Miss Weller, Coaching, And All That Jazz

© 1984 CJ Carter

An article on knoxnews.com, Former Players Find Out They Have Coach’s Traits: Built Maryland With Nurturing Style, brought back a lot of memories. With former University of Maryland Head Women’s Basketball Coach Chris Weller‘s well deserved induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame this Saturday, the article reflects on how past players, particularly Jasmina Perazic, find that they sound like their college coach.

I smiled when Jazz (I can’t remember anyone calling her Jasmina) recalled when she noticed that she, a two-time Yugoslavian Olympian, sounded like her college coach. These women were very much from my era at Maryland. I can still hear Miss Weller’s words echoing through Cole Field House during practices. Jazz and I found ourselves in more than a few games on the floor of Cole as well. (N.B. – There’s nothing like playing against an Olympian to ensure your humility.)

While in my memories they have very distinct voices, I also appreciate that teachers are often the continuation of those who influenced them the most. When Jazz is teaching her players about the game, it’s only natural that some of Coach Weller’s influence will make an appearance. Jazz’ players are fortunate. Definitely a two-fer.

One thought on “Miss Weller, Coaching, And All That Jazz”

  1. A couple of notes about the embedded video:

    • In the quick in-game clips from a game against Old Dominion (the team in blue), you can spot a tall, lanky player. That would be Olympian and future Hall of Fame Player and Coach Anne Donovan.
    • Dig the sleeves on the uniforms. That was the style for the majority of the teams, but it was slowly giving way to more traditional tops.
    • It’s humbling playing against an Olympian. I’m just sayin’. (And it was more than once. Very humbling.)
    • This was about the time that I’d started my career as a sports photographer. I’d already been on the sidelines a few times before this report.
    • Cole Field House was a great place to play basketball. You couldn’t ask for a better floor.
    • At this time, Maryland was one of the perennial powers in Women’s Basketball. Also up there were schools such as Old Dominion, Louisiana Tech, Stanford, USC, and yes…Tennessee.
    • So many familiar faces. Wonder what happened with Bonnie Baker?
    • Jasmina’s nickname has been variously spelled as “Jas”, “Jaz”, and “Jazz”. I asked her about it when we were both in school and she was, typically, nonchalant about it. Though I remember it being “Jaz”, most current online references, including those from UM, have it as “Jazz” — so I went with the trend.
    Reply

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