University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldog Graduates to Pursue Coaching Careers
07.05.2016 | Women's Basketball
Asheville, N.C. - When you are talented and motivated enough, playing a sport in college can become a natural next step in your athletic career coming out of high school. But, it takes a little something more to get you through those six a.m. workouts, two-a-day workouts and impossibly close losses- and leave you wanting more. To take everything you can from your collegiate playing experience, and choose to pursue your sport after your eligibility is exhausted, you have to have the love of the game.
Both graduating seniors from the UNC Asheville women's basketball program, Paige Love and Tyler Smith have chosen to share their love of the game by continuing their careers in basketball in graduate assistant coaching positions this fall.
Smith will attend Kansas Wesleyan University, pursuing her MBA, while Love will be attending Texas State University, pursuing a master's degree in Exercise Science.
“I am so proud of both Paige and Tyler for the work they have done at UNC Asheville that has allowed them to obtain these competitive graduate assistant opportunities. They both demonstrated the ability to lead and serve our team in different capacities and they will take that mentality and work ethic to their respective institutions. As a coach I am an advocate of young women seeking for and accepting opportunities to coach women's basketball,” said head coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick.
Love made the decision to attend Texas State after meeting members of the coaching staff and interviewed for the position at the WBCA's “So You Want to Be a Coach?” program held in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Final Four earlier this year.
“When I left the convention, I knew that Texas State was where I wanted to be,” Love said. “Their values aligned with mine, and I really liked that their program was similar to ours in that they wanted all-around student-athletes who were not only great basketball players, but spent time serving their community and pursuing their goals in the classroom as well.”
As the first student-athlete to receive the William and Ida Friday Award for community service, Love brings experience in time management and a commitment to serve from her time at Asheville. While she hopes to use her strengths to make an immediate impact on the program, she also has goals she hopes to achieve in her first year.
“In my first year, I really want to work on my transition from player to coach. I know that is going to be a tough battle for me because of how much I love to be on the court, but I really hope to find my voice and how I can best contribute to the program. Oh- and of course I want to win another Championship and get back to the tournament!” Love said.
For fellow graduate Smith, the decision was not as clear cut at first.
“When I graduated, I really thought that I wanted to gain some more work experience before heading back to graduate school,” said Smith. “I returned to work where I had been an intern for the past few years but I began to feel like it wasn't where I was supposed to be right now. I was open to both jobs and graduate assistant positions, so I just started to apply.”
After changing course, finding her niche took hardly any time at all.
“Once I applied to Kansas Wesleyan, the coach immediately responded. Shortly after, we set up an interview and within a few days he offered me the position. I took some time to think it over, but when I thought about it, it was an easy decision,” she said.
Smith said she immediately had a good feeling about the team and the family atmosphere that reminded her of her time as a Bulldog.
“I really hope that in my first year I can develop a strong connection with the team. I think that with this coaching opportunity, I can serve in a similar role that I did as a player, and that will help me with the transition.”
Love and Smith were integral parts of the 2016 Bulldog women's basketball team that delivered the number one turnaround season in Division I. Asheville bounced back from an overall record of 9-22 in 2014-15, to improve to a record of 26-7 in the 2015-16 season, including the program's first ever regular season conference title, a Conference Championship tournament title and an NCAA first round appearance.
They have experienced plenty of wins and losses and learned their fair share of lessons as Bulldogs, but the most important thing they will take with them from Asheville is a true love of the game.
“We want to continue to develop and groom young female coaches to excel and enjoy long careers in this profession. We wish Tyler and Paige the best and will be supporting them from Asheville in their future endeavors," Kirkpatrick said.
