Growing up with a basketball coach as a father, Trent Short saw the impact his father had on his players. The senior basketball player at the University of Mobile wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and make that same kind of impact.
“I’ve seen the impact that coaches can have on players and I hope to do that. Coach Archey, the University of Mobile men’s basketball coach, has done a great job of building relationships with us as players. He’s shown me how important it is to build relationships with guys, so they want to play for you, and they want to do the right things off the court as well,” said Trent.
Trent says the small campus of UM helps him learn how to build those personal relationships with students and professors that he’ll one day use as a coach.
“Everybody is friendly, and everyone knows each other. If you ever need anything, it’s really easy to ask another student, since we’re all in the same situation together. With the small classes, it’s also easy to reach out to professors as well, since they’ll remember your name and are happy to help out.”
Studying Kinesiology, Trent hopes to get a graduate assistant position at a Division 1 school to kick start his coaching career. He knows that Kinesiology can help him know more about his future players and prepare him to be a teacher as well.
“Dr. Lori Delong (dean of the School of Health and Sports Science) has been a huge help for me. She’s made me enjoy Kinesiology and made me think about teaching if I go into coaching high school basketball. She’s a fun teacher.”
Zac Douglas is the marketing communications specialist for the University of Mobile. He graduated from the University of Mississippi in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in integrated marketing and communications. As marketing communications specialist, Zac is responsible for writing and strategizing content about the university, assisting with media relations, and handling other marketing and communications projects. He is an active member at Cottage Hill Baptist Church and enjoys spending his time surfing, skating and climbing.