Tamika Newman

About Me:

I attended Mac Arthur High School in Houston, Texas where I was a 3 sport athlete participating in Volleyball, Basketball, and Track. I excelled in all 3 leading my volleyball and basketball teams to the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. I also was a State Qualifier in the Discus. I went on to attend Prairie View A&M University where I played volleyball and basketball.

While there, I was apart of the 2006 Volleyball SWAC Championship Team and completed my career as the 2007 SWAC player of the year, 1st Team All-SWAC, multiple SWAC player of the week honors, and my 2006 Team was inducted into the 2016 PVAMU Hall of Fame Class. I was only a member of the Lady Panthers Women’s Basketball Team for the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

I earned a B.A in Communications in 2008 and an MBA at Texas Southern University in 2010.

I have 1 daughter, Zuri Rene Taylor.

My freshman year of college was a really tough transition for me. My volleyball coach seemed to coach me a little harder than everyone else and constantly asked me to give more. Being a self-starter all my life, I took great offense to this and we didn't have the best chemistry at all. Frustrated, I walked into her office one day and informed her that I wanted to transfer to another school. She and I had a long talk and I eventually had a change of heart. As the years went on I became more receptive to her feedback. By my senior season, she never had to tell me anything. That season I won conference player of the year unanimously.

I truly believed that it wasn't that I was lazy or uncoachable, but I truly was made uncomfortable and my first thought was to make excuses and shift blame. It wasn't until I was receptive to what she was trying to do as my coach that I reached my potential. My goal is to help younger athletes realize this sooner.