WBCA announces 20th ‘So You Want To Be A Coach’ class

ATLANTA (Jan. 24, 2023) — The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, in partnership with WeCOACH, is pleased to announce the class for the 20th “So You Want To Be A Coach” program. Each student-athlete will participate in the two-day workshop on March 30-31 during the 2023 WBCA Convention in Dallas.

So 20 logoThe “So” program increases the understanding and application of skills necessary to secure coaching positions in women’s basketball, increases the understanding and awareness of competencies necessary for success in coaching, introduces female basketball players to coaches and administrators, and raises awareness of the existing talent pool of female basketball players who have a passion and interest in coaching the game of women’s basketball.

“This year we commemorate the twentieth anniversary of ‘So You Want To Be A Coach,’ our longest-running education program,” said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. “Thanks to our partnership with WeCOACH, the program grows stronger each year and we look forward to another twenty years of preparing young, aspiring coaches to become great leaders and ambassadors for the game of women’s basketball.”

“We are grateful to the WBCA leadership for offering this one-of-a-kind program for the past 20 years,” said Vanessa Fuchs, WeCOACH CEO. “Our partnership with the ‘So’ program is critical in advancing our mission to build the pipeline of women coaches and helping these young leaders launch into the coaching profession. We are thrilled to welcome the 2023 class to Dallas and offer them a first-class, memorable experience.”

Here are the members of the 2023 “So You Want To Be A Coach” program class:

Name

Institution

Hannah Barber

Alabama

Shaila Beeler

Xavier

Grace Berger

Indiana

Brooke Bigott

Appalachian State

Ja’Kayla Bowie

Texas State

Emily Bramanti

Stonehill

Jordan Brock

Tennessee Tech

Diamond Brooks

Louisiana Monroe

Chrissy Brown

Southeastern Louisiana

Sydney Brown

Westmont

Demitre Burdick

Delaware

Alexis Burpo

Murray State

Dominique Camp

Akron

Annie Carlile

NYU

Paulina Castro

Northern Illinois

Riley Childs

George Mason

Kaiyah Corona

Dartmouth

Rodrea Echols

Arkansas-Fort Smith

Jordan Edwards

High Point

Shay Frederick

Butler

Abby Garnett

Ohio

Madison Green

James Madison

Janika Griffith Wallace

Virginia Commonwealth

Mia Heide

Duke

Nicole Heyn

Valdosta State

Danielle Hopkins

Cornerstone

Whitney Hopson

Shenandoah

Shynia Jackson

Jacksonville

Bonnie Jensen

Ripon

Justina King

Toledo

Cosette Kirsch

Covenant

Ariana Koivisto

Southern New Hampshire

Madison Lowery

Wingate

Charlotte Lowndes

Emory

Emma MacDonough

Saint Michael’s

Shawna Mell

Concordia (MN)

Madi Miller

Abilene Christian

Elissa Moore

Covenant

Maxine Moore

Wayne State

Joy Morton

Lincoln

Andressa Nascimento

Keiser

Anna Newman

Evansville

Rosalee Nicholson

Hofstra

Brooke Olson

Minnesota Duluth

Danielle Patterson

St. John’s

Allison Pearson

North Central

Lauryn Pointer

Cal State Monterey Bay

Laura Rodriguez

Missouri S&T

Sydney Schultz

Portland State

Mya Shannon

DePauw

Jewel Smalls

Delaware

Madisen Smith

West Virginia

Abigail Streeter

Hartford

Sirena Tuitele

UC Berkeley

Tatum Veitenheimer

Texas Tech

Mikayla Via

Lancaster Bible

Keowa Walters

Virginia Commonwealth

Jireh Washington

UT Arlington

De’Jah Weathersby

Northern Illinois

Kaela Webb

Florida Gulf Coast

Ryan Weise

East Stroudsburg

Alexis Whittington

Middle Tennessee

“So” participants will learn about the administrative side of coaching, recruiting, how to get hired, skill development, the importance of knowing the rules, and how to balance work and life.

Qualified candidates must have exhausted their final year of basketball eligibility at a four-year institution or have graduated within the past year and must be nominated by their WBCA-member head coach. Each participant is selected based on her academics, contributions to women’s basketball on and off the court, professional resume´ and a written recommendation from their head coach.

Visit WBCA.org for more information on the “So” program.

About the WBCA
The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women’s and girls’ basketball at all levels of competition. Founded in 1981, the WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to the organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. Visit WBCA.org for more details about the association.

About WeCOACH
Founded in 2011, WeCOACH is a one-of-a-kind nonprofit dedicated to recruiting, advancing, and retaining women coaches in all sports and levels through year-round professional growth & leadership development programs. Prior to Title IX, over 90% of women’s collegiate sports teams were coached by women. Today, 50 years later, data indicates that number has decreased to a stagnant 41% in all three NCAA Divisions, with only 7.3% women coaches of color.  Five percent of women coach men’s teams, and at the youth level, the data is hard to estimate, approximately less than 20% of teams are coached by women. As part of its year-long Title IX 50th Anniversary campaign, WeCOACH launched MOVE the NUMBERS to help change the landscape for women coaches and to impact history for the next 50 years. For more information, visit wecoachsports.org/50th.

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