A chance to spend two weeks coaching and playing basketball probably never crossed former Big Foot High School standout Jordyn Courier’s mind when she began her collegiate career at Southern Illinois University.
But that’s just the opportunity that presented itself – and not only for Courier, but also for her father, Wes, as well.
The pair will finish their two-week stint in Taiwan later this week, and reached by e-mail recently, it’s safe to say the experience has been all they had hoped for and a lot more.
“It’s been absolutely amazing,” Wes said. “We just finished the first week of camp with the top high school girls and we had a blast. The response to the style of the camp has been great.
“Two of Taiwan’s professional players came and watched the camp and were amazed. They asked about sending their kids to America for me to train.”
Jordyn, who is entering her senior year at SIU, said she was excited for the chance to spend two weeks of her summer break at the camp.
“I’m having fun learning new things from the people here and just being in a completely different environment than back home is great,” she said.
“I’m hoping to learn as much as I can from being over here and just really taking in the whole experience. The opportunity to do this is amazing, so I’m just trying to take advantage of the time I have here.”
The Couriers came across the chance to coach at the camps through a former manager with Jordyn’s SIU team, Wes said.
That person returned to Taiwan after school and was hired as the general manager for Glory Days sports, which asked Wes to run and manage the two-week basketball academy.
Wes Courier has owned and operated the House of Speed for several years, and the inclusion of that aspect into the training put the final touches on the opportunity.
“Adding the speed element to the ‘Glory Days’ camp would make this camp unique,” Wes said. “The way I structured it makes it like no other basketball camp in Taiwan, according to the ‘Glory Days Sports’ owners.”
The Couriers spent the first two weeks with 32 girls basketball players, followed by 35 from the two top high school boys teams from Taiwan this week.
And don’t be mistaken, the style of basketball from the girls the first week definitely was at a high level, Wes said.
Just like the boys this week, the girls who came to the camp were part of two of the top high school teams in Taiwan.
“I have been amazed at the talent level of these high school girls,” he said. “They are very skilled players in shooting and dribbling.
“On defense, they usually only play zone, so their man-to-man skills aren’t very good.”
The on-court skills aside, one thing that really stood out, Wes said, was how the girls all played for one common purpose – the team.
“They are very much team players,” he said. “No one person cares about scoring or being the star player. They all work together and play team basketball.”
Even though the girls they trained are in high school, they have quite the status in their native country, Wes said.
Despite their age, they already are being “groomed” to play professional basketball, and because of that, they are treated much differently.
“They all live together in a dorm away from home and school is somewhat secondary,” he said. “They also get paid by the government to play basketball.
“Their pictures are in magazines and banners all over Taiwan. They are considered celebrities here.”
Wes, a longtime football and track coach at Big Foot who also has coached youth basketball in the area for several years, said he hopes the work ethic he saw during the trip can be handed down to his athletes back home.
“What I would love to bring back is the attitude and passion these girls have for the game of basketball,” he said. “Not one time have I had to tell the girls to finish the drill or work hard. They aren’t lazy and never slack off. (They are) an amazing group of girls.”
Jordyn echoed her father’s statement.
“I think the team part of the game is what we could bring back,” she said. “There are no selfish players on these teams.
“Usually when you watch teams you can pick out one or two star players. Here, you just have good teams that work together to win.”
It was that work ethic and drive to succeed that made saying good-bye to the girls at the end of their stay so difficult, Wes said.
“I knew this would be a great experience for both Jordyn and I, but I wasn’t prepared for how attached we got to the girls we just finished training,” he said. “They were such hard workers and very respectful.
“It was very sad when they walked out of the gym the last day. Some of them couldn’t leave. They kept giving us hugs and taking pictures. (It was a) very rewarding experience for us both.”
