By: Keyton Bielecky , Talon Staff
It’s been five years since Franka Bedell (AKA Coach Q) toured Tallahassee Community College’s campus for the first time. Even before taking the job as the head coach of the women’s basketball team, Coach Q knew that this was a place he could help raise championship banners.
The Talon’s Keyton Bielecky sat down with the 2017 NJCAA National Champion coach to discuss last year’s big game and to ask what he had in store for this season.
Bielecky: How many returning players do you have this year?
Q: We have five players coming back.
Bielecky: Were they last year’s starting five?
Q: Well no, but we are kind of weird with the way we do things. All five had started at some point in the season last year including the tournament.
Bielecky: What are your expectations for this season?
Q: To defend, and that’s as far as my expectations go. I believe if you’re doing everything you’re supposed to do in the classroom, off the court and on the court, you can win today and tomorrow will take care of itself. If you don’t take care of today, you can’t win tomorrow. I’m here to manage the expectations. For the players to get to experience those dreams of repeating, the expectations have to be realistic.
Bielecky: I read a quote of yours from an article in the democrat that seemed like a mantra you had for the team, “Lubbock or leave it alone.” Could you explain what that means?
Q: Lubbock is where we play the championship. The coaches basically told the team that if they didn’t put all the effort in, they shouldn’t be out there.
Bielecky: Will you keep that mantra in the coming years?
Q: As long as the championship is still held at Lubbock, we’ll keep the mantra.
Bielecky: Looking back at the championship game, the team posted great defensive numbers. Would you consider yourself a defensive-minded coach?
Q: I definitely consider myself a defensive-minded coach. I think our defense leads to offense. Our system is Chaos 40. It’s kind of a holistic system, but it’s based off of what our defense does. We’re gonna press you for 40 minutes and cause as much chaos on that side of the ball as we can. We want to force 25 deflections, we want to turn you over 25-30 times a game. We want you taking tough shots. I like offense a lot, but defense is where you win championships.
Bielecky: When you teach do you like to coach to a players specific skill set?
Q: Yeah, we try to give our players the opportunity to play the “right way”. And I say the “right way” as in the right way to them.
Coach Q’s philosophy on and off the court is reflective of a hardworking man who believes in the potential of everyone around him. After a year in the spotlight, a book on the shelves, and another on the way, Coach Q is ready to do it all over again.
