Ever wonder what it would be like to have a WNBA player for a teacher? At one middle school in Houston, Texas, the seventh graders don't have to wonder--Charlotte Sting guard Marla Brumfield spends her off-season teaching them math, and she also coaches the seventh grade girls' basketball team!

As a college player at Rice University, Brumfield played in all 121 games during her four years, including 119 consecutive starts, and became the Owls' all-time leader in steals (311). She ranks second in all-time points (620) and free throws (396), and was named to the WAC All-Defensive team three times. And her senior year, she helped the Owls make it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.

Brumfield began her WNBA career in 2000 with the Minnesota Lynx, playing in all 32 games and starting 17 times that season. She led the team in field goal percentage (.465) Playing for the Sol in 2001, she led the team in scoring on two occasions, scored a team-high nine points and recorded a career-high four steals in 18 minutes against Charlotte, and appeared in two games in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. She started the 2002 season with the Portland Fire, but was cut from the team early on. However, she didn't allow the setback to derail her momentum, and 2003 saw her signed by the Charlotte Sting as a free agent.

We caught up with her between classes to talk about what kind of teacher she is (she says she's laid back‹as long as everyone's working hard!), how she learned to recover from a major disappointment without losing heart, and what it's like balancing two careers. She also gave us the inside scoop on what it's really like to play professional basketball (it's a lot more work than you might think, and some of it has nothing to do with basketball).

GBall: How did you get started playing basketball?
Brumfield: I started playing in seventh grade. My dad played basketball, and I figured I'd try out for the team, just for fun. The funny thing is, I really wasn't very good. In fact, there were a couple of girls on my team who were actually a lot better. But that summer was a really big turning point. I went to my first basketball camp, between my seventh and eighth grade years, and I started to get a little bit better. I came back with better ball handling skills, and I was really excited because could do both right hand and left hand layups!

What have you learned now that you wish you had known in seventh grade?
That work ethic can carry you ten times further than talent. The will and the desire to achieve will determine your success much more than any natural talent that you may have. And I say that because there are people I played with in high school and college who, athletically and skill-wise, were much better than me. But the will to win, the desire to win, and a heart for the game will take further than any skill alone could ever take you.

If you have that desire, keep working. Players are made in the off-season. Play in summer leagues, and go to the gym and shoot with friends. Surround yourself with people who also have a love of the game, who aren't going to mind working out with you, putting in the hours, and doing the things it takes to be the best. Find those people and work together to support each other.

When you think back on your college career, what do you remember the most?
I remember winning the WAC tournament to go to the NCAA tournament and being the first team from Rice to achieve that. The next thing I remember is beating UCSB in the NCAA tournament. They were the number one seed in our division, and we were about 12th, and we played them at home. It was my first major ESPN game, and it was overwhelming. Playing the number one seed team at their home court, the adversity that we had to face in that environment was huge. And the fact that we actually pulled it out, that was a very memorable moment. When we won, one of our assistant coaches threw his arm out cheering for us. That's another thing I'll never forget!

You have a reputation for making free throws when it really counts, like during the win over Southern Methodist that allowed Rice to go to the NCAA tournament for the first time. You made four free throws in the last minute of the game that could have determined the outcome. How do you keep yourself focused and calm when there's so much riding on a shot?
That focus is something that comes with working very hard to be your best at something. If you know you've put in the time in the gym, and you've done this a thousand times, it doesn't matter if the game is on the line or if it's the first minute of the game. You're going to play like you practiced. You just take a deep breath, rely on the skills that you know you've built, and do exactly what you've been doing.

During your first two off-seasons from the WNBA, you went back and coached at Rice. What was it like to be in such a different role?
I really liked it. Usually the biggest problem that people have is coaching people that they played with. But I believe that if you played with someone and you had their respect as a player, you're going to get their respect as a coach. That was the aspect that everyone told me might be a problem, but it wasn't.

Was it difficult to watch Rice play but not to be on the court yourself?
Yeah, a little bit. I always want to play. But even though I was sitting on the sidelines, I got that adrenaline rush just like I do when it's tipped off to me on the court. So for me it was cool, because I was still competing, just in a different role. Instead of competing physically, I was competing mentally, which is just as challenging, just as competitive. Once you have that competitiveness in you, it doesn't matter if you're on the court or on the bench‹as long as you're involved, you're competing.

What should a high school player think about when choosing a college?
Definitely look at the people you're going to be around‹coaches, teammates, faculty. You're going to see those people almost every day of your life for four years, so they had better be people that you like and respect. Also look at the education‹is this going to prepare academically to do what you want to do? And third, ask yourself if this college is a place that you'll be happy spending four years, considering everything about the environment and how you feel there.

At what point did you decide you wanted to play for the WNBA after college?
When I got invited to pre-draft camp. When I went to college, the league wasn't around. The WNBA's first year was my second year in college. The only thing there was for us to do was play overseas. I was completely focused on doing well academically and doing everything I needed to do to put myself in a position to graduate in four years, so I was just playing basketball and going to school‹I wasn't really thinking about playing basketball afterwards.

Then when the WNBA got started, people began telling me that I should try out, and I thought, wow, that would be great. But it wasn't something I automatically thought was going to happen. I continued to pursue my other career plans, and I'm still doing that now.

How do you balance your teaching career and your basketball career?
I have a great support system of people who are fully behind what I'm doing. And that is absolutely essential. It's really what makes it work for all of us in the WNBA. I've had teammates who have kids, and they have to leave them for three months, and their families step in and help them. In may case, the school district where I teach allowed me to leave early last year and be two or three weeks late back this year.

How do you make the transition when it's time to stop being a teacher and go be a basketball player, or vice versa?
I psych myself into it. Playing in the summer, my schedule is really wild. Then when I come back to teach, I'm up every day at the same time, out of school every day at the same time, and it's really rigid. So I just really have to psych yourself through it. The first week back to teaching, I think I was asleep for the whole week.

What do your students think of having a pro basketball player for a teacher?
They think it's pretty cool, but a lot of them would never tell me that. I'd never know, except I meet their parents and they say, ³Oh, you're the one who plays basketball--he talks about you all the time!² And then you have the ones who make the funny comments in the hallway, of course--challenging me to play some basketball. Sometimes I have to go out there and show the boys on the basketball team a thing or two on the court during basketball season.

How would your students describe you as a teacher? Are you tough?
I don't think that they would say I'm tough. I think they would say I expect a lot out of them, but I'm not a drill sergeant. I'm very relaxed and laid back, as long as they're working hard. I'm not a stickler for ³things have to be done this way.² As long as they understand and they can explain it, I don't have a problem, as long as they're learning.

How have the coaches you've had have shaped your teaching style?
They always expected a lot of me, and they let me know when I didn't reach those expectations, just like when my kids don't reach my expectations, I let them know. And then I tell them what they have to do in order to get back on the right track, and that I learned from my coaches.

What do you do to keep in shape and keep your skills sharp during the off-season?
Last year, I played on the Houston Stealth team, which is a National Basketball Development League for women. I play on touring teams; I just played two games with Kevin Cook's travelling team. And I run and shoot and lift, but mostly I play whenever I can get in an organized situation.

What misconceptions do people have about what being WNBA player is like?
Playing professional basketball entails a lot more than most people think. We not only play basketball‹there are a lot of expectations and responsibilities that come with it that go on behind the scenes. We get involved with volunteer and community programs, and we have meetings for handling our finances, because we get all of our money in the summer and you have to figure out how you're going to handle that financially. Then we have meetings to talk about what we're going to do after basketball--there is a meeting for everything.

We have to balance all of those as well as staying physically in shape to play basketball, staying sharp skill-wise, being mentally in tune with what the team is trying to achieve and what the coaching staff is working on, what's going on on the court, and the off-the-court responsibilities of lifting weights, running, health, nutrition.

On a travel day, we're getting on a plane at 5 a.m. At 9 a.m., we're landing. At 11 a.m., we're in practice. At 2 p.m., we're doing interviews, and at 3 p.m., we're at a Reach to Achieve event [a literacy outreach program where players read to children], or watching film, and when that's done, it's time to eat and go to bed.

Then it's a game day, and you might think that's all we're going to do that day. But a game day might entail getting to shoot-around at 10 a.m., then going to another event like Read to Achieve, where you're supposed to be focusing on the game you have coming up while you're reading to 1000 kids, out frying in the sun. Then you leave there and have to be to the gym at 5 p.m. to get ready to play, and then finally you play, and then you're back on a plane.

You've been on four different WNBA teams. What is it like to move to a new team?
Unless you are a core player, most WNBA players move around pretty often. This past year, I figured out that I've played with someone on every other team. Moving around is hard, because every year you have to come into a new system, a new group of girls, new coaching style, new expectations--and it's like your first at elementary school every year.

The way I look at it is, all I can do is play my game. All they can do is decide whether they like my game or not. There is no persuasion or argument you can really make--they have to decide whether they like the skills and attributes that I bring to the team, as far as basketball skills and personality.

Anytime you're in a new situation with a team, you need to concentrate on playing to your strengths, but you also need to constantly work on limiting the number of weaknesses that you have. If you're not a good ball handler, you need to be spending extra time in the gym working on your ball handling, so that becomes one of your strengths as well--pile up as many strengths as you possibly can.

When you look back on the WNBA, what do you most want to take away from it?
I've been blessed to do something that lots of people would love to do, and I'll reflect on the good times and take away a sense of accomplishment. And I'll also take away the satisfaction that I pushed through the things that I have had to go through to earn that sense of accomplishment.

Last year, I got cut from Portland three or four games into the season. That rejection was devastating. But my mentality has been, I'm not going to let that hold me back and I'm not going to let that rejection keep me from trying again. Well, I tried again, and this time I made it. I think the WNBA has helped me learn that determination, and that's another thing I'll take away: If I really want to do something, even if I fail the first time, I'll try wholeheartedly the second time.

What are some of the biggest challenges you see middle school and high school girls facing?
Developing self-esteem. From middle school through 11th or 12th grade, social acceptance is the biggest thing in life--it can become the most important thing in your life. The way to make it through successfully is to find out what you like to do, and then do it, and become as good as you can be at it. Whether it's basketball, or soccer, or music, or drama, or something else, any time you get involved in something and work at being good at it, it creates self esteem. You are also putting yourself in a community of people who like to do the same things you like to do and share your values and understand you, and that will be a community where you can grow.

Interview conducted by Gball Editor Laura Smith.


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