Fourteen years together: Head Coach Shelly Ethridge and Assistant Coach Melanie Marcy.
Spencer Gleason
-Sports Editor-
In athletics, lifelong friendships can extend further than just the playing field.
Whether it is the baseball diamond, soccer field or basketball court; the growing camaraderie over the course of a season between teammates and coaches blossoms into a family away from home.
For some, once the season is over the player-coach relationship dwindles away and after a few years they lose contact with one another. For others, their relationship continues.
In 1997, Illinois State University basketball player, Melanie Marcy, heard that the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) was hiring Shelly Ethridge as the new head coach.
Ethridge had coached at Belleville Area College (now Southwest Illinois College).
“As soon as I met [Ethridge], her passion for the game and her intensity got me excited just from talking to her,” Marcy said. “We weren’t even on the court. She made me want to get on the court right away. I needed a motivator. It didn’t matter to me where she was coaching. I knew that was somebody that I wanted to play for.”
Ethridge first saw Marcy on the court during the Prairie State Games in Illinois during the mid-90s and as soon as word traveled to her that Marcy was looking to transfer, Ethridge embraced Marcy’s move from the division I school of Illinois State University to her new home at UMSL, a division II school.
“What a catch [she was],” Ethridge said.
After playing two seasons under Ethridge, Marcy found a calling in coaching and became a part of Ethridge’s coaching staff.
Since 1999, Marcy and Ethridge have continued to grow together as partners on the court. While Ethridge has 226 career wins to her name, Marcy has been a part of 208, not including victories shared when Marcy wore the UMSL uniform.
In the two seasons coaching the green and gold Meramec Magic, the duo coached their team to a record of 36-21 and a trip to the NJCAA National Final Four Tournament during the 2010-2011 season.
“Last year was so special because I know how long she’s been coaching and how long we’ve been coaching together,” Marcy said. “What was so special for me to watch was her strength. She prepared every day. She was intense every day… She had halftime talks last year that had me ready to suit up again.”
When admiring their counterpart, the feeling is mutual.
“I like to see a kid [student-athlete] utilize a post move that coach [Marcy] has been working on [with them] for a long time and it is used effectively come game time,” Ethridge said. “She sees the student-athlete grow. As a player and a person, to see her face and her get excited on the bench… It’s really fun for me, not only to watch the player, but to see coach get that reward out of that.”
Fast-forward 14 years since Marcy and Ethridge stepped foot on the court as player and coach, now assistant coach and head coach respectively, their friendship has become an extended family of each another.
Respect for the game and respect for each other brought them together.
However neither has lost a competitive edge. In a game to 21, the player in each would kick into gear.
“We would both battle,” Marcy said. “She is the one who taught me to tap into my inner competitor. Twenty-one to 20 could go either way, but I’ll say youth takes it.”
