Joseph Shotland: From Playing to Coaching Basketball at Trinity

By Emily Bae

Coach Joseph Shotland is a Trinity University alumnus whose life has been largely about the game of basketball. In 2010, he came to Trinity University and walked onto the basketball
​court to be a shooting guard. He described his role as bringing energy to the team. He graduated with a Bachelors in English in ​2014 and later graduated with a Master of Arts in Teaching at Trinity University.

Knowing that he could not play basketball forever, he still wanted to be a part of the sport. One of his favorite aspects of basketball is the team component and he enjoyed the leadership qualities needed for basketball. He therefore thought of coaching.

Shotland approached Cameron Hill, head coach for Trinity women’s basketball, in his junior year of college and asked if he could help with the team.​

Hill agreed and Shotland started to work with the women’s team. He was an analytics member for the team, keeping track of the logistics. He worked his way up​ and was named the assistant coach in 2015. He was thrilled to be able to receive a coaching position at his alma mater.

“Being a Trinity grad helps him understand the workload that we have. He is capable of understanding how many things we have on our plate at once and is more understanding of our ‘student-athlete’ status than most other coaches,” said Victoria Trabysh, a sophomore who plays the position of guard.

Shotland, ​26, describes his coaching style as keeping things loose and fun. “You build rapport and you build respect with your team by just showing them that you are willing to do the work for them.” He calls the women’s basketball team a super good group that works really hard, and himself, the “goof ball of the group.”

​On road trips, Shotland will pass the auxiliary cord around to the players, and they will all sing along to the songs and get hyped. He even has a goofy way of describing the process of picking his favorite basketball player, likening it to the flavor of the month at Baskin-Robbins. He mentioned quite a few names such as Anthony Davis and Larry Bird, but settled with Dirk Nowitzki, giving homage to his hometown of Dallas. He also named James Harden his least favorite basketball player​. "James Harden is really good at basketball, but I just don't like watching him play. ​He is very boring basketball player​,​” Shotland said.​

“At the end of the day it’s basketball, so you should be having fun even when you are working hard and trying to win,” he said.

For Jill Cready, a sophomore forward, such coaching style is “very unique and bringing so much energy to every single practice and game that our team really responds to.” She adds that “he is always very interactive and involved. He definitely reflects a coach that is a part of his team, not just controlling it.”

On a personal level, Cready said Shotland has helped improve the emotional side of her game. “I tend to get overly down on myself or frustrated, and he really helps me keep that mentality of looking towards the next play and keeping the positivity out on the court.”

One of Shotland’s favorite memories as a coach was getting to the Sweet Sixteen of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship and going to St.Thomas two years ago. Also, beating University of Incarnate Word during his first year as the assistant coach was very memorable for him. This win was the first time in eight years that the team beat a Division I school.

“Getting to go to practice and the team coming out with the music going and everybody is really into it is the fun stuff of this job,” he said, adding, “of course winning is fun too.”