Brock University’s women’s basketball team is entering a new chapter with the arrival of head coach Shae Dheensaw.
As a former player for Washington State University (WSU), Dheensaw achieved significant milestones throughout her collegiate career. Playing in over 112 games, including 50 starts, she tallied 335 points and recorded the fifth-most blocked shots [98] in WSU history.
A former lead assistant coach for Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), Dheensaw helped guide the team to an undefeated season culminating in a national championship in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and U SPORTS. Under her coaching style, the team achieved a perfect 14-0 record in the conference play and entered the Final 8 championship ranked number one. They defeated University of Prince Edward Island, Brock University and Winnipeg, securing the team’s first national championship and the university’s [TMU] second overall.
Dheensaw is thrilled to be a part of the Badger family and is eager to begin her journey as the head coach of the women’s basketball team.
“I am excited to learn and to remain fiercely competitive in a new way. I am a student of the athletes, and I am learning from them as much as they are learning from me. Every year brings a new group, new challenges, new areas of success and new levels of knowledge,” said Dheensaw.
Dheensaw expressed her enthusiasm for taking on the role of head coach, citing her inspiration as “the people (student-athletes, student supporters, community members, department members etc). The people that surround this university made me see that ‘excellence’ is achievable here at all levels. That, paired with the strong women’s basketball history that is only in its 60th year is incredibly exciting,” said Dheensaw.
Every coach has their own philosophies and Dheensaw detailed her core coaching principles and how she plans to implement them with the team.
“5 for 50: we get student-athletes for five years to set them up for the next 50; and that is going to mean different things for different individuals. We get people at a unique time in their lives where they start to figure out who they are in their adult lives. While they are building this identity, basketball has united completely different people with different upbringings [and] personalities under one university with a desire to ‘win’. It’s our responsibility to use basketball as a vessel to teach our people unity, resilience, passion, humility and thankfulness to win championships, and create champions in their desired areas of growth,” says Dheensaw.
Dheensaw is well aware that when creating a successful team, maintaining a relationship with the greater athletic community is crucial.
“The community of our program/athletic department is incredibly important to us and extremely impactful! We want to protect the home court which means making it a tough environment for opponents, and an enjoyable [and] hyped environment for our student-athletes. I can’t wait to create that with various philanthropy plans that our program has,” said Dheensaw.
Like any other team, success goes beyond just wins and losses, and Dheensaw shared her thoughts on this broader perspective.
“We never focus on the wins and losses alone; every win [and] lose has a deeper story to it. We have measurements within our core values and statistical goals that will assist in assessing the true ‘wins’ and ‘areas of growth’ despite the actual outcome,” said Dheensaw.
The excitement is palpable as Brock University’s women’s basketball team begins their season under Shae Dheensaw’s leadership. Her focus on developing student-athletes sets the stage for a successful season.
As we look forward to the journey ahead, there’s no doubt that Dheensaw’s leadership will inspire growth, unity and a fiery Badger spirit.
