NCAAW: Vandy head coach Shea Ralph talks coaching philosophy

No. 6 South Carolina might have delivered a major 82-54 loss to Vanderbilt in Nashville on Sunday, but head coach Shea Ralph remains focused on how she’s leading her players—on and off the court.

Earlier this season Swish Appeal had the opportunity to speak to Vanderbilt freshman Mikayla Blakes and sophomore Khamil Pierre, both of whom praised Ralph for the coach and the woman she is. In a postgame press conference, Ralph said that feedback from her players was “good to hear.”

The coach then shared:

I think most of the reason that I wanted to coach was because of the way that people had changed my life, in terms of my coaches and mentors and guides. I was a little bit of a shithead—there’s not really another way to say it—when I was younger.

Ralph added that she was “stubborn and selfish,” explaining:

All the things that get in your way when you’re a young kid and you’re trying to do something really cool. You’re trying to grow into a young woman who can be successful in any arena in life. You’ve got to learn to sacrifice, you’ve got to learn how to be unselfish. You’ve got to learn how to put people and teams and bigger visions before yourself.

Ralph also credited those who…