Former Lady Bulldogs Adjust to Life as Coaches
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Kayla Hudson and Kaitlin Dudley may have left their mark on the Union Womens Basketball program as players, but now they are doing it as coaches. As graduate assistants, they have had to adjust to life on the bench rather than on the hardwood. “There are so many things I like about it,” Hudson said. “It’s not as fun as playing but it’s the next best thing. I’m really excited about it and it’s been fun.” “I played three years with her and she’s one of my best friends so it’s been a lot of fun taking what we did on the floor and using it as coaches,” Dudley said. That friendship has been a huge reason for the Lady Bulldogs success over the years. They won two national titles as teammates and won 108 games in the process. But this year their roles are different. “It’s a whole different world when your a coach,” head coach Mark Campbell said. “Because as a player you get the glory and as a coach you try to be about other people even though coaches get some glory. Everyday our plan is to serve the players you have and putting them in situations to be successful. Their relationship off of the court has changed as well. “It’s weird that our conversations at night are a little different than they used to be,” Hudson said. “You know we come home and are like “What about this? Did you like this? ” It’s been fun. We’re best friends and were excited to coach together.” Now as coaches on the team their jobs are to help call the plays instead of running them. Which is a big change for the former players. “As a player he didn’t listen to us at all so we didn’t run ideas by him,” Dudley said about Coach Campbell. “As a coach now he really listens to us if we have something to say but ultimately it’s always his decision.” “With both of them, they have knowledge on how to compete and have a relationship with the girls on how I can coach them,” Campbell said. “I’d be a fool not to listen and at the same time they’re learning.”
