2019-20 Georgia Tech Everyday Champions Issue #3

“Keep on the sunny side always on the sunny side Keep on the sunny side of life It will help us every day it will brighten all the way If we keep on the sunny side of life.” J anuary 28 was a good day for the Georgia Tech’s women’s basketball team. No, the Yellow Jackets didn’t have a game that day. All that was on the docket was practice. So how do we know with such certainty that that Tuesday was a good day for the team? Because every day from October through however long in March the season goes is a good day for head coach Nell Fortner and her staff -- assistant coaches Tasha Butts, Blanche Alverson and Brandy Manning. It’s an opportunity for them to teach, for the team to learn and for everyone to have some fun doing so. “I would say practice as a whole is enjoyable,” said junior point guard Kierra Fletcher. “(Coach Fortner) is always coming around asking us how our day’s been, joking around with us about school, classes, everything. The assistant coaches, too. It’s just a family feel in practice so it’s always enjoyable. The energy is always high.” High energy and enjoyable practices have become signatures of the Jackets’ first season under the highly energetic and always positive Fortner. “I definitely think we have taken on the personality of Coach Nell,” said Fletcher. “At some points, do we lean away from the positivity when times get hard? Yes. But she always reels us back in. She always reminds us that staying together and staying positive is what’s going to help us.” “She’s always energetic, she’s always positive,” said junior forward Lorela Cubaj. “If you make a mistake she is going to, obviously, point it out, but she will be like, ‘You’ve got it. You can do it.’ It’s really easy to get negative, but she always keeps us on track and tries to always be positive. I think that’s really helpful for everybody.” It’s helping in games. “She never yells at us. She’s always positive in everything she says,” said senior guard Francesca Pan. “If during the game we make bad plays or we’re down 10 points, if she calls a timeout she’s never mad. She always says, ‘We’ve got this. We got ourselves in a slump, we need to get out of it. Just stay together.’ Keeping

The positive and encouraging nature of Fortner and her staff has resulted in the Jackets staying in the top half of the ACC all season long.

HIGH ENERGY AND ENJOYABLE PRACTICES HAVE BECOME SIGNATURES OF THE JACKETS’ FIRST SEASON UNDER THE HIGHLY ENERGETIC AND ALWAYS POSITIVE FORTNER.

positive energy is really important for us. That’s what she loves to do.” Fortner also loves winning. She’s done it her entire career, as illustrated by her overall 305- 187 record as a head coach (a .620 winning percentage) entering her first year on The Flats, including a 101-14 mark with USA Basketball, highlighted by an Olympic gold medal, a FIBA World Championship gold and a Pan American Games bronze. This season had the potential to be Fortner’s most challenging. She hadn’t been on the sideline in seven years. The Jackets had to replace two of their top players from the previous season and didn’t have injured veteran leader Chanin Scott. The program needed a breath of fresh air and something positive to believe in. Fortner and staff proved to be both. “Coach Nell has been the same person from day one, and I think that’s something that the team has really enjoyed seeing,” said Fletcher. “I feel like we’re way more relaxed, comfortable. We want to fight for her and the coaching staff.” “It’s always enjoyable being around the coaching staff,” said Pan. “This morning we had a shooting workout. I’m sure a lot of people would not want to wake up early to go shoot. But once we went to the gym, everybody had positive energy, we had a really good practice.” All this positivity has resulted in the Jackets staying in the top half of the ACC all season long,

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