By Melinda Barger

Staff Writer

Jill Peterson, an assistant coach

for the women’s basketball team

at Cornerstone University, loves

her new coaching job.

Even through all the hamstring

and knee injuries she has been

through, she still loves the sport and

keeps playing and now coaching.

Peterson graduated in May

2009 with a degree in business

sports management and a minor

in media. After she graduated,

she started assisting Fles. She is

now working as an athletics office

manager part time for Cornerstone

University. This is her first official

year to assist, but in previous years

she has student assisted the team.

“Coach Carla Fles is a great

person to assist,” Peterson said.

“You learn a lot from her. She is a

very knowledgeable coach.”

Jenna Plewes, who also played

on the team and graduated last

year, is the other assistant coach

with Peterson. They both assist

basketball coach Fles.

“There are a lot more frustrations

as a coach than as a basketball

player; you see the game at a

whole new level,” said Peterson.

“There is a lot the coach invests

into the game. Coaches use a lot

of time to study plays.”

Peterson says she is a very athletic

person. Ever since she was a

child, she has played basketball,

softball and many other sports,

she said. Basketball is her favorite

sport but she loves playing softball

as well.

Peterson has had many injuries

while playing sports. She has

injured her knee three times and

has pulled two of her hamstrings.

While Peterson attended college,

she played basketball and women’s

softball for the Cornerstone team.

She played basketball and softball

for a total of five years; because of

hamstring and knee injuries she

resigned one season in each sport.

She said her team supported

her a lot during her injuries.

“The support from the team is

what got me through the injuries,”

Peterson said. After the knee surgery

she had to go through rehab.

It was a very hard time, but her

basketball team was there for her.

Even after all her injuries, Peterson

still wanted to play basketball. “I

love playing with the team whether

we win or lose,” she said. “I just like

to be around the team.”

Even though she had a lot of

pain through time, she said she

had to trust in God. Peterson

thinks it is easier to trust in God

when accidents happen to her.

Peterson said when accidents

happen to other people, it is really

hard for her to trust in God.

Peterson played half a season with

some of the players she coaches.

“Last year was my first time

assistant student coaching. My knee

started to feel better, so I played

on the team again,” Peterson said.

“Even though I was a basketball

player and not assistant coach, I still

felt like coach on the court.”

“When I was little, I didn’t know

what I wanted to be when I grow

up,” Peterson said. “I never really

thought about it too much,” Peterson

said. She would watch all the

Chicago Bulls games on television.

She wrote out all the names of the

players on the team and kept track

of the scores when they scored.

Many times Peterson would try

and learn what the coach would

do during a game and learn how to

keep stats. Peterson never told people

that she wanted to coach, but she

loves coaching so much.

Basketball is always on her

mind, she said, even when she is

not at the game or preparing for

the game. “What I enjoy is what I

do,” Peterson said.