Carsyn  Knotts

"My name is Carsyn Knotts and I am currently a Freshman at Montana State University in Bozeman. I am studying Exercise Science under the major of Health and Human Performance.   

I first met Andrew Persin when I was in seventh grade in Basalt, Colorado. I had been playing basketball since I was little and was becoming very competitive with the sport. Unfortunately, in my small town, there was very little opportunity to play basketball at a high level, especially at my age. When I first met Coach Persin, he expressed that he was starting a club team and wanted me to join. At that point, I had hardly thought about a possible future with basketball, but he saw my passion and was the first to help me develop it into something greater. As I said, there was very little interest for girls in a commitment to basketball like that, so he moved me to his boys team.

At first I was very apprehensive and intimidated to be playing as the only girl on an all boys club team, and for the first time in my career I found myself as a timid player, passing off opportunity to score, and overall I had very little self confidence. Coach Persin helped me find that.

He worked with me separately during one on one sessions before and after practice, developing  mentally and physically challenging workouts to help me realize that I could accomplish whatever I wanted to if I worked hard enough.

Soon, I found myself playing all across Colorado on an all boys team under the name RFV Elite, and under the coaching of Andrew Persin. As a team, we had ups and downs within our play, but everyone trusted Coach P. He helped all of us not only become better basketball players, but genuinely better people. He demanded that we were on our best behavior, not only on the road as his players, but at home, in school, and anywhere in between.

He gave us the utmost respect and in return, so did we.      

Although Coach P was not able to stay in Basalt for much longer than a season, his coaching and mentorship changed my life. After playing for his team, doors opened for me as a player. I had multiple offers to play on girls clubs teams across the state, and soon an elite club for the top female players in the valley opened up during eighth grade. I was able to excel on that team, and went into high school prepared to play.     

I played varsity basketball for four years as the starting point guard/shooting guard. Over this time, I had many ups and downs with basketball, as the team I was playing with wasn't nearly as competitive and I struggled to show potential as I began thinking about college basketball. During this time, I stayed in contact with Coach Persin and he helped me as a player and person to push over the obstacles in my path.

He pushed me because he believed in me, which is the most important thing a player can hope for.

Although I am not currently playing college basketball, Coach Persin taught me many valuable lessons and helped me find the opportunity to play at the next level if I would have taken it. Reflecting back over my high school career, I have had three different coaches and watched parents, players and administration push away any good opportunity we had of going to state. Without a good coach and mutual respect between the coach and that community, especially the players, there is no way to build a successful team.

Coach P had that with me. He has more knowledge of the game and more compassion than anyone I have ever met. He has the capability to not only take a player and strengthen his or her fundamentals and work ethic, but also his or her character. The only thing in my career that I wish would have gone differently, is that Coach P could have been there to coach me to the end. Even so, he was still available to push me and care for my future. Coach Persin was, and still continues to be, one of the most positive influences in my life."

Alyssa Richardson

My name is Alyssa Richardson and I live in King City, CA. I am a senior at King City High School and in the fall I will be attending Cal Poly SLO.

I first started playing basketball when I was in the eighth grade and continued all through high school. Up until my sophomore year, I was never a strong player or a player who stood out. It was hard for me to watch my friends excel in their skills while mine went nowhere.

Fortunately, Persin came to King City and helped me change my game completely. He came to King City at the beginning of my sophomore year and decided to coach the girls Junior Varsity Basketball team. Since the very first day I was on the court with him, he was instantly trying to help me improve as a player. He saw the potential in me that I didn’t see in myself. Under Persin’s coaching, the game “clicked”; it was as if a switch turned on. All of a sudden basketball made sense to me and I realized that if I worked hard enough, I could be the successful player that I wanted to be.

During our first season with him, our JV team went 14-0 in league. We dominated each team, no game was a close one. We had put our blood, sweat, and tears on the court and all of our hard work paid off. That season, I was pushed harder than a coach had ever pushed me before, and it only made me a better player. I gained confidence and skills that I did not know I could have. I also gained a trusting relationship with Persin.

By the end of the season, I knew he could help me reach any goals that I had, but most importantly I could help him, too. I know that he could trust me to control the tempo of the game and set up plays. Persin was also able to create a bond with the whole team which strengthened the group even more. One thing that Persin emphasized that season was that you had to have tenacity. When you are playing without the drive or tenacity, you are not playing to your full potential. He knew that each one of us was capable of being tenacious, we just had to prove to ourselves that we could.

Persin was the first coach I had that stressed how important the off season was. There were no travel teams in King City at the time, so he took time out of his schedule to start a team and coach us girls, to make sure that we were working on our basketball game. We spent the summer and weekends conditioning, working on skills, and competing. Even if there were no gyms available to practice in, he would still go over to the park and coach us there. He wanted us to get better and he believed that we could.

When junior year came, I was the starting point guard on the varsity team- somewhere I didn’t think I would be. There were lots of ups and downs with the team as a whole that season, but my skills improved and I gained even more confidence. Despite the differences that the team had, Persin continued to feed us new skills that we would help improve our game.

I also had Persin as my journalism teacher my junior year. He was just as reliable in the classroom as he was on the court. No matter which environment we were in, he wanted to see everyone succeed and he was always there to help them do so. However, Persin also decided that year that he wouldn’t be returning to coach us girls.

In the spring I joined a travel team so I could continue playing. I was completely out of my comfort zone when I was told to play on the boys team. I was the only girl on the team, but it was a great experience that challenged my mental and physical abilities. Even though Persin wasn’t coaching, he made sure that I knew I could always go to him if I needed help or advice with basketball. He has always supported me through basketball and academics and I know I can count on him.

This also continued through my senior year. Persin always made it clear that he would be glad to help me with my game, even though he was not coaching the team. During this season, I was starting point guard again and I was one of the top three scorers in almost every game. This was important to me because my freshman year was nothing like that. I finally got to see all of my hard work pay off. Something that I learned from Persin was that he could help us out as much as he wanted, but it was up to us if we wanted to apply ourselves to what we were doing.

I remember him saying after most practices, “I’ve given you all the tools for your toolbelt, it’s up to you to put them to use”. I’ve always thought this was important because to have a successful team, everyone has to put in effort. Persin could try all he wanted but if we didn’t apply ourselves, then there was no way we could be successful. He did his part and we had to do ours.

Even though I am not planning to play basketball in college, if it weren’t for Persin, I probably wouldn’t have played basketball the rest of my high school years. My freshman year, I knew that I didn’t have the skills to be varsity material and I didn’t have a coach like Persin who was willing to put in the extra time and effort just to see me succeed.

Having Persin as a coach was a great experience because he made me realize that I could be great if I wanted to, all I had to do was believe and work hard. He knows the game of basketball like the back of his hand and that’s what makes him a great coach. He knows how to help people improve and get them to where they want to be.

Persin helped change the game of basketball for me and I am thankful he did, because the sport has been a memorable part of my life.