Before the season, Stanford women’s basketball assistant coach Erica McCall caught up with CardinalSportsReport.com about her how she’s feeling about her first season as an assistant coach and what it’s like being back on The Farm after having such an amazing playing career.
VIDEO: Erica McCall is excited to be back on The Farm
McCall said it’s been a blast to be back at Stanford. It was very nostalgic her first couple weeks back as it took her back to her days as a player. She has a great relationship with the entire coaching staff as they feel like family to her. So to be back working with them has been really exciting. She’s thrilled to be back and wants to do whatever she can to help the team in this new capacity.
Reflecting on her time in the WNBA, McCall said she gained a lot of experience through her time there. It’s helped her become a better coach by instilling in her players the kind of habits she developed as a pro. She says it’s the little things and intangibles that make you a pro. She also is thankful for her playing career at Stanford and how that has shaped her as a coach as well.
On head coach Tara VanDerveer, McCall said she’s learned how hilarious VanDerveer can be and her sense of humor. Something she didn’t always see as a player. She said she gets to see more of the personal side of VanDerveer as well as more of what she calls her “basketball genius.” So, she’s gained a newfound appreciation for her former coach now that she’s on her staff.
Regarding her specific role on the staff, McCall said she does a little bit of everything. She does it all. Whatever the team needs from her, she’ll do whether it be player development or scouting. Working with the post players is also a big part of what she does, but more than anything it’s her energy that she’s most looking to bring.
Looking back on her time as a player at Stanford, McCall said coming to Stanford was the best decision of her life and still is. She said the experiences she’s had at Stanford and the connections she’s made will last her a lifetime. She knows Stanford alumni and people in the community will always be there for her and that’s something she doesn’t take for granted. And then on top of that, it’s just molded her into a very well-rounded and thoughtful person.
McCall studied psychology at Stanford. She said it was a really fun major for her. It’s just something she gravitated towards and she has seen the benefits of it in her own life. Just in terms of being able to interact with different peoples and cultures. Especially during her time playing overseas and then as a coach, it’s helped her learn how to best relate to her players.
McCall played abroad in Hungary, two years in Turkey, and a little bit in Spain. Hungary is her favorite place to play. She has people who she considers family in Hungary. So that place is very dear to her heart. She lived in a very small town and so that really allowed her to get to immerse herself in the culture. She also learned some Hungarian, which is one of the toughest languages in the world. She said what makes Hungarian so tough is the fact that it is a language isolate, which means it doesn’t really derive from any other common language or language family.
As far as why she went into coaching, McCall said she never thought she’d become a coach. But after retiring from her playing career, it just felt right and only natural that she would go into coaching. When VanDerveer offered her the chance to come back, she jumped at the opportunity.
Finally, McCall shared where she got the nickname “Bird” from. Watch the end of the interview to find out where that name came from and why it has stuck.
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