July 8, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - His collegiate career might be over, but Mike Battle is not done with basketball. Battle, who spent three years at UCF, earned his bachelor's degree in early May and now is working towards a career in coaching.
This summer, the Maryland native worked as a counselor at Kirk Speraw's Basketball Camps on campus. Battle envisions himself coaching at the high school level.
"I love having the opportunity to work camps," he said. "I like working with kids. I like helping them get better."
Serving as a counselor also gave Battle the opportunity to get a better feel for coaching. The soft-spoken former shooting guard also worked on being more vocal when coaching campers.
As a senior in 2007-08, Battle appeared in 19 contests and averaged 4.4 points. Known for his shooting ability, he connected on 20 3-pointers during the year. He originally arrived at UCF before the 2005-06 campaign after attending Paris Junior College in Texas, but sat out his first year in Orlando due to injury.
Despite spending three years at UCF, Battle says that the time on campus passed quickly.
"It went by in a blink of an eye. It feels like yesterday that I got here." Battle missed several contests during the 2007-08 season due to a leg injury, but he says that he is now playing pickup games three or four times per week.
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