In this episode, Coach Mercer shares how he thought his father was coming back at the age of six. It wasn’t until he was ten that he realized he wasn’t, and grief set in, and how then, sports became his grief therapy.
Anthony Mercer directed the Eastern North Carolina Basketball Exposure Camps for college basketball prospects from 2000 to 2010. In addition, he has directed the “Total Skills” Basketball Instructional Camps since 2003. These camps, conducted with NBA All-Stars Carmelo Anthony, Bradley Beal, Kemba Walker, John Wall, and many other professionals. Camps have been held in Eastern North Carolina, Northern Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland. He has trained players from middle school to the professional level.
In 2020 Coach Mercer published his book “Sports Heaven: Why sports is a haven for the fatherless/motherless child.” The book explains at age six after his father died how sports helped him succeed.
Anthony is a Desert Shield/Storm U.S. Army War Veteran and a P.E. teacher for many years. In terms of his career paths, he says his life has been like a real-life Forrest Gump.
