Come April, Candice Hill, associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at St. John’s University, and Courtney Davidson, assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Fordham University, will be taking a huge step toward their futures in women’s college basketball.
Both have been selected for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Next Generation Institute, an educational program for experienced assistant coaches who aspire to become head coaches at the NCAA Division I, II, and III levels. The curriculum will focus on cultivating the skills to lead a program in the ever-changing world of intercollegiate athletics.
“This opportunity presented itself, and I thought it would be pretty helpful in helping me grow as a coach,” said Davidson. “It would be cool to learn as much as I can in spaces with other people who are like-minded or have more knowledge.”
Davidson’s entry into coaching came at the high school level. After entering the college coaching ranks, she found her educational background—an undergraduate degree in communications and a master’s in school counseling—highly beneficial.
“A lot of time, we as coaches are looked at as just Xs and Os and on-the-court things, so I think that my school counseling background has been able to help me build those relationships off the court and help prepare the players for things outside of basketball and life after basketball as well,” she said.
As a college senior, Hill participated in the WBCA’s “So You Want to Be a Coach” program, which laid a foundation for her coaching career. She knows the Next Generation Institute will provide crucial insights.
“I hope to learn and grow toward my ultimate goal, which is to be a head coach, and to continue to build my network and get to know people—put myself in uncomfortable positions so that I can grow and become what I ultimately want to be,” said Hill.
Hill initially pursued a career other than basketball, but her love of the sport and desire to coach was strong thanks to “that feeling of helping and giving back to the game that has given so much to me,” she said. “I feel like I have a purpose.”
The WBCA uses the analogy that the head coach is the CEO of the team. St. John’s head coach Joe Tartamella has allowed Hill to experience some of those aspects in recruiting and academics.
“He has challenged me to have that CEO feel,” she said.