welcome back to another wonderful episode of the scoop i'm going to shots and i'm going you know you and today will be discussing balancing life and coaching today we'll be joined by courtney shots an assistant coach for the girls varsity field hockey team at peters township high school courtney has been assistant coach for three seasons but coaching is not her only job she is a nurse practitioner and allegheny general hospital courtney is also an alumni from p t a chess and played varsity field hockey for two years and two thousand on her team one with bills for field hockey she hopes to lead the girls  victory alongside coach kidd coach amy castilla who is the head coach so can you tell me a little bit of how you wanted to pursue nursing in college will thank you for having me today  i think i was a freshman in high school when i my little brother had his hand swept up by the sweeper and it was a very bad abrasion on its head and blood was everywhere and i just looked at it now like took a deep breath and i pause and i was like this is terrible but also so i quickly got our little league first aid kit and wrapped it up and you know he was crying so i consoled him i was able to give him a tylenol you know read the bottle and everything and you know these little baby at this age you know tylenol that's scary and i remember calling my mom and just telling her you know what a good job i did and she was so proud of me and i was like i need to help people i need to be there for people when they're hurting when they're happy when they're sad and one of the professions that came to my first was a nurse nurses are there for people in their we could smell myths and there most choice moments life to death so that's why i just said to be a nurse i guess it helps having one's feelings you know being an absolutely absolutely never dull moment someone's always getting hurt someone's always happy someone's always crying there's a lot to apply with my nursing skills coming from a very big family so do you think coming from big filmy has helped nursing her absolutely coming from a big family there's twelve different people under the same roof ok there's a lot of interactions throughout the day that you have and there's are twelve different personalities so taking that into nursing you know you're with these people for your shift you know twelve hours sometimes so having to deal with twelve personalities that a daily bases only have to do with one personality i can adjust and read them and figure out how to best accommodate them to take the very best care of them all right so how did you know that robert morris to be the right choice for you pursuing your dream of nursing robert morris  their program was relatively new at the time that i was looking to apply their determining factors were field hockey program proximity to home and there their good nursing program and i got a scholarship to play field hockey there so check that box proximity to home forty minutes check that box and then the nursing program which i had like i said was just new so it was actually really good program they had like a ninety five percent pass rate on their board statewide so that's what also something you look forward to in a nursing program so so a lot of boxes checked so it was fit well with my life at the time how were your parents supportive of your decision of going robert morris and also pursuing nursing and i do you want support my parents were very supportive my mom was a huge help and you know crunching numbers and figuring now you know what works best for me i definitely am a home bird i love being with my family so you know a forty minute drive is nothing she just really hope me decide ok you know look at this program it's four years you can get a good degree get out you have a good job and you'll be able to play the sport that you love problem with it if first because robert morris i think they took pride in the fact they had some nurses on the team at the time but being a and nurse in any sport in any division is very difficult only because of the reason that you have clinical nursing is a very hands on career so you can learn textbook after textbook and you can know how to put a catheter in someone and just by reading it you know all the steps so you can memorize it but and so you get up in there and so you realize hands on what you have to do and how you have to coordinate and organize yourself you won't know and that's what clinical does for the nurses as well as you know teachers and their education you know they can make up curriculums and make up players and starch but they won't really know until they get in there and see how the classes adjust to whatever they have planned for the day so hands on is really important for nurses so it was very difficult to manage my clinical and be a practice is on time  sometimes i would miss practices and then the course load is also very intensive very difficult to keep a certain grade average overall so my coach was very supportive of it though you know she didn't she didn't have a problem with it you know as long as i kept up degrees and as long as i kept up on her team it was just it was good would you say you had a bigger opportunities because you were nurse and you were also on the field  i would say i had bigger opportunities i would say i was very fortunate what the option is i was given and i made sure to capitalize on them as much as i possibly could so well put so soft more of your sophomore in college correct correct your field hockey team yes it was spring of spring semester of my sophomore year we had just finished second place in our section you know we lost that keeping chip game so it was very you know disheartening but you know we were at a growing point because even our food aki program wasn't to order the time so you know we were like a whore finally hitting that benchmark of you know we are presence in our section you know we can succeed next year you know we're growing we  have chemistry on the field you know this is a good group of girls and then we got the new actually it was in april around finals time that only the field hockey team but six other programs are being cut  from the school due to budget stand you know success rates of the other teams it was unfortunate that we got cut but in the long run it helped me because then i just started coaching right away so just because it was taken out of my life to to play i was able to add something to coach so so was it out of my life it so i know i'm a little better still i'm not upset because it opened up a whole new world for me so you started coaching me when i was in middle school but you were sore software in college how did you balance your clinical zz and the schedule of being a middle school field hockey coach like wasn't it hard getting to games and such and then you just you just do it you just go i can't really tell you there was a rhyme or reason or method to my madness i just did it i woke up each day i have a plan or i will say that peters township really helped me with that giving me of those planners i still have one to this day just planning out your month and visually seeing it this is what i have to do this what needs to be done ok let's just do it no questions you just go with it so when i started middle school was a little more relaxed because it was right after school i could get there do it and then i would have like my classes and then you know that would have helped me just kind of buffer with some time in between to grab some food get to class go home eat get up in the morning repeat and come home and do it again  i just i think not stopping was probably like my biggest thing you know just don't stop to realize how stressed you are don't stop and realized how you know you don't have a life style stop just keep going because life catch up with you and anybody and anything that's meant to be a part of your life will come with you along with your journey so i think that was one of the big things that i realized you know i can't make everybody happy but if it's meant to be an affair meant to be in my life and i'm supposed to be doing this they'll come with me and it'll be happy is there anything that you were to if you could go back in time that you would change to make it easier to balance now because i don't want to i don't life's not meant to be easy i would never pick the easy way in life at all there's no that school yeah i skated through life now i want to be challenged i love being challenged and that was i was a very challenging time life is supposed to be a challenge so i don't know i would change anything it was a good challenge it still is a good challenge so do you think going through all those bumps in the road and just having your fill and then having become or wanting to become a middle school field hockey coach has helped you become a nurse because you're used to just different ways of doing of ok just gathering your thoughts together and then just doing it and you know i think trial and error is a big part of my life as well you know making mistakes and figuring out ok well i can't really do x y and z i have to do y x and then you know a b c works really well but d f works better you know so it really just depends coaching of kind of applies to nursing just in the sense of like people are specs and just what i'm able to how i'm able to communicate with people and everything like that but i think the way i'm on the field in the way i'm coaching is a little different than the way i take my patients or the way i communicate with them  but nevertheless it's good practice to have both in your life exactly so you work at a g h how many years or months of you working there do you like when you're currently in right now yes i really do  have been working there for it'll be three years in june i love it it's a very healthy atmosphere the work environment is very positive and what to do is also very challenging i'm in the trauma intensive care unit there and you know i see everything every day so it's a it's a nice challenge like i said to be a part of my life every day so how would you recommend nursing to students that want to pursue athletics but they're academics and college as well so for nursing i would say for any career i would say you know it's very difficult i think i was very fortunate to decide what i wanted to do for the rest of my life at such a young age i don't think  say to you know how to decide make sure it's something you're passionate about you know i was very passionate about that and i wanted to be a nurse more than i could breeze you know and when you have that drive you know i wanted to be the best field hockey player that i could be and that's you know sophomore year that's what triggered it in high school you know i fell in love with the sport how am i going to see succeed and what am i going to do to succeed in it so as long as you're passionate about something i don't think that it should too difficult and i would think that's my advice would be to make sure you want to do it more than you can breathe because if that's the case then you'll do just about anything to accomplish that and you'll be able you'll be able to balance it you know like i said i didn't really stop and think about how i was balancing coaching school and work i just did it you know you just do it because it's what you do it's inside you and it's how you it's how you want to breathe to live by if you want to do something more than you can read the new you will succeed so first professional life so far and learn a little bit about her background now it's time to take a commercial break but don't go anywhere because we'll be back as soon as we get back and we'll be discussing court his coaching life and how it all got started we make sure they get to college  to make college possible for anyone with a mind to get there i went to a private catholic high school my freshman year because i was homeschooled till eighth grade and then my mom decided to put us in school and then i came back to peter's township and i did not want to plan a soccer team i just couldn't do it anymore it wasn't really a passion of mine anymore and all that you need but i need to play something any be active what else is there in the fall that i can replace with soccer and it was field hockey and i remember trying out and the coach was like oh here's a stick you know get out there and just try  best we have a lot of newcomers and everything and i remember doing the one show it was a timed indian dribble and i got one of the highest scores and they were like so pressure like you've never played before you never did this before i was like no i have time there are so much skill to be able to get around someone in kind of you know break their angles for you what you say and i think this is this is good this is good so that's what i like fell in love with it and i just like i said how can i succeed in this what am i doing to succeed this i got involved in clubs and and other programs in school clinics and just took off with it until until college until i moved to college so it seems like you have like a lot of very positive aspects in the sport that you playing and not everyone always get five but it seems like yes i will say that you know it's definitely difficult you know high school was i was very fortunate i love a group of girls i was in i still have two very close friends to this day who i'm in contact with all the time who i met through the field hockey program here at the high school and then college it kind of brings about a little bit of a different group you know you have your seniors who have been there from all over the world like we had seven foreigners on our team you know so that was also difficult as well because there's so many different personalities you know that are involved with you know all over the world and not just here in the bubble you know so that definitely was a challenge as well you learn you know you learn i get along with you i had along with you we kind of get along but it's probably safer for you know we just remain teammates and just keep it on the field so stiff like that you know and like you said i was very fortunate to to love both of my teams you know not everyone has that opportunity which is unfortunate because that's what sports are about you know making friendships and relationships you know not just in your work or academic life but outside as well how did you realize that you were going to want to pursue playing field hockey throughout your college years like i said i fell in love with it and what is one of the most successful things you could do is play at a division one level and so that's that's what i wanted to do i wanted to be successful and achieve as many things as i could in this sport i didn't get there obviously because of my program and it came time for me to choose between a career that i could have for the rest of my life for playing so it was it was time but i wanted to i wanted to do well in it and so whatever it was going to take i wanted to do so i didn't stop until i got i got the scholarship until i got until i got the the stamp of approval so you did it so with college comes lots of work absolutely so how do you while being a part of your field hockey so i'm sure a lot of the athletic programs you know there it's coming around a lot more with you know the student athlete you know you're the student first and then you're the athlete you know and i tell my girls all that as well you know if you have big tests or there's school work that needs to be done you have to do that because at the end of the day i think i'm a good testimony to that as well as that you're going to fall back on on your education on your knowledge and  that in that way not so much you know what you can put on the field there are select people that you know do rely on what they put on the field that's what we have that f l that's what i've been and show you know all these pro sports you know that's what they do but you know i want them to rely on their heads and i know what they can do on the field so it was difficult and more schools are getting programs that will help student athletes like i remember for being on a team and in the nursing program i had a mandatory of twelve hours a week of study hall time now the other girls only had like eight or nine and i had twelve because of my my major so so i see you signed in and you had to commit to twelve hours a week of just studying in an empty classroom so that was very beneficial to me as well as the support staff i got from my professors in the nursing program you know they recognized that i was an athlete and you know how can we help you you know i had excuses for trips and such like that but you know they were very accommodating i can think of one professor off the top of my head now that was just like whatever you need i hope you like i think it's great you're an athlete it was like ok great thing for you tuesday two weeks later you know  she was she was helpful but i think a lot of schools are getting more and more help because they're realizing that you know not everyone's taking their athletic career so the next level pass college and you know if they want to create a healthy student now they have to more time into the academic part of it so what was would you say that having to bounce this both of them and prove your time management skills i would say that it helped me focus and prioritize a lot more what is important in my life what needs to be done now what can be done in five minutes and what can be done in a week just realizing that and taking those in strides i think definitely helped me keep focused and keep on task as as much as i possibly can and you know obviously there's curveballs thrown at you that's part of life but definitely staying organized and on top of things you know like i said having that schedule in front of me you know what needs to be done what do i need to accomplish today to better myself and accomplish more things tomorrow how would you say that being a coach has helped you throughout your whole way communication and people skills i think i'm a very personable person as it is but being a coach you know helps me realize that you know i was the type of athlete that you know i just tell me what i'm doing wrong you know gonna care if you get in my face it might you know hurt my feelings but you know you need to do this you need to get on have to be on that line you make that cut i'm not doing a good job i'm out there you know give me another chance let me go out there and adjust our work well with criticism and pressure like that but being a coach not everyone does and i think that that has truly helped me realize that there are different people in this world who you know they need more like brownie points and you know rewards then you know i did per se so that kind of helped me you know recognize in people's well you know you need to be more caring with someone else than you do with another or you know this person just wants it straight forward so just tell him straight up you know so i think that having to deal and especially with teenage girls you know i love you guys and i was one my age you know years ago but you guys are sensitive so you know just you know kind of bouncing off your emotions and you know where you are in your in your lives has helped me you know take that into adulthood and you know kind of reading other people's will so how do you think being such an organized and well time managed coach and successful nurse has affected your younger siblings because you were the first one to play football here in your family so how do you think that affected younger siblings well i think that i had set the bar pretty high for you and you know not to boast you know my humble pie every morning but i think it just goes to show you that you can accomplish things and when you want something more than you can breathe you can accomplish those things so you know i had set the bar here and i don't want you to get here i don't want you to be at this bar that on that i want you to be here or here or however high you want to make it because of the example that i said and how you know i showed you that you work and you work harder and then you work even harder and it pays off and you have some fun here and there but for the most part you you become a functioning citizen of society you know how how do you give back you know that's what makes the world go round i think you know i don't think people look at me and  what does she do with her own i mean what i want people to say like she's always giving like she's a nurse she is back there she coaches she's mentor and you know she volunteers you know that's what i want to be said about me so i think that also helps drive me in the areas that i've chosen to be a part of as well so you're it's obviously you're very determined and what you do and you're such a well managed coach and whatnot how has it made you feel to know that your team has made  girls two years in a row i'm happy about that i really am but i would be lying if i said you know it's great i love it i love where we're at you know i do but i don't like being complacent and i want more i want more for the girls you know i know they can do it so i will continue to push that in push them to more success and more success because it's within you guys it really is so i am happy about where we're at but i know i know we can do better so that's that's where i'm at with that and what ways would you inspire people that are in college right now to go not off with their path of a career but to do more than just what they're setting for life i would say don't be complacent really think that's just a big thing like i don't think that people who will be happy just you know it can be really great  n you know whatever they want to do but i just be critic one thing you know we're our minds are so big and it's so vast and this world is huge we could be creating a lot of things and i think that you know yes you can be passionate about but there are so many other things and so many other people to touch that if you're so passionate about one thing share your passion and be have another passion you know expand your self to others and share with them what you have and maybe they'll see that and want to do more and then it would just be like this chain reaction of of giving and wanting in this passion and happy people right now with all of your success that you've come through with life did you ever see yourself being where you are today i hoped with all the things i love all the hard work and all the things that i've done i would hope i'm here but i still think there's more to be done and looking forward to what the future holds for me but yes i am happy that i'm here i've good job coaching good life very blessed and very fortunate in that sense but i know there's more to be to be accomplished and done so  looking forward to that you've got good family home good family a super nice super funny beautiful how do you see yourself crushing or i really don't know i always told myself that i never wanted to get burned out of it because it is a very high burnout profession i think just because you know if you're not doing well or you are you know it's very hard especially when it's at the high school level because you know i also have another mutual time career so it's it's that balance and i always tell myself that you know when it's time  know you know that it's time to give it up but right now i still love it for much so that passion ever dies or you know if i'm never not love with it anymore maybe take a step back and then come back to it later in life but i don't see myself stopping anytime soon well i must say that you have said merry inspiring things to both of us today and i would like to thank you for being here and i was all the time that we have for today i hope you guys enjoying this show and next time we will see i