This summer, GoVandals.com will be taking a deeper look into the worlds of its athletes with the Vandal Tribune.  Stay tuned all summer to hear directly from some of your favorite Vandals.
 
Mikayla Ferenz enters her junior year at Idaho this fall. Last season she set a school record with 41 points at Northern Arizona, tying the school record with nine 3FGM. In her two seasons she has climbed up the ladder to sixth in program history with 170 career 3s.     
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When I grow up I want to be a basketball coach.

My mom is a coach. My dad is a coach. IT'S IN MY FAMILY. IT'S WHAT WE DO.

Both of my parents have strong basketball backgrounds. My dad played at UC Davis and then in Australia after college. My mom played at Highline Community College and then Eastern Montana. Now they both coach. My dad coached my twin sister, Kate, and I at Walla Walla High School. He's now an assistant coach to my mom who is the head women's basketball coach at Whitman College. Basketball has always been a family thing for us.

One of my earliest basketball memories is a beanbag ball that my mom gave me when I was one. I was recovering from surgery in the hospital and she gave me this ball. Obviously, I do not really remember all that, but she tells me about how I played with it in recovery.

As a kid, we had a hoop in our driveway at home. I'd play my older brother, Robert, but he got way too big. It became pretty unfair. My sister and I couldn't play one-on-one until right around high school. We are both very competitive. WE WOULD START FIGHTING AND ONE OF US ALMOST ALWAYS ENDED UP IN TEARS. We were both so competitive that most of the time we would never finish the game.  Thank goodness we finally grew out of that.

I got hooked early on. I loved being able to go to work with my mom when I was little. She's take me on team trips or I'd hang out at practices. Getting to be around the girls on her team was pretty cool. They became my role models. I knew that I wanted to be like them. I knew I wanted to play college basketball, but I also realized I wanted to be a coach. 

I NEVER DOUBTED THAT I'D PLAY BASKETBALL. I played other sports, but I knew I was going to pursue basketball in the long run. My parents made my dream their dream. They took me to the gym every day. My dad would rebound and pass for Kate and me. I'd sit and dissect film with them. Our summers were always spent traveling across the country to different club basketball tournaments. It is kind of how we bonded.

I look back at it now and I am not sure I always listened to their advice. But what kid listens to everything their parents say? I was not that rebellious as a teen. Definitely there were times when my mom or dad tried to correct my shot or something and I just wouldn't listen. IT WAS ALMOST LIKE I WOULD SHOOT BADLY IN SPITE OF THEM. Once I hit high school it kind of clicked. I was like, 'Oh. Ok, they really do know what they are talking about.'

There were plenty of times where I would get frustrated. Failing and taking criticism of any kind, especially from your parents, is hard. Once I figured out that they were in it for me, pushing me for my benefit—it got easier. IF IT WASN'T FOR THEM I DEFINITELY WOULDN'T BE AS GOOD, OR BE WHERE I AM NOW.

A lot of times you see or hear about parents that try to coach from the sidelines. My parents never did that. I was really lucky. I remember one club tournament where I was playing really well. In the last game of that tournament I barely played and I didn't know why. I went and complained to my parents after the game. They told me they wouldn't fight my battles. If I had an issue I need to go talk to the coach myself. It was scary but that is what I did. I talked to him and it was fine.

My dad wanted to be able to watch Kate and I play in college so he decided to step away from coaching at the high school after we graduated. He is at pretty much all our home games. Whitman plays on Friday's and Saturday's so my mom is able to catch some of our Thursday games. I still listen to what they have to say after our games. If I have a bad night shooting I will ask what they thought I did wrong. My dad still wants to go the gym and work on things in the summer.

I love playing the game and I will be sad when I am no longer a player. But I will be excited to get into coaching. I remember hearing some horror stories about some coaches from girls in high school. I knew what it was like to have positive coaching from watching my parents and how they coached. I knew that I wanted to be a coach so I could continue to teach the game the right way. Like I said before, I always enjoyed recruiting or being at practices with my mom. Other kids might have found it pretty boring, but I really enjoyed it.

To be a good coach you have to pin in the same kind of work you put in as a player. I have put in a lot of time in the gym and it has paid off. That is what I would take into coaching. Coaches do so much behind the scenes. I know. I have seen my parents do it. Most players don't realize how much time coaches spend thinking about a game plan or a scouting report. I can appreciate all the work and detail that goes into that.

If the opportunity ever presented itself it would be fun to coach with my mom. First, I think I need to go out and learn from some other people before we get to that point. My parents have been the main coaches in my life until college. I think learning and getting different perspectives will be fun. I would want to come back at some point and help my mom because she is such a great coach. I mean I am a bit biased, but I think she is a really great coach. I THINK THAT WOULD BE FUN.  
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