Brittany Moore & Liz Prince Sport Leader Profile April 1, 2013 On March 14, 1942, Sandra Kay

Yow was born to Lib and Hilton Yow in the small town of Gibsonville, North Carolina. Kay grew up with modest means; her father was a mill worker and her mother a beautician. Kay was given her first basketball at the age of seven and her love for the game grew from there. She spent several nights practicing on the basketball hoop her father made and almost every Sunday after church playing pick-up games with the neighborhood boys at the local middle school. In high school, she set a Gibsonville High School record by scoring fifty-two points in one game. (Williams, 2012). However, as great of a player Kay was, when she chose to go to East Carolina University for college there were no womens athletic teams. As a result of this, Kay focused on her studies. She never dreamed of being a college basketball coach, because at that time those dreams did not exist for women. She was an English major in college and planned to become a school librarian. Upon graduating from East Carolina in 1964, she took a job near her hometown at Allen Jay High School as the school librarian. However, life threw her a bit of a curveball in the fine print of her employment contract. Principal A. Doyle Early told her the only way she could have the job was if she agreed to coach the girls basketball team. (Williams, 2012). And so her career in coaching began. In 1971, Coach Yow moved up in the ranks and took her first college coaching job at Elon College (now known as Elon University). She coached the womens basketball team for four years before being asked to take over the North Carolina State University womens basketball team in 1975. Her years of coaching in the collegiate ranks have garnered her several awards and accolades. She has seven hundred and thirty-seven career victories, twentynine winning seasons at N.C. State, and in 2008 she became one of only three head coaches to coach 1,000 games at one institution. She has received recognition as coach of the year eight

times and was the inaugural winner of the Jimmy V ESPY for Perseverance at the 2007 ESPY Awards. She has been inducted into the Womens Sports Hall of Fame, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hall of Fame, the AIA Hall of Faith, the Raleigh Sports Hall of Fame, the Womens Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. (Kay Yow Foundation, n.d.). She was a pioneer for womens basketball. She was one of the few coaches who fought for Title IX and equality for women in sport. Coach Yow, along with Jody Conradt and Pat Summit, helped to push womens basketball to the forefront. Their dedication and perseverance built the house we call womens basketball today. (Williams, 2012). Her awards go on for pages, but it was not her accomplishments on paper which made her great; it was who she was as a person which distinguished her from all others. Kay Yow had a work ethic which produced success on every level, but it was her outlook on life that propelled her to the top. She had several mottos which guided her through life: When life kicks you, let it kick you forward; Nothing great can be accomplished without enthusiasm; and Greatness does not lie in doing the extraordinary but in doing the ordinary extraordinarily well. (Williams, 2012). She believed in people. She believed in guiding people and treating people equally and fairly. She always had hope. She always acted with dignity, grace, and respect for others. She lived a life which she hoped others would model, which garnered her upmost respect of her players, the collegiate coaching community, and the world. Her leadership approach was a lead-by-example transformational model. She embodied every aspect of the transformation leadership model. She always (1) articulated the vision she wished the organization would achieve, (2) convinced all players and staff of the practicality of that vision, and (3) expressed whole-hearted confidence in the team to achieve said vision. (Chelladurai, 2009). Coach Yows inner being was forever discontent with the status quo. She always strived to be the best at everything and encourage others around her to do the same.

Every former player or staff member of Coach Yow would tell you there was never a worse feeling than the feeling that you had disappointed Coach Yow. The teams philosophy (adopted from Coach Yow) was to give it your all. All Coach Yow wanted was your best; because, if you truly submitted your best effort, there was nothing left to criticize or be disappointed with. Coach Yow integrated Bass 1985 Transformational Leadership view; she composed charismatic leadership, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration in every leadership approach. (Chelladurai, 2009). Coach Yows presence and perseverance through difficult times always inspired those that witnessed her fight. The one thing no one can argue with is her ability to lead by example. She also always placed the student first in studentathlete. Every member of her team (players and managers) was required to attend study hall three times per week. Her focus was always placed upon the betterment of her team from all aspects of life: mental, physical, and spiritual. Finally, Coach Yow always abided by the philosophy that different approaches worked differently for different people. That is why she never used the same approach with each team or player. If she felt there was a lull in the teams motivation, she would mix it up with some type of variety. For example, instead of practice one day, the team might go on an obstacle course together or play flag football that day instead of basketball practice. Keeping the interest of her players and pursuing the development of her team was never an issue for Coach Yow. This model was apparent in everything Coach Yow did, it was even written on the stairs as you entered Reynolds Coliseum. Coach Yow had N.C. State facility workers paint the steps with the elements of John Woodens Pyramid of Success which led from the womens basketball locker room up to the gym. Coach Yow wanted each player and staff to see those fundamentals every day before they started their work for the program. Even during a time when renovations were being completed on Reynolds Coliseum, Coach Yow was adamant they leave those vital words on the steps. The following remains there today: wolfpack women steps to success - competitive greatness, industriousness, self-control, cooperation, enthusiasm,

confidence, intentness, team spirit, alertness, friendship, condition, initiative, loyalty, poise, and skill. (Williams, 2012). Perhaps the greatest example of Coach Yows transformational leadership approach was embodied in her 2006-2007 team at N.C. State. Four games into the season, Coach Yow was forced to take a leave of absence because of the serious progression of her breast cancer. In all, Yow missed 16 games that season before returning to the bench to coach the annual Hoops for Hope game versus Virginia on January 26, 2007. (Kay Yow Foundation, n.d. ). After her conquering return, Yows team won 10 of their next 11 games, which included her 700th career victory and a win over then No. 2 ranked University of North Carolina. On the evening of the teams win versus rival North Carolina, the court inside of Reynolds Coliseum was named Kay Yow Court. The exciting victories continued for the Pack throughout the ACC and NCAA Tournament. In the ACC Tournament Semifinal game, the 2006-2007 N.C. State team knocked off a then unbeaten and top-ranked Duke Blue Devils. The team, led by its enthusiastic and inspiring leader, went on to earn the respect of all of womens basketball that year and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The squad advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before their all-inspiring run was ended. (Kay Yow Foundation, n.d.). This 2006-2007 squad was one which embodied everything Coach Yow ever taught. They looked adversity in its face and ran through it like it was simply a cover of fog. That team put into practice the verse which Coach Yow signed every time she gave an autograph, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13). At the conclusion of the 2007 season, Coach Yow was able to see another dream of hers come true; she, along with The Jimmy V Foundation, established The Kay Yow/WBCA Foundation for Cancer Research. This organization raises funds for scientific research for womens cancers. They not only raise funds for research, but they also issue grants for research in hopes to one day find a cure for cancer. Some of the events this organization puts on every

year are Play 4Kay, the 4Kay Golf Tournament, and the 4Kay Walk/Run. To date, the Kay Yow Foundation has raised over $8 million for cancer research. (Kay Yow Foundation, n.d.). Coach Yows life arguably came to a premature end on January 24, 2009 when cancer won its battle. She coached until the bitter end. She coached despite the nausea, fatigue, mouth sores, foot sores, and even when the chemotherapy caused her fingernails to fall off. Yow did not officially leave her duties at N.C. State until a little over a month before her death, most of which she spent in a hospital bed. (Williams, 2012). Some said Coach Yow should have left the game earlier to focus on her health and maybe she would have lived longer. Maybe that is true, but I imagine Coach Yow would have said, A life only lived for yourself is no life at all. We will never know how many lives Kay Yow touched, transformed, and inspired, but we can all be assured of one thing: cancer did not win the war. On January 24, 2009, when Coach Sandra Kay Yow walked through those pearly gates, God wrapped his arms around her and said, Well done, good and faithful servant. (Matt. 25:21).

References Chelladurai, Packianathan. Managing organizations for sport and physical activity: a systems perspective. Scottsdale: Holcomb Hathaway, 2009 3rd Ed. Print. Holy Bible: New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982. Print. "Kays Story." Kay Yow Cancer Fund. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 March, 2013. Patti C. (2007, July 19). Kay Yow ESPY. Retrieved March 31, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn3K2JY9GvE Secwb. (2009, January 25). Kay Yow Remembered - Jan. 25, 2009 ESPN North Carolina State Women's Basketball. Retrieved March 31, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTjiIJ44ojo Williams, Mary Ellen. Triumph: Inspired by the true life story of legendary Coach Kay Yow. MaryEllen Williams, 2012. Print.