Several well-known and respected coaches in the Quebec basketball community will join head coach Tenicha Gittens’ Concordia Stingers women’s basketball staff.
Gittens is pleased to announce Denburk Reid, Natasha Eadie and Sarah Gagné will assist her in guiding the Stingers this season.
“I’m very excited to have these coaches,” she said. “We all bring something different to the program both on and off the court. We are all hungry, driven and passionate about basketball. Most importantly, we are all very concerned about our players’ well-being. We’re very committed to their success on and off the court.”
Reid, a native of Montreal, was a five-time all-star guard for the McGill Redmen from 2000-05. He played semi-pro basketball for the Montreal Matrix. His coaching experience includes time with the McGill University men’s program and running the Red Rush Basketball and Leadership Program with the Montreal Community Cares Foundation.
He will work with the Stinger point guards and lead the team’s community outreach initiatives.
“He brings a wealth of knowledge for the game from both the university and professional level that our young players will undoubtedly benefit from,” Gittens said. “He brings passion. He has heart. He’s very animated. He’s very big in community involvement which will help our programs visibility and reaching out to the community.”
Eadie, also a Montreal native, came out of the Dawson College program and went onto a successful career at the University College of Cape Breton where she played from 2005-08. She was a two-time AUS all-star guard. She joined the women’s basketball staff at Dawson College in 2008 and leaves them to join the Stingers.
Eadie will assist with the development of our guards, and she will co-ordinate the Stingers’ recruiting efforts.
“She brings an energy and passion for the game that I’ve personally been witness to on and off the court,” Gittens said. “Our players will feed off of that. She is well connected in the basketball community and she will be instrumental in driving our recruiting efforts.”
Gagné is a native of Gaspé, Que., who played her Cégep basketball at Dawson College where she was named her team MVP in 2000. She went on to play for the McGill Martlets from 2001-06 and was a two-time Quebec all-star. She has coaching experience at McGill and at the high school level. She is also respected for her work as a strength coach.
She will assist with the development of the post players.
“Sarah has a lot of basketball knowledge and experience,” said Gittens. “Her background in strength and conditioning will be very important and a big help in moving our program forward.”
Gittens and her team have started workouts, continue to recruit and are eager to get the season under way.
