Penn State Athletic CommunicationsMaggie Lucas and her position coach, Fred Chmiel, clown around during the team's trip to Europe in the summer.One of the most important relationships as a college basketball player, in my opinion, is the one you form with your position coach. When I committed to Penn State way back in the day, Itoro Coleman was going to be my position coach. I was extremely excited to have the opportunity to learn from her, but I wasn’t surprised when she got the head coaching job at Clemson before I got to Penn State.
I soon found out that Fred Chmiel was going to be the new assistant, and I actually remembered him as an assistant coach at Temple. He called and introduced himself to my parents and me. It seemed like we immediately had a good connection, especially since we are two of the biggest Kobe Bryant fans you will come across. More important, however, Coach Fred is fiercely competitive and will never let any of his players settle.
As a Lady Lions player, I consider myself extremely lucky, because I get to work with someone who continues to make me better every day. Before almost every practice Coach Fred is working me out and teaching me new ways to be a more effective scorer and a more complete all-around basketball player.
In the offseason he puts Alex Bentley, Dara Taylor and myself through grueling individual workouts with the help of our practice boys. One thing I’ll always know: As long as I get to learn from Coach Fred there always is room for improvement and new ways to sharpen my game.
This week we head to Virginia Tech to face the Hokies on Wednesday, and then we’re back home Sunday to take on South Dakota State. Until next time, you can follow me on Twitter @maggielucas33 or the Lady Lions @pennstatewbb.