Gryphons Commit Long-term to Women's Basketball head coach Christin Dickenson
Guelph, ON – "The future is in Guelph." That is the slogan that was adopted by the Gryphons women's basketball team just over a year ago. That same slogan now officially applies to the coach. On Tuesday, May 19th the University of Guelph's Department of Athletics announced that women's basketball head coach Christin Dickenson has accepted a permanent position with the team. Previously, Dickenson had signed a two-year contract as head coach of the Gryphons in May of 2013.
Guelph, ON – "The future is in Guelph." That is the slogan that was adopted by the Gryphons women's basketball team just over a year ago. That same slogan now officially applies to the coach. On Tuesday, May 19th the University of Guelph's Department of Athletics announced that women's basketball head coach Christin Dickenson has accepted a permanent position with the team. Previously, Dickenson had signed a two-year contract as head coach of the Gryphons in May of 2013.
Coach Dickenson stated, "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to lead this program. As a young coach, it is a great feeling to know you have the support of the entire department, and I am excited to build upon the success of the women's basketball program here at the University of Guelph." When asked to describe her coaching style, the 35-year-old did not hesitate, "Hard-nosed. Aggressive. Defence-first. That is the philosophy and the culture we are working towards establishing here. Working together as a unit and taking pride in our team defence and rebounding." During the 2014-2015 season, you did not have to look far to find examples of that.
Gryphons forward Kate MacTavish led the OUA in total rebounding (206) while also leading the OUA in offensive rebounds at 5.1 per game. Teammate Vanessa Rampado was second in the OUA with 3.8 offensive rebounds per game. Defensively, the Gryphons led the OUA with 3.7 blocks per game, but their greatest strength defensively may lie on the perimeter. First year point guard Bridget Atkinson provided some lockdown defence on the outside all season long. Thanks in large part to her work on the defensive end, Atkinson was named the CIS Rookie of the Year.
While the Gryphons have narrowly missed out on the playoffs in each of Coach Dickenson's first two years in charge (after finishing 7-15 in 2013-14 and 8-11 in 2014-15), the upcoming season promises to be an exciting one for the Gryphons who return the exact same team as the year before.
Note: the only players who graduated from the program last season were Kayla Goodhoofd and Alyssa Shortt – both of whom sat out their entire senior seasons with injury.
Dickenson, a native of Hamilton, enjoyed a legendary OUA career in her playing days with the McMaster Marauders (2000-2004) where she won an OUA title in 2003 and was named the league MVP in her final season. After graduating from McMaster with a degree in Social Sciences, she spent two years playing professional basketball in Sweden and England before getting into coaching. From 2008-2010 she served as an assistant coach for the University of Regina women's basketball team. From there, she served as an assistant on the McMaster men's basketball team before joining the Gryphons. Dickenson also spent two years with the National Coaching Institute (NCI) where she was mentored by head senior men's national team coach and former Toronto Raptors head coach, Jay Triano.
Source: Guelph Gryphons
