite memory of going to school here?
People, professors, it’s just an awesome place to be.
What was the hardest thing about being a student-athlete?
Probably just balancing everything, taking care of my body, making sure I was always
sleeping and eating enough.
You forget to do those things in college sometimes.
What did you study here?
I studied public policy analysis.
What’s your favorite spot on campus?
Our locker room or probably the Carnegie politics library.
What’s better, a good offense or a good defense?
Good defense.
You’re down by one with 10 seconds left.
Would you rather be drawing up the play or have the ball in your hands?
Probably drawing up the play now that I’m the coach.
What would be the opening line to your championship game pre-game speech?
I’ll come up with that when the occasion occurs.
What’s one thing you wish you knew in high school?
Procrastinate less.
What’s your favorite thing to do in the off-season?
Probably just be outside more.
I like to run and hike and do all that stuff.
What’s one piece of advice that you’d give to someone who wants to start coaching?
Start coaching.
What one thing do you want to be remembered for?
Being a part of people’s live who are also being remembered for really awesome things.
What’s the best thing about working at Pomona?
The people, the best part about going here too.
That was 47 Questions.
We’ll let you get back to practice.
Thanks for joining us and good luck with the season!
Yeah thank you!