By Abbie Wolf
Northwestern sophomore forward
You have seen the student-athletes on and off the court. You have seen and heard from head coach Joe McKeown all season. But what about the staff who operate behind the scenes? Northwestern is blessed with assistant coaches and support staff who handle the game-planning, logistics, and training that go into making this team the best it can be. Sophomore forward Abbie Wolf highlights a few of the faces who make the program run in this NUsports.com photo essay.
Director of Operations Tiana Myers waits for everyone to file onto the bus for a road trip to Wisconsin. "Tiana's job is to basically plan out every second of our lives," said first-year guard Jordan Hamilton. Head coach Joe McKeown credits Myers' discipline and organization for keeping the program running smoothly. The trick? "You always have to stay three or four steps ahead," said Myers.
Assistant coach Tiffany Coppage sips on tea with "extra, extra, extra" lemon on the way to Purdue. Coach Coppage is constantly trying to utilize her time on the bus to break down her next scout. "Always got film to watch, the grind never stops," she said.
Coppage and first-year guard Lauryn Satterwhite have a special bond as Satterwhite was the first player she signed as the team's recruiting coordinator. "She has a personality like a ball of energy," Coppage said. A former student-athlete herself, Coppage feels it is her responsibility to develop these young women into great people.
After watching about 17 hours of film on Purdue, assistant coach Tasha Pointer knows what makes the Wildcats' opponent tick. "It's almost like playing chess, you can figure out the next substitution, what happens if their team goes down, will they press," she said. "It is as though you have been in their practice leading up to game day."
Pointer embraces one of her two daughters, Nariah Yamoah, before the team's film session the morning of the Purdue game. Pointer feels fortunate she does not have to choose between her profession and her kids. Her girls love coming to practices and going on road trips. Nariah said that she aspires to be a Northwestern basketball player one day just like her "big sisters."
Assistant Director of Operations Katie Sullivan works at shoot-around before the Wisconsin game. Sullivan's primary role is coding and capturing video—not just game film, but also every practice, and coding footage from the opponent's past few games. She live codes during games so coaches have immediate access to film on the way home. Sullivan's job makes it so "coaches literally just have to coach."
"I'm a wounded animal, and Kathleen takes care of me like she is my mother," said first-year guard Lindsey Pulliam, as athletic trainer Kathleen Buckingham gives her a soft-tissue massage. Buckingham is responsible for injury prevention, rehabilitation, communicating with doctors, and assessing health. Buckingham said with a sigh, "A lot of people think I just tape ankles."
Assistant Director of Sports Performance Lesley Moser does a dumbbell row during a workout with senior guard and captain Lydia Rohde in the hotel before the Wisconsin game. Moser is in charge of programming and monitoring all strength and conditioning training for the team. Rohde said Moser "wants to know exactly what you want to get out of things and then she tailors the workouts based on that."
Moser sends out weekly updates to the coaching staff based on stress and intensity forms the student-athletes fill out online after every workout. First-year guard Jordan Hamilton said that Moser is always on top of the numbers and can predict where she wants the players' bodies two weeks, or even several months, from now.
Assistant coach Kate Popovec's usual one hour makeup routine is about more than just looks: It is a chance to step away from the chaos and soothe before the game.