New assistant coach readies for another winning year
Since she was in eighth grade, Sarah Gayler has been fully committed to basketball.
“Honestly, one day I picked up a basketball and thought it looked like a fun sport to be a part of,” Gayler said. “Little did I know as a 13-year-old how much passion I would have for the game and how far it would take me.”
Last month, Gayler was appointed assistant coach of the Shreveport-Bossier Mavericks causing media to put her name up to Becky Hammon, assistant coach of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association.
“It is an honor to be compared to someone who has accomplished so much as a player and is now the first woman to be hired as a full time assistant coach in the NBA,” Gayler said. “In returning to a championship team and with Becky joining a championship team brings an expectation for excellence that I’m confident we can both provide.”
Gayler recalls her earlier days in the sport.
“I figured if I wanted to be the best I needed to learn and study from the best; in my eyes that was men’s basketball,” she said.
After college, Gayler kept on playing basketball, while also coaching at Carrollton Christian Academy in New Orleans, where they went undefeated in their conference, along with winning the regional championship. From there, Gayler played internationally in Budapest, Hungary. Once she returned from playing internationally, she began her training career. She also played two years of semi-pro ball in Texas with the Dallas Diesel Women’s Team in the Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League where they were National qualifiers.
Gayler then worked at Velocity Sports Performance and Athletes Performance where she was a strength and conditioning coach for NFL, MLB, FIBA and collegiate athletes.
She went on to work for the NBA Developmental League – Texas Legends and later as the co-head coach of North Dallas and then went on to run the entire Dallas Diesel Basketball men’s and AAU girls program. The summer of 2013 she ran and assisted in a training and player development program as well as coaching players who compete in the NBA Developmental League, along with selected overseas and semi-pro players.
Now, as the assistant coach of the Mavericks, she points her focus on player development.
“Player development is a forte of mine,” Gayler said. “When training during the on and off season, the players keep their skills sharp and improve weaknesses by getting in extra work that will allow them to develop their strengths and to create specialties in their game. It is satisfying to see an athlete improve their game to a higher level.”
Gayler said she is a huge advocate of players doing “little things.”
“In order to be successful you have to put in the extra effort and do the things that get over looked and players don’t want to do. The little things don’t just make you good, they make you great,” she said.
Gayler said the team has plenty of work ahead of them to prepare for the next season.
“When you win that big, you now have a target on your back with everyone aiming for the bullseye,” Gayler said. “The foundation of having the championship team is there, but there is always room for improvement. There are new tactics and techniques that can be taught each season, as well as new teams and opponents to get ready for.”
As far as getting the male players to listen, Gayler said it isn’t difficult.
“As a woman coaching men and it not being the norm, you earn the players respect by just coaching, and they will get the revelation that you know what you are talking about,” she said “They will figure out that coaching is not about the physical, it’s about the mental.”
Gayler said she tells other females seeking advice in their career to do what you love.
“Focus on what it is that you love to do and find a way to make a living out of it,” Gayler said. “It is never an easy road, but in the end it is always worth the perseverance.”
–Lydia Earhart
