Chalan Pago-Ordot (Guam) - The coronavirus pandemic has the world at a standstill, with most, if not all sports-related activities canceled or postponed.

With people around the globe practicing quarantine and social distancing, Guam Men's assistant coach and U17 Boys head coach Brent Tipton has turned to social media to try and help inspire his countrymen in this tumultuous time.

FIBA interviewed Tipton via email to share his thoughts and intention in sharing his goals and inspiration through social media.

What pushed you to share your goals on social media?

Learning from what other coaches share during this time of quarantine through their social media accounts has given me ideas on how to spend my time and has inspired me to share my goals via Twitter and Facebook. It is also a source of accountability where if one makes their goals public, then someone can come alongside you and ask whether or not we are meeting our goals.

An excellent two-way teacher, ⁦@lono610⁩ does an excellent job breaking down teaching progressions for the PnR. Highly recommend! Thank you or all you share coach! 🙌🏼 https://t.co/TY82hisO6o

— Brent Tipton (@coachbtipton) March 24, 2020

How did you decide on your goals? What are the reasons?

All life-long learner’s in any profession dream of a large chunk of time to study and grow personally and professionally without having to take a sabbatical. I saw the incredible opportunity of the next few weeks of quarantine somewhat as a sabbatical to grow personally and professionally as a coach. I want to look back on this short period of time knowing I did not waste a moment to grow as a husband, father, and coach. Our circumstances might be all different but we all have the same 24 hours in a day and to spend them wisely is something I am sensitive too.

Where do you get the inspiration or materials to follow through?

The inspiration behind these goals over the quarantine is a result of knowing what is my “life’s calling.” First and foremost my life’s calling is to be a present husband and father. Intentionally making the time to focus on my wife and son’s needs, which essentially is quality time being present, is a significant priority for me. The second part of my life’s calling is coaching the game of basketball and realizing that coaching is an art that won’t ever be mastered. I desire to positively influence my players to not only grow in their love and knowledge of the game but use the game to shape their character choices by holistically concentrating on whole-person development. Every aspect of the game challenges a player’s work ethic and response to adversity. If I can influence players to make positive character choices in their work ethic and responses to adversity, I have fulfilled my calling as a coach.

This mornings virtual clinic topic with @RadiusAthletics was reading the Down-screen.
3 Takeaways:
1️⃣Cutters- “Set up, wait, cut hard and late”
2️⃣Screeners- make defender’s “line of recovery” thru the screeners chest
3️⃣Passers- “Center the ball” by taking the ball to the action pic.twitter.com/iH4JWUKHBB

— Brent Tipton (@coachbtipton) March 23, 2020

What do you think are the benefits of continuing to work out?

Working out is my stress reliever and has been for the past 6 or 7 years. I certainly am no bodybuilder or physique contestant but getting to the gym 5-6 times a week has been a physical goal of mine and now that I cannot make it to the gym, I have my bodyweight exercises and TRX ready. My goal is to do some type of physical activity for 60 minutes a day. It’s not only important to take care of our bodies with exercise and a nutritious diet but also practice mindfulness to take care of our emotions, especially in the uncertainty of what’s currently going on in the world.

What is your message to the basketball fans and the rest of the people on the island?

I want to encourage my fellow coaches and Guamanians to use this opportunity of a mandated quarantine to get 1% better each day. I believe that those who will be most fulfilled at the end of this quarantine will be those who have intentionally planned out what they will do with the abundance of time by setting specific goals. Using our time to develop personally and professionally will result in growth that will benefit us in the long term. When everything goes back to normal we will either look back at our time during the quarantine and feel fulfilled or feel guilty based on how we spent our time. How powerful would it be if we took the approach of being intentional with our time and became more loving and more patient family members, and more passionate, and knowledgeable as professionals.

FIBA