February 26th, 2021 | Josh Adelman
Coach on active duty leading the way
Amber Love is setting the example of character-based coaching in her community within the sport she loves most… basketball. She is currently an active-duty Master Sergeant in the US Army stationed at Fort Hood, TX. Amber grew up playing basketball at a high level and took her passion with her throughout her military service. She is currently coaching the local girls of Bell County, TX ranging from 6th to 12th grade, while simultaneously thriving in her military leadership career. For all of her hard work, enthusiasm, and impact in coaching wherever she goes, we are honored to award Amber Love as the Soldiers to Sidelines Coach of the Month for February 2021.
Enter into coaching
Amber first started coaching while serving in 2009 at Carriage Hills Elementary School in Lawton, Oklahoma. Coach Love reflects on her early days of coaching:
“I was told by a lot of leaders that I had a coaching way of leading Soldiers. Since I was no longer playing basketball the way I wanted to, I figured in order to not let my dreams go completely, I would try coaching to be able to influence others in a sport that I loved. Coaching has impacted me as a person because 25 years later, I still talk to my childhood basketball coaches and they all have had a huge impact on my life and even in my career in the Army. I have used some of the leading techniques that they instilled in me as a young girl, and I used them in leading today’s Soldiers, as well as teaching and coaching basketball.”
Both her military leadership and basketball coaching skills have influenced each other
“My military experience has definitely influenced me as a coach because I can extend my positive influence beyond Soldiering. I have coached Soldiers in basketball, that all looked up to me as a leader, and young girls in the local military communities where I lived. I had many leaders in the Army that I have admired and looked up to throughout my career, and I want to leave that impact not only on Soldiers but also on kids growing up currently. A lot of kids admire celebrities and never get the chance to ever meet them in their lifetime. I want to be able to leave that same type of impact as a Soldier Coach.”
Coach Love was bitten by the coaching bug early in her career. She lived a moment that will serve as a deep inspiration for the rest of her life. She describes this special moment.
“I have had a lot of interactions with players, one that sticks to me is from Carriage Hills elementary school when we won the first city championship in 2010. At the end of the game, the girls on the team were crying and so happy that they won the trophy. After the game a few days later at the pizza party, each player on the team thanked me and put me in tears because they expressed how much I helped them in that short amount of time. These girls made my day and that’s when I knew I was going to be a coach. Especially after I retire from the Army in 2024.”
A powerful coaching experience
Coach Love says she is proud of every player she has ever coached and there is one young athlete she coached that has succeeded to a level that would make any coach proud.
“Tedeja Marshall is a military kid I had the opportunity to coach at Carriage Hills elementary school. She was in the 3rd grade in 2009, and the second tallest on the team. She was so skinny but had long arms and wanted to play and was excited to learn. She was taller than me so everyone wondered how could I teach her anything. Well, they all were wrong. She listened to me every day and led the team each year in rebounds and scoring. She never gave up and was determined to make me proud. I told her she didn’t need to make me proud, she just needed to play and never give up. She received numerous basketball scholarships from over 10 universities across the country while playing in high school. She currently attends Campbellsville University in Kentucky, close to her parents stationed at Ft Knox.”
Coach Amber Love understands what it truly means to coach, and she is in it for all of the right reasons. She wants her athletes to have fun, grow as tremendous citizens, and lead with character. She strives to be a strong, inspiring, and motivating female coach that young girls and boys can look up to. Who knows, maybe one day a few of her athletes will want to follow in her footsteps and join the military.
We are proud to honor Coach Amber Love as the February 2021 Soldiers to Sidelines Coach of the Month.
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