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Ex-John Marshall Star Amy Gamble Recalls Playing for Late Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt

AP Photo / In this Jan. 14, 2003, file photo, Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt, center, smiles as she stands with her team after defeating DePaul, 76-57, to get her 800th career win, in Knoxville, Tenn.

GLEN DALE — The years may have passed, but the impact Pat Summitt had on former John Marshall standout Amy Gamble is as evident today as it was in 1983.

Summitt, the legendary women’s basketball coach at the University of Tennessee died Tuesday at the age of 64, following a battle with early onset dementia, ‘Alzheimer’s Type’.

”I think it’s heartbreaking, and yet the thing that I admire so much is she said ‘we’re not going to have a pity party,’ ” Gamble recalled. ”That example taught me with my own personal struggles with mental illness, that if Pat can do it, I can do it.

”Pat was an amazing woman … a strong female and a role model. She did so many things for so many people that most don’t know about.”

Things like Summitt inviting Gamble to her Tennessee home after the passing of her father in 2001. It wasn’t the kind of engagement the media might gravitate toward, but it meant the world to Gamble.

”She welcomed me and never would turn her back on anyone,” Gamble said. ”She wanted the best for everyone and I didn’t realize that when I was playing for her. But I do now.

”Pat was my idol and I adored her. I have a tremendous respect for her. She inspired me. Every time I would get a phone call or letter from Pat, I felt special.

”She changed my life.”

Gamble said she recalls having a lot of fun while in Knoxville, but her year-and-a-half there before transferring to West Virginia University was never easy. In fact, Gamble said, it was just the opposite as more than once she was on the receiving end of one of Summitt’s trademark scowls.

”The thing about it is, you didn’t want to let her down. If you’re getting that scowl, you are letting her down,” Gamble said. ”It’s very hard to play for someone that has that expectation of greatness and is willing to strive for it.

”I remember a lot of fun things that we did that were funny, but I also remember working extremely hard and I was pushed to a level I haven’t been again in my life, including training for the Olympics.

”Even after transferring I kept in contact with Pat. She was always very encouraging.”

Not just in the realm of basketball, but it will forever be hard to quantify exactly how much Summitt meant to women in general. She was a strong figure in an arena dominated by supposedly strong males.

”She was that pioneer, that person that you need to electrify that base of people. She had the vision,” Gamble said. ”You couldn’t find a game on television. She said if women’s basketball is going to grow, we have to have a TV contract.

”She wasn’t afraid to play anyone, even if that meant she was going to have more losses.”

That last part never happened. Summitt finished with a career record of 1,098-208 in 38 seasons with the Lady Vols, including eight national championships. Winning mattered to the Tennessee native, but not as much as people.

”When you watch an interview they asked what is her greatest accomplishment? And her answer was ‘my son,’ ” Gamble said of Tyler Summitt, who grew up on his mother’s sideline in front of the nation and now is the head women’s coach at Louisiana Tech. ”She wanted the best for people.

”She went out of her way to help anyone.”

For instance, Gamble said, by starting the Pat Summitt Foundation, which helped raise funds for the disease she had been afflicted with.

”It was something that she did not have to do,” Gamble said. ”She went out and did this incredible thing, and it was an example for someone to do something no matter the circumstance.

”She exuded this level of confidence. When she walked into a room she commanded a respect. That’s an example you wanted to be like.

”There will never be another Pat Summitt.”

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