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| The team's freshmen, from left: forward Cameron Brink, guards Jana Van Gytenbeek and Agnes Emma-Nnopu |
Several themes dominated associate head coach Kate
Paye’s comments during a recent phone interview.
Two of them were uncertainty and hope for the
Stanford women’s basketball team. Another was pride in how well the players and
staff are growing.
Yet another was the challenges the team and
university face in light of the coronavirus pandemic gripping the nation.
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| Kate |
It’s a “very unusual time,” she said. (Except for a few
centenarians), this is everyone’s “first time through a pandemic.”
Everyone
went home
It all started March 12 when the NCAA cancelled the
tournament, in which Stanford was expected to do well. Instead, the coaches
held a team meeting, and all of the players went home.
That’s where they are now, but they’ve adjusted well,
Kate said. They’re taking classes online.
Everyone has a place to work out, and strength and
conditioning coach Ali Kershner has crafted individual plans.
Players
stay in touch
Returning players have created workout videos for the
freshmen: guards Agnes Emma-Nnopu and Jana Van Gytenbeek and forward Cameron
Brink.
Jana and sophomore forwards Fran Belibi and Ashten
Prechtel, who all live in Colorado, have worked out together, sometimes joined
by other teammates.
Weekly calls on Tuesdays feature speakers such as
SWBB alums Nneka Ogwumike, ’12; and Susan King Borchardt, ’05; along with
retired WNBA great Kara Lawson, Duke’s new head coach; and others.
The players also stay in touch through small group Zoom
calls. They have to be timed just right because Agnes lives in Victoria,
Australia, which is 17 hours ahead of PDT. The staff meets via Zoom, too. “Zoom
is our new best friend,” Kate said.
Social
unrest adds to issues
On top of coronavirus and all the havoc it has
caused, the team is acutely aware of the social unrest sweeping the country as
part of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The players have had some tough conversations around
this issue. Each week an individual player shares her thoughts in a Facebook
video.
It’s “a tremendous learning and growing process. I’m
proud of our team,” Kate said.
Two
new coaches
Here’s yet another wrinkle. The team has two new
assistant coaches, Katy Steding and Britney Anderson.
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| Katy |
Katy,’90, head coach Tara VanDerveer’s first
signed recruit, helped lead the team to its first national championship her
senior year. She played professionally before becoming a coach, most recently at
the University of San Francisco. She and her husband, John, have moved closer
to Stanford.
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| Britney |
Britney comes from coaching at her alma mater,
Virginia Tech. She and her mother were on her way to Stanford as Kate spoke.
Katy and Britney succeed assistant coaches Lindy La
Rocque and Tempie Brown. Lindy is head coach at the University of Nevada Las
Vegas, her hometown.
Tempie
moves, stays home with kids
Tempie has stepped away from coaching to be more
involved with her family. She and her spouse have moved to Michigan, where her spouse
has a new job. Tempie is a stay-at-home mom with their two youngsters, ages 4
and 1.
She’s doing well and stays in touch with her
Stanford colleagues.
In the meantime, Kate has had to help her two
daughters, ages 9 and 5, with their at-home schooling. It didn’t go well at
first, she said, joking that she realized she’s a better coach than elementary
school teacher.
Kate gave the interview while on vacation with the
girls.
Back to sports, Kate said “it’s really sad” that
Stanford Athletics made the tough decision to eliminate 11 varsity sports at
the end of the ’20-21 academic year for financial reasons. “These are our family
members,” she said.
Uncertainty
for international students
Adding to the uncertainty is the status of the
team’s two international players, Agnes and senior forward Alyssa Jerome, who
lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said
that international college students might not be allowed into the country if
classes are online only. Stanford, along with other schools, has asked the department
to change that stance, Kate said. (That policy was rescinded July 14.)
“We are hopeful of returning (to campus) in the
fall, (but) we don’t know,” she said. Classes start Sept. 14.
“We’re trying to keep everybody healthy” in all
ways. The players are getting out the message to wear masks, wash hands and
maintain social distance.
“There’s so much uncertainty,” she said, summing up
the current outlook.
Nevertheless, the team has adopted “Widen the gap” as
this year’s theme. It means widening the
gap between SWBB and its competitors.
Photos
from Stanford Athletics
