Lauren Fields knows what she wants to do next.
That’s what made one of the latest group activities from Arizona coach Adia Barnes a little easier for her.
A few weeks ago, Barnes tasked the Wildcats with making vision boards during a gathering at her house. At first, most of the Wildcats were wondering exactly what a vision board was, but once they started digging into to it, they all had fun.
“Every day you can look at something and it reminds you what you want to work towards,” Fields said. “I really do look at it every day and use it as motivation to get where I want to be. … This helped make things clearer and break down my goals for the future.”
For the 5-foot-9-inch senior guard, who is averaging 7 points and 2.6 assists per game and has 15 steals in the first seven games of the season, her post-UA career means playing professional basketball and opening her own business that focuses on mental health and sports.
Fields keeps her board in her bedroom, so it’s a constant reminder of where she is headed.
No-12-ranked Arizona (7-0) is coming off a 77-60 win at New Mexico and next faces Kansas (7-0) at McKale Center on Thursday.
For Fields and her teammates, the vision boards were full of things for life after basketball, as well as what they’d like to accomplish now.
And that ties into why Barnes had each of the Wildcats create their own.
Barnes doesn’t remember exactly when she started making them or who suggested she do it — but does know she was in her 20s. Barnes said, “Every single thing I’ve put on my vision boards, I’ve achieved.”
“Through all my moves … being in different cities and playing in different places over the years, I would sometimes find my vision boards in boxes and say, ‘Wow! I accomplished everything on my vision boards,’” Barnes said.
All her important goals end up on the board. She cuts out photos, words and letters from magazines and glues them onto a board.
Barnes has seen how powerful it can be to visual her goals. Seeing it daily — her latest is in her office — just reinforces them.
Hearing that Barnes has done this both as a player and now as a coach, made vision boards more inspiring to the Wildcats.
“To hear her say that she created those, especially just because of how successful she is, you wouldn’t think that she took out time just to create a vision board and speak things into existence,” Fields said. “I think that was motivating for all of us.”
Jade Loville added that this has given her more insights into the drive and mental strength that she sees in Barnes.
Even though freshman Maya Nnaji has vocalized her goals — becoming a doctor, helping those who are less fortunate than her and giving back to children in Nigeria, where her father grew up — this activity had extra meaning.
“Seeing your life’s goals laid out and things you want to become was fun,” Nnaji said. “… everyone definitely has the goals they want to chase in life outside of basketball — the majors that they’re pursuing, whether it’s in broadcasting or starting a company or going into like fashion. I think our team is very diverse in terms of things they want to do after basketball.
“I think it’s cool that all these unique people meet up at this same place on the same team and we all gel together to achieve our basketball goals. Then we’ll go off in different ways and I’ll be able to say I know Lauren — she has a mental health and sports company. That’d be so cool. Being able to know each other before our dreams come true. Then hearing about the success stories from all my teammates in the future.”
Nnaji also learned that her “twin” Lemyah Hylton wants to become a nurse. These two, like to say they have “twin-tuition” because they have the same name, wear the same shoes and have good chemistry on the court.
The teammate who impressed Loville was Lauren Ware. Ware, who is out for the season with her patella injury, has stayed close to her teammates attending practices and games, as well as participating in team activities such as creating the vision boards.
“Hers was about patience and timing and just trusting the process,” Loville said. “I think she’s done such a great job of showing up every day, being loud on the sidelines. There’s never a dull moment with her. She’s always laughing, bringing a smile to the team’s faces. That’s so hard to do when you can’t be out there with your team.
“I can really appreciate her just having a great positive energy every day and still giving the team what we need. till hearing her on the sidelines cheering us on and having her every single, you know, event activity. … that really speaks for the culture of our team but also just for her as a leader on this team.”
Loville and Fields both said that their previous coaches never did all these outside-of-basketball activities. This is just one of the things that makes Barnes stand out.
“(Coach Adia) takes each and every one of us under her wing in a different way,” Loville said. “She values each of us so much that you can really feel the energy and the sacrifice that she puts into us. There’s a lot of thought put behind everything that she does. I think just the way that she intentionally moves with each of us allows us to grow.
“That’s everything to have a coach that values you, not just on the court but off the court. Our visions that aren’t just on the court, but what do you want for your life off the court and that’s something that she emphasized. This isn’t just a basketball thing. Manifest the things that you want in your life and for your families. I love that. It makes me want to go 10 times harder for her and I definitely will.”
