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Buggs Could Turn to Coaching After Playing Days
by Frank Burlison, Long Beach Press-Telegram
November 17, 2007
LONG BEACH - Cynthia Buggs' careers as a college volleyball player and
college student are both rapidly winding up.
The senior defensive specialist will play her final college match for
coach Brian Gimmillaro's Long Beach State team in the NCAA Tournament
either late this month or relatively early in December.
And she'll wrap up her final four classes needed for a bachelor's degree
in sociology next month.
"I'm trying not to think too much about going out into the `real
world' just quite yet," she said, laughing, earlier this week before
a practice in preparation for the 49ers' 7 o'clock Big West Conference
season finale at Cal State Fullerton tonight.
"But I'm getting my resume together, too. I want to make sure I have
that wrapped up so I can starting sending it out to things (potential
places of employment) I might be interested in."
Buggs, who is third in digs (261) for a team that takes 20-6 (overall)
and 13-2 (conference) records into the match with the 13-13 and 7-7 Titans,
said she might consider pursuing a career as a social worker.
"And, in the back of my mind, going to nursing school is a possibility,
because (teammate) Talaya (Whitfield) and I are close, and I talk to her
mom (a registered nurse) a lot about it," she said.
Playing professional volleyball in Europe is another option.
"It's something I've thought about," she said, "but I'm
not sure I want to spend that much time that far away from home."
Of course, she could always coach.
After all, she's been around coaches - most notably, her parents, Carl
and Keisha Buggs - all her life.
Carl Buggs, with assistance from his wife, is the coach of the top-ranked
high school girls basketball program in the country at Poly.
And her dad, who played baseball at Long Beach State, also coached baseball
and volleyball at Lynwood before moving on to Poly.
She played basketball for her parents at Poly while also starring in volleyball,
then spent two years playing volleyball at Tennessee before transferring
to LBSU for her final two seasons of eligibility.
"As far as coaching goes," she said, "I've coached club
volleyball for two years with my own team of 14-year-olds, and I've really
enjoyed that.
"I haven't really coached my `own' basketball team but I've filled
in for my parents' (Poly) team at times in the spring or fall (when varsity
coaches can't sit on the bench during `out of season' competition)."
By all accounts, those coaching genes can be put to good use.
And they've also been in evidence during LBSU practices, she concedes,
smiling.
"Brian always tells me, `You're trying to coach on the court,"'
she said. "I'll order people (teammates) where to go and what to
do (on the court)."
And Gimmillaro would be surprised if she doesn't at least take a long
look at a coaching career, either in volleyball or basketball.
"I think she will be a coach - she acts like a coach all the time,"
he said. "(But) I tell her she has to focus on communicating `athlete
to athlete' which is a lot different than communicating `coach to player."'
A longtime friend of Carl Buggs, Gimmillaro said Cynthia Buggs sees volleyball
from a coach's perspective.
"She is very curious about why things are done (in practice and during
matches)," he said, "not in a sense of questioning authority
but in learning the thought process that is involved (in coaching decisions).
She appreciates the tactical aspects of the game."
Her father also wouldn't be surprised if his oldest child (Cynthia has
three siblings: 19-year-old Kevin, who plays basketball at Compton College,
12-year-old Marques and 3-year-old sister Kalaya) opts for coaching.
"We just sit there (in the stands) and watch her coaching (the Poly
basketball team) and she knows exactly what we expect," he said.
"She's no-nonsense. And I've watched her coaching club (volleyball)
and she does a great job with the young kids. They really respond to her."
No matter the career direction she ultimately sets out on, Cynthia Buggs
feels the kind of choices she makes have been shaped by her parents, in
their roles as parents and coaches.
"I'm so lucky to have parents who are very positive, very supportive
and great role models," she said.
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