Longtime Rams coach Sandy Pothier passes
The Ryerson Athletics and basketball communities are mourning the loss of Sandy Pothier, who passed away on January 21, 2012 after a courageous two-year battle with cancer. She was 50.
The former Ryerson Rams women's basketball coach is respected and remembered as a women of influence, leader, coach, teacher and friend.
Pothier coached the Rams for 18 seasons and is the longest serving coach in team history. She mentored and coached over 220 student-athletes, including 32 OUA all-stars and award winners at Ryerson.
In her final year with the Rams in 2009-10, Pothier guided her squad to its best-ever regular season with a record of 14 wins and 8 losses. Four of her players were also recognized with OUA awards and all-star selections that same year, the most of any team in the OUA East Division.
A bursary of $5,000 a year was established at Ryerson University in Pothier's honour in October of 2010.
Pothier achieved many wonderful milestones in her life. She worked as an apprentice coach for the Canadian National Team and was an Olympian who worked as a scouting coach at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
She spent five years coaching Basketball Ontario programs and was head coach with the Centre for Performance for four seasons.
As a player, Pothier spent two years at Dalhousie University and three seasons at the University of Victoria, where she won a national championship in 1985. She also played and coached professionally in Germany, winning a Southern Bavarian championship.
Source: Ryerson Athletics
