BY KEITH HEJNA, Athletic Communications Student Assistant
New Penn State women's basketball coach, Coquese Washington - or "Coach Quese" as her players call her - has infused youth and vigor into the program.
Washington, 36, with blond dreadlocks and an athlete's build, looks and sounds more like a player than a coach. She speaks in slang, playfully jokes with her team and has a smile permanently fixed on her face. "[She is] younger; more hip to what we're into now-a-days; more willing to make changes," said sophomore forward Meredith Monroe.
On the court, Washington is a dynamo. "She is always out there shooting and trying to play us one-on-one," said senior guard Kamela Gissendanner. "It's exciting to see how much energy she has."
Washington likes to have fun during practice, but gets serious when it comes time to work. "She doesn't like us walking at any time," Monroe said. "We are always sprinting to another drill. She's very disciplined with running."
Her hard-line approach toward conditioning has not had ill effects on the relationship she has with her players. "Even after practice, after I've made them run, we still have a good rapport," Washington said.
She has worked on building team chemistry off the court so that they function better together on the court. Sometimes, in lieu of a preseason practice, Washington would hold two-hour team meetings in the locker room where the players and coaches got to know each other. "We would talk about our likes, dislikes, motivations, fears, goals...a lot of things," she said.
Though she is the boss on the court, Washington keeps things casual off it. She invited the team over to her house where they played Pyramid and met her family. "Outside of practice, it's almost like she is trying to be your friend or your mentor, instead of your authority figure," freshman center Janessa Wolff said.
Washington has created a bond between her blood family and her basketball family, allowing her two-year-old son, Quenton, to scurry around the court during practice. He has become the Lady Lions' unofficial mascot.
In addition to linking her team to her family, Washington plans to fortify the link between her team and her community. "I don't just simply want to do community service for the sake of doing community service," she said. "I want to work with projects that I am passionate about."
Her passion, along with her dual perspectives of coach and player, were factors in Penn State's decision to hire her.
Washington compares becoming the new head coach of the Lady Lions to becoming a player in the WNBA. Walking into the Bryce Jordan Center and looking up at the Big Ten championship and NCAA tournament banners was like walking into the Great Western Forum and seeing the retired jerseys of Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabar, she says. "You get goosebumps because you're walking on the floor of history," she said.
Washington is no stranger to making history. She is Penn State's first female African-American head coach. After graduating from Notre Dame, she put her law degree to use by founding the WNBA Players Association. While acting as an official spokesperson for the players, Washington became the first player to lead three different WNBA teams (New York Liberty, Houston Comets, Indiana Fever), to the playoffs. She was also an assistant coach at Notre Dame for eight seasons, including the 2001 season when they won the NCAA Championship.
This invaluable postseason experience bodes well for the Lady Lions, who have not made the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons.
"You don't just wind up in postseason play because you want to; there is a process about it," Washington said. "Having gone through that eight times as a coach, I understand where you need to be at certain times of the year to make postseason play a reality."
Washington's short list of goals does not include getting to the postseason, winning a national or conference championship, or simply finishing with a winning record.
Her aim is to improve as the season progresses. "I know that's not the answer people want to hear," she said. "But I hate to put a limit on us."
What other people want and who other people think she should be are not concerns of Washington's. "I'm not trying to fill anyone's shoes," she said. "I'm just trying to be me."