For the past 4 years KING has partnered with Up2Us Sports and their Up2Us Coach program. The Coach program is designed to give coaches the tools they need to thrive in Sports-Based Youth Development coaching positions. Each year Up2Us Sports honors one coach as their Coach of the Year that demonstrates the highest standard in promoting positive peer/mentor relationships, healthy lifestyles and positive coaching. In this year’s voting the top two coaches, out of hundreds from around the country, both reign from KING: Leonard Smith as runner up and Tiffany Corselli as the 2019 Coach of the Year! Tiffany currently wears many hats at KING from recess and after school coaching to coaching of our first formed girl KING Hoops teams.
Fast Facts About Tiffany:
Born: Yonkers, New York
Sport of Choice: Basketball
School: Full Athletic Scholarship to Niagara University and Master’s from Dublin City University
College degrees: BS in Sports Management and Master’s in Business Management
Started with KING: Inwood Summer Camp 2018!
Fun Facts: She is a twin! Tiffany also started her own foundation called the TC3 Scholarship Foundation to support graduating high school seniors pursue their college aspirations.
From Tiffany Herself:
What is the best part of coaching kids?
The best part of coaching kids is to see the smile on their faces when they accomplish something new. I understand that I play an important role in their lives, so when I see them grow in not just sports but everyday life it warms my heart. There is no better feeling then when you see a child who doesn’t like to engage with others become a social butterfly. Honestly, I think the kids have a greater impact on me then I do on them. I say this because no matter what type of day I am having when I come around the kids they make me feel a thousand times better. I tend to often forget what I am going through and for that I could never thank them enough!
Who were positive mentors in your life that inspired you to get into coaching?
I have 3! First, my mother, she is the one who got me into sports. It might be hard to believe but I was a dancer most of my life until one summer my mother forced me to go to a basketball camp and the rest is history. Everyone needs that person in their life that is going to help them to try new things and take risks. I knew I could do anything because even if I failed she would be there to catch me. That security made me feel I could accomplish the world.
Secondly, my basketball trainer Peter. He literally would wake up at 3:30 am every morning just to be at my house by 4, so we could work out and I would have time to get back home and shower before school at 7:30. From rides to and from practice, to buying me basketball shoes because my mother did not have the money he was always there for me. I would never became the player I was with out him. He showed me what it meant to be a dedicated coach.
Lastly, my high school coach Benji Carter inspired me to get into coaching. He coached me at a pivotal time in my life and without his guidance and support I might not have fully developed into the basketball player I had become. He instilled another level of confidence into me which I did not even know I had. He made the game of basketball fun and he created an family atmosphere for my team. I always said if I got into coaching I would try and replicate a lot of the things he did.
How has coaching the girl KING Hoops team been so far?
Coaching the King Girls Hoops has been amazing thus far. For one, to be able to be apart of founding a program is monumental in itself. A lot of these girls never played basketball prior to joining the team so to be able to watch them progress has been astounding! I enjoy working with these girls so much because I know I have the chance to not only make them better basketball players but also better women. Because of them I found myself constantly studying ways to become a better coach.
If the kids described you, what would they say?
I think if the kids could describe me they would say I am fun, and energetic! Also they would say that I am athletic and really funny. Editor’s note: She is really funny!