Generation S
Cheryl Ford Carves Path With Help of Her Mother
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Cheryl Ford of the WNBA All-Star Team poses for a portrait at Westin Hotel on August 4, 2004 in New York.
Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
At the young age of 22, the 6-foot-3, 215 pound Detroit Shock forward, Cheryl Ford has evolved from a mere bystander as a teenager to the current catalyst of the Shock�s potent front court.
The passion for basketball was non-existent for Cheryl at a young age. Cheryl was tall but in her mind that was it. �Back then I was a tall, skinny, and lanky girl that had no coordination or nothing,� admitted Ford. All of these factors contributed to Ford�s lack of prowess on the court and it was Cheryl�s mother, Bonita, who pushed Ford into the game of basketball.
Bonita made the choice to keep her children busy and involved in different activities because she knew they would stay out of trouble if they were busy all of the time. Bonita was working two jobs to provide for her children so she set strict rules for her children to follow to ensure that they did not get in any trouble and stayed on the right path. Cheryl and her twin brother Daryl knew to follow the rules or there would be a punishment to pay. The kids had nine o�clock bedtimes, had to be in the house before the street lights came on, and there was no talking on the phone late at night.
When Ford finally was tested on the basketball court it was not a pretty sight. But lucky for Cheryl, Linda Harper, coach of the Monroe Magic, caught an eye of her and saw the potential and the ability that Ford possessed. Harper was the ingredient that was missing before, and with Cheryl�s desire she choose to absorb anything and everything that Harper could teach her about the game of basketball. Spending this quality time with Harper made Cheryl have a passion for the game of basketball that she continues to possess today. Harper told AP writers that, �Cheryl had a great gift. She had great instinctive and athletic ability. Also she had the desire of a player, she always thought the ball belonged to her.�
After making the decision to pour herself towards her pursuit of basketball, the pieces began to fall in place for Cheryl. She began making National Teams; she played on a U.S. Junior National Team, and led her AAU team to the national title. However, the decision to play basketball was much easier than the choices that would approach her in years to come.
As Cheryl progressed through her junior and senior years of high school it was time for her to decide what her future held for her, and by this time in her life she knew that basketball would be a part of that future. However, she also knew that a good education was important, which is why she decided to attend college at Louisiana Tech University. �I decided to choose La. Tech because it was only 45 minutes from home and my mom,� said Ford. �I didn�t want her to miss any games.�
Ford does indicate that one of her toughest choices came in college. �As a freshman I had to force myself to get up and go to class,� said Ford with a huge smile. �I didn�t have my mom their to wake me up everyday and send me off to school.�
Cheryl�s most recent life altering decision came just two years ago after her college graduation from Louisiana Tech. The decision being where will she continue her basketball career. As it turned out, the Shock was able to steal Cheryl with the third overall pick in the 2003 WNBA Draft. This decision forced Cheryl to uproot her homeland of Louisiana and establish a new home in Detroit. Cheryl�s choice to pursue the WNBA and be a member of the Shock team was a good choice as the Shock won the 2003 WNBA Championship and she captured the WNBA Rookie of the Year award in averaging a double-double.
During the season when Cheryl is here in Detroit and her mother is back in the little town of Summerfield, Louisiana, Cheryl makes sure that she does not lose sight of the big picture. Cheryl knows that she is a mama�s girl and will always be. In fact, the first week that Ford was living in Detroit she would call and whine to her mother that she was lonely and did not know her bearings. So being the supportive and caring mother that Bonita was she drove to Detroit as soon as she could. She stayed a week with Cheryl, cooking for Cheryl between practices and cleaning her apartment just like old times in Summerfield.
The one thing Cheryl always remembers is her mother�s words that �you can do anything that you put your mind to,� and Cheryl takes these words into account before making any decision in her life. These words have already made Cheryl successful in her life on and off of the basketball court, and will continue to help her grow in the future because with the help of her mom she remains the path of good choices.
The passion for basketball was non-existent for Cheryl at a young age. Cheryl was tall but in her mind that was it. �Back then I was a tall, skinny, and lanky girl that had no coordination or nothing,� admitted Ford. All of these factors contributed to Ford�s lack of prowess on the court and it was Cheryl�s mother, Bonita, who pushed Ford into the game of basketball.
Bonita made the choice to keep her children busy and involved in different activities because she knew they would stay out of trouble if they were busy all of the time. Bonita was working two jobs to provide for her children so she set strict rules for her children to follow to ensure that they did not get in any trouble and stayed on the right path. Cheryl and her twin brother Daryl knew to follow the rules or there would be a punishment to pay. The kids had nine o�clock bedtimes, had to be in the house before the street lights came on, and there was no talking on the phone late at night.
When Ford finally was tested on the basketball court it was not a pretty sight. But lucky for Cheryl, Linda Harper, coach of the Monroe Magic, caught an eye of her and saw the potential and the ability that Ford possessed. Harper was the ingredient that was missing before, and with Cheryl�s desire she choose to absorb anything and everything that Harper could teach her about the game of basketball. Spending this quality time with Harper made Cheryl have a passion for the game of basketball that she continues to possess today. Harper told AP writers that, �Cheryl had a great gift. She had great instinctive and athletic ability. Also she had the desire of a player, she always thought the ball belonged to her.�
After making the decision to pour herself towards her pursuit of basketball, the pieces began to fall in place for Cheryl. She began making National Teams; she played on a U.S. Junior National Team, and led her AAU team to the national title. However, the decision to play basketball was much easier than the choices that would approach her in years to come.
As Cheryl progressed through her junior and senior years of high school it was time for her to decide what her future held for her, and by this time in her life she knew that basketball would be a part of that future. However, she also knew that a good education was important, which is why she decided to attend college at Louisiana Tech University. �I decided to choose La. Tech because it was only 45 minutes from home and my mom,� said Ford. �I didn�t want her to miss any games.�
Ford does indicate that one of her toughest choices came in college. �As a freshman I had to force myself to get up and go to class,� said Ford with a huge smile. �I didn�t have my mom their to wake me up everyday and send me off to school.�
Cheryl�s most recent life altering decision came just two years ago after her college graduation from Louisiana Tech. The decision being where will she continue her basketball career. As it turned out, the Shock was able to steal Cheryl with the third overall pick in the 2003 WNBA Draft. This decision forced Cheryl to uproot her homeland of Louisiana and establish a new home in Detroit. Cheryl�s choice to pursue the WNBA and be a member of the Shock team was a good choice as the Shock won the 2003 WNBA Championship and she captured the WNBA Rookie of the Year award in averaging a double-double.
During the season when Cheryl is here in Detroit and her mother is back in the little town of Summerfield, Louisiana, Cheryl makes sure that she does not lose sight of the big picture. Cheryl knows that she is a mama�s girl and will always be. In fact, the first week that Ford was living in Detroit she would call and whine to her mother that she was lonely and did not know her bearings. So being the supportive and caring mother that Bonita was she drove to Detroit as soon as she could. She stayed a week with Cheryl, cooking for Cheryl between practices and cleaning her apartment just like old times in Summerfield.
The one thing Cheryl always remembers is her mother�s words that �you can do anything that you put your mind to,� and Cheryl takes these words into account before making any decision in her life. These words have already made Cheryl successful in her life on and off of the basketball court, and will continue to help her grow in the future because with the help of her mom she remains the path of good choices.