Coast Coaches Corner -- Sammy Doucette

According to Wikipedia, Murphy's Law -- the adage that simply explains that "anything can go wrong, WILL go wrong" -- was coined from an attempt to use new measurement devices developed by aerospace engineer Edward Murphy. Apparently, that law also applies to community college women's basketball ... just ask Orange Coast College's second-year head coach Sammy Doucette.

"Well first of all, when I got the call and the head coaching position was being offered to me, I got goosebumps ... I was so excited to get going," Doucette said. "I knew I was going to a place that I'd love to retire to and I was excited to be a part of such an environment. I started out with around 15 players, but the level of play was just not what we were looking for. Some of the players couldn't even dribble so that was definitely an adjustment. It was all a learning experience for me. Every single day was a new day and every day we seemed to have a new injury and every day, I was crumpling up my practice plan and starting over. Then we'd get a new player, then she couldn't play. Then we had to kick a player off the team. I was questioning myself for sure."

Being hired far after the recruiting process for most basketball programs, Doucette knew her deck was stacked against her heading into the 2019-20 season. But Murphy's Law was just getting warmed up.

The injuries mounted ... the numbers dwindled and before Doucette knew it, she was working with a seven-player team, which is not a lot of wiggle room for running a basketball program.

After months of preparation and making the best of the situation given to her, Doucette and her Pirates had finally made it to the morning of their season opener against San Diego City College.

That's when Mr. Murphy and his law REALLY went to work.

"So that morning, we had seven girls and we were just going through a simple walk-through before we got on the bus to head to SD City College," Doucette said. "A couple of girls went to the wrong gym so they showed up to the walk-through late and one of our girls had on a pair of Vans shoes, but it was just a walk-through, so I allowed it. She ended up tripping on one of the lines on the floor and we thought she'd be OK ... she ended up with a broken ankle and was out for the season.

"Now we are down to six players. So then, we head down to San Diego and one key lesson I learned on that trip was to not assume that players would remember things, liking bringing their uniforms. Sure enough, one of my players came up to me and says, 'You're gonna kill me, but I don't have my uniform.' So now, I'm down to five players and I went to the other coach and told her what was going on. 

"Well, to say the least, it was a long game ... we lost 80-something to 40-something (85-42) and we ended up playing with just four players at the end of the game because one girl fouled out. At that point, I knew it was going to be a really long season, but we were going to do the best we can with what we had. It was definitely a first game I'll never forget."

In spite of the rough beginning and the reality of what was in store for Doucette and the Pirates, all of them continued to press forward as best as they could. Even with all of the obstacles, Doucette needed just three games to collect her first-ever win -- a 53-49 victory over Imperial Valley -- a feat the Pirates repeated on December 29 with a 47-44 triumph over the same IVC squad. 

"I think she handled (the challenges) really, really well," OCC guard Gracelynn Figueroa said. "It could have been so easy to quit with so much adversity thrown at us. She could've said, 'this isn't for me … maybe it's bad luck or a sign that it's not the right thing for me.' But she was always on top of things and she was always super organized. There are no surprises with Sammy. She sets the schedule from Day 1 and it stayed that way. She did a great job of keeping us together and she did her best to stay positive through all of it."

For Doucette, in spite of the obstacles thrown at her, she saw the positives of what this team possessed and she maximized those positives all the way through to the end of the season. "All I can speak of is our culture," Doucette said. "I was astounded by those girls. When I brought them in, i had expectations for me and they were non-negotiable. They couldn't do certain things and by the time the fall started, I had 12 girls and some of them fell off and I told my coaching staff that I didn't care. I'd rather have five girls who wanted to follow the rules and not try and push the limits. Those girls did everything I asked of them, including so many things outside of basketball. They held each other accountable and they not only didn't want to let me down, they didn't want to let themselves down."

What could've been the final blow to the season and the final chapter to Murphy's Law was when injuries and a holiday overseas family trip put the Pirates down to just four players, forcing cancelations for a big chunk of the season. But from that negative experience came a resonating glow from the team that will not be forgotten for future teams under Doucette's guidance. 

"They never stopped," Doucette said of her remaining players. "When we were hurt and couldn't play, they still came to practice and they continued to work as hard as they could ... even when they knew there was no game to look forward to."

Perhaps the best example of the type of respect Doucette received from last year's rough season ... those players from last year are all back for this year and after a full season of recruiting opportunities, OCC is stacked with a solid blend of talent and depth at all five positions. "For them as players, that tells me as their coach that they are ready for more," Doucette said. "But this year, they're not going to have to worry about if we are going to have enough players to play ... they can go to sleep knowing that we have plenty of teammates and they're not going to be required to play all 40 minutes of every game. It also shows me that I have some very dedicated players and I love each and every one of them."

One of those players is sophomore forward Lea Adame, who returned to the sport she loved last year and was OCC's leading scorer.  "I love playing for Coach Doucette," Adame said during an interview last year. "She's so organized and she's very relatable to us, which has been great. I'd love to just keep playing and playing for as long as I can. Having missed it for the past three years, just being on a basketball team is such a blessing, I want to appreciate every day that I get to play competitive basketball. I want to work as hard as I can and see if I can continue playing at the next level. Until then, I'll just keep working hard here at OCC and help this team get back to being a successful program once again."

Now in 2020, Murphy's Law has spread throughout the world in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, Doucette has plenty of players on her team, but no way to practice and prepare properly for the upcoming 2021 season. But with the start of conditioning in person beginning on Monday, just that is enough to put a smile on the coach's face. "I'm so stoked to get the girls back and we will do whatever we are allowed to do," Doucette said. "I've got 21 girls now and it'll be a chore just keeping them apart, but we will work hard as a group and hopefully we can begin to work our way towards bigger and better things in terms of running an actual practice and preparing for games down the road. 

"Up until now, it's been a challenge getting them into a routine schedule. We do two-hours a day on zoom, we have OYO (On Your Own) workout programs, where we give them a workout and a time to finish and have them back on the zoom in a certain time. We've been working on the mental side of things and having them read a 'life-lesson' book together so it finished by the end of the 8th week. We've done everything under the sun that we can think of doing because the majority of the girls have never even met each other in person yet! We've had game nights and we are just trying to connect them all as best as they can.

"Our girls are optimistic and enthused to get going. This year, it's really easy to use COVID as an excuse, but there is ways around that to be successful. Maybe it's not how you want it to be, but you have to stay positive."

So ... after Murphy's Law threw everything possible at you, Coach Doucette, what did last year teach you moving forward? "If I can get through that first year, I can get through anything. It's a reminder to never let my morals and rules waiver in any way."