New BCC Women’s Basketball Coach Takes Charge

Jim Grimes Eager To Transform Program

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Jim Grimes’ philosophy as the Brevard Community College women’s basketball coach comes down to four factors.

“I want to recruit kids who want to do four things: They are going to be tough, they’re going to play hard, they’re going to play smart, they’re going to play together,” said Grimes, 41, who was named interim head coach on Monday replacing Renee Bellamy who was reassigned.

“That’s how I’ll measure whether we’re doing well or not. To me it’s not going to be a lot about winning and losing. If we do those four things we are going to win more than we lose. But we’re going to play very, very hard. We’re going to give full effort and we’re going to play fast.

“Not in a hurry, but fast.”

Although it’s only March, Grimes is working fast. He is recruiting, seeking an assistant coach, scheduling games and most importantly getting to know his players.

After all, the quality of his players will determine what kind of team he puts on the floor. If nothing else, his players will compete.

Competitive spirit

“I like to compete,” he said. “The women will pick up on that quickly. If you have kids who don’t want to compete you’re in trouble.

“I focus on the process over the result. But I love to compete. I want to compete, I want to win.”

And that desire transcends the won-loss column.

“You have to be willing to compete in everything,” Grimes said. “It’s got to matter to you. Everything’s got to matter to you. I want them, when we do a drill I want it to mean the last possession to go to the state tournament.

“You have to set that bar where when we walk into that gym it’s important, whatever we’re doing. If you’re in the gym by yourself and you’re shooting 500 shots, it matters.

“I want them to compete in everything they do.”

But to Grimes there is more to it than just doing.

“A lot of times people focus on ‘do this, do this, do this, do this.’ What I want them to do is focus on being something. I talked to them about how good people, they make good decisions. Good people do things their best.

Recruiting

“I want to recruit a certain type of kid; we want to be a certain type of team. If I don’t have a kid who wants to compete in the classroom, or in life, then there’s not some magic switch they are going to flip when they get into the gym.

“I want to find people who are willing to compete and what they are doing is important.”

Grimes has a base of being a successful high school and college point guard and shooting guard and then a successful high school head coach and assistant at the collegiate level.

Coaching wise at Covenant Christian School in Palm Bay, his Lions boys teams won two district championships, three conference titles and appeared in five consecutive Florida High School Athletic Association regional tournaments from 2006 to 2010.

Over that five-year span, Grimes’ team went 43-5 in district play. He was a two-time Covenant Coach of the Year.

At BCC Grimes spent two seasons with Jeremy Shulman — who has resurrected the moribund Titans men’s program — as an assistant coach and last season as associate head coach.

Family man

Grimes also is a man of deep faith, a husband and a father to four girls, two of whom play basketball.

He has made the adjustment from the commitment and expectations of high school athletics to those at the college level where a coach is much more than just a coach.

He is well aware of being responsible for his athletes 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Here you’re their mom and their dad and their everything,” he said. “You are involved. It’s about making sure they’re in class and making sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to do. It’s all day, every day.”

As for how he will coach — as far as standing or sitting or the volume of his encouragement in a profession known for its high decibel level from the bench — it’s a bit too early to tell.

But he does know what he will be coaching toward.

“I want to coach them to excellence,” he said. And he will draw upon the methods of the plethora of highly successful peers.

“I try to study as many successful coaches as I can,” he said. “If there is anything good and I think it can help us I try to use it.

“In the end I have to find my niche, my approach to doing things. It won’t take long.”

Similar Stories