We’ve all heard a story like this: the star athlete performs a routine drill and, with no warning, suffers a catastrophic injury, permanently sidelining her. What comes next for those who can no longer play the sport they’ve poured their hearts and souls into? For two Houghton students, the answer was simple: coach.
Taylor Button, a fifth year senior, has been a student assistant coach for the women’s basketball team since her sophomore year. Emily Cronin, also a fifth year senior, just began her coaching career as a student assistant for the softball team.
Both basketball players, Button and Cronin suffered their injuries on the court. Cronin, who began playing basketball when she was seven years old, played without incident all through her first year of college. In high school, Cronin dominated. In high school, the power forward put up an average of 25 points per game, while pulling down 12 rebounds per game and dishing out 5 assists per game. When she started college at Cairn University in Philadelphia, Cronin joined the softball team and excelled with a .325 batting average.
In 2013, Cronin transferred to Houghton College. She joined the basketball team and remained healthy during the regular season. Unfortunately, Cronin’s luck ran out during a summer league basketball game, she felt a pop in the arch of her foot. The seemingly harmless pop turned out to be a rare injury; Cronin had torn her plantar fascia tendon lengthwise. After recovering, she proceeded to re-tear the tendon two more times, the final tear occurring last spring during a routine base-sliding drill on the softball diamond. She was then barred from athletics by her podiatrist. “There was definitely a period of mourning after that”, she said.
The end to Button’s playing days was gradual. Button has suffered nine concussions, suffering her first in the 8th grade. She continued to play basketball and soccer throughout high school, excelling at both. The concussion that ended her career occurred during warm-ups before a basketball game her first year at Houghton. At just 19 years old, Button’s reign as a quick-thinking point guard was over. Remembering her feelings in the days after the incident, Button said, “That was a really difficult time in my life. I really struggled with not knowing my identity without athletics. I didn’t know where to go from there. . . .I found myself at probably the lowest point of my life.”
In the wake of their losses, Button and Cronin found solace in assisting their respective head coaches: Alicia Mucher of women’s basketball and Brianna Allen of softball. “Nothing is the same as playing, but it enables me to stay close to the game”, Cronin said. “It’s a different style of leadership [than playing], and it’s a different way of thinking and strategizing about the game.”
For Button, becoming a student assistant coach was a matter of “accepting what [her] knew reality would look like”. While Button admitted that coaching will never fill the void she feels in not being able to play, it “brings out a whole new level of passion I never knew I had for the game of basketball”, she said. She continued, “I thought being an athlete was the only thing I was good at. But now I realize that I can do more. I can be a good coach if I want to be.”
Cronin has also seen personal development since commencing her coaching career. “I’ve grown in understanding all of the small things that go into coaching a team,” she said, “and I’m learning how important it is for leaders to be intentional with their words and actions.”
Of course, the best people to ask about a coach are her players. Junior student athlete Bailey Shattell is a guard on the women’s basketball team and an outfielder on the softball team (as well as a forward on the women’s soccer team). “It’s awesome that Taylor and Emily can still be a part of [their teams] and share their insights from a coaching perspective now,” she said.
Of Button, Shattell noted her drive to learn. “She is always looking to learn from other coaches and leaders. . . .I think this also speaks volumes about her as a person,” she said. “Taylor is passionate about coaching and the game of basketball”, Shattell continued, “and she knows how to push us as players and still get the best out of us.”
Shattell encountered Cronin as a coach for the first time over February break, when the softball team travelled to Florida for an intense week of competition. “Emily is willing to do whatever the team needs and is always an encouraging presence on and off the field. She brings a different outlook to the game,” she said. Most importantly, she “makes sure we don’t take our time on the field for granted.”