In a world of social media and followings, connections through shared experiences, such as sports, are very important. Sports may be competitive, but they also form relationships. Greenhills’ Athletic Director and Girls’ Basketball Head Coach Taylor Parker and Visual Arts Teacher and JV Girls’ Basketball Coach Caitlyn O’Neal are a prime example of this. They played against each other in college, and bonded because of it while working together at Greenhills. 

Parker went to Cass Technical High School in Detroit, where she averaged 15 points. For Parker’s freshman and sophomore year of college, she went to Kent State, a Division 1 school located in Kent, Ohio. Then, Parker transferred to Glenville State College, a Division 2 school located in Glenville, West Virginia, where she played for the Pioneers. There she was a constant starter, and started in the game against O’Neal.

“I started a lot of the games, so I am pretty sure I started that one,” said Parker. 

O’Neal went to Western High School, located in Russiaville, Indiana. There, O’Neal was a tri-sport athlete. In 2014, O’Neal and her team won, and were named the state champions. That season, she averaged 10.3 points played alongside her twin sister, Carley. For O’Neal’s first two years of college, she played basketball at Davis and Elkins College, a private college located in Elkins, West Virginia. O’Neal said she remembers that her shot got much better while playing for Davis and Elkins Women’s basketball team (called the Senators). While at Davis and Elkins College, O’Neal played against Parker.

“Davis and Elkins College played Glenville State, the school that [Parker] went to,” said O’Neal. “At Davis and Elkins College, I remember where that is where I developed my shot as a player. I got better at making three pointers,”

Even though they played against one another, they didn’t know each other while in college. They found out about the game when Parker interviewed for her position at Greenhills. O’Neal and Parker were talking about where they played college basketball when they realized that Glenville State and Davis and Elkins College were in the same conference.  

“We knew that we played each other’s school,” said Parker. “But I don’t physically remember seeing Coach [O’Neal].”

Davis and Elkins College played Glenville State, and it was a home game for Parker and the Pioneers. Glenville State ended up winning the game. Neither coach has any memory of actually playing one another, but they have their predictions of how it went. 

“I know that Coach Caitlyn was probably a great shooter because she can knock down a lot of threes,” said Parker. “But I don’t remember details about the game.”

While O’Neal has no memory of the actual game, she said she remembered one specific part about playing in Glenville.

“I just remember how beautiful their court was,” said O’Neal. 

This game and shared experience of playing college basketball has allowed Parker and O’Neal to bond while at Greenhills. It also allows them to coach the team better because they have more off court chemistry. Girls basketball player Quinn Maldonado ‘28 said that their off court relationship allows everyone in the gym to get better and feel more comfortable. 

“They know where they can help another player improve, and where they can step back and let the other person handle that specific area,” said Maldonado.

The ability to participate in college basketball games, especially against one another, allowed Parker and O’Neal to relate to one another in a way that wouldn’t have been possible without the game. While they were in a competitive spirit at the time of the game, it added to their relationship in their current lives, and allowed them to bond.

“It was just like a small world thing,” said O’Neal.  “Once you have a shared experience of playing college basketball, it connects you to people, people that you wouldn’t normally talk to.”