After another gray season for the Billiken women’s basketball team, the program again decided to start anew, hiring Lisa Stone as the new head coach last May. Coach Stone will call upon over 25 years of head coaching experience, most recently at the University of Wisconsin, as she attempts to turn the perennial doormat of the Atlantic 10 into a championship contender. After a hectic first summer on the job, we sat down with Coach Stone after the team’s first practice.
What has your first summer at SLU been like?
The transition has really been awesome. There is definitely a family atmosphere in this department. I was hired in May and lived in the dorms until August; it was nice to be on campus walking to work everyday. Then we went on the road recruiting; in July, I was home for a total of four days. I returned to St. Louis on my 50th birthday and have been here on a consistent basis since August 14, and now we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and work.
What has been the hardest part of the transition?
Being away from my family. I have a 20-year-old daughter in college now and a son who is a senior in high school in Madison, Wisconsin with my husband. But I have a Billiken family here and it’s made things easier.
[In your introductory press conference] you speak a lot about the SLU Way. What does that mean to you?
It’s three things: lead, learn, and serve. It’s what drew me here.
My job here is to foster female leadership and mentor these girls. There are a lot of people who choose not to go into this profession for various reasons, but I’m here to say you can do this. It’s very rewarding and takes a ton of time, but with the right support system and family, you can find success and satisfaction in it.
Next, learn: this program has nowhere to go but up. There will be a steep learning curve, but I’m excited about this team. We worked out this morning and I told them: I will not coach effort or attitude, so you better bring it. And I was pleasantly surprised: kids diving on the floor, giving me energy and discipline. I’m trying to get this team to believe in something they don’t think they can do, and that’s a new mindset. They’re banging down the door at five this morning, and with that, you can only go up.
Finally, serve: we will do anything we can to serve our community and our campus. If there’s any organization that needs our basketball team to roll up our sleeves in service, call me directly.
Your passion for the game is uncanny. How do you translate your energy into success?
It’s an attitude; it’s the way I am. I’ve been described as a woman with her hair on fire. I’m just wired this way and I think the team will feed off it. I’ve done this over half my life. I was doing drills this morning, I was up in Courtney Webb and she says coach, “I’m afraid I’m gonna knock you over.” I do not care. You cannot do this job if you’re not passionate. We were wound up in there this morning; it was awesome.
What was the most exciting thing about practice this morning?
Potential. We’ve got a long way to go- it’s one practice. I’m going to coach them where they’re at. I don’t care about the past. I’m not forming judgments. They’re really hungry and they really want to win, but we have to get better every day at the simple things. The game’s not hard, but it takes hard work.
What are your expectations for this season?
To get better every day. Our goals are: put yourself in a position to play in the post-season. To do that, you’ve got to win. Our goal is ultimately The Barclays (the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship game). We’d love to play in that game, but to do that, we have to win.
How do you get people to come to your games and get the campus and students to embrace you?
It’s consistency, getting people to come on a consistent basis. Myself getting involved on campus, utilizing student organizations, that’s step one.
I guarantee, when you come to one of our games, you will come back. You’ll like the way we play: we play hard. Obviously, success breeds success, so we have to get better. But I’m a builder: everywhere I’ve been, we’ve had good crowds, but that’s because we’ve had good teams. Being visible in the community, being visible on campus, being active on campus, and connecting academics and athletics. We need students there, and we need them bad. We need people to be excited, we need a great environment, and we need it to be fun for them. It’s a challenge, but something I’m not afraid of.
What can you take from your previous head coaching experience?
Take it one day at a time. We’re going to take it step by step. I’ve learned a lot: how to do things, how not to do them. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I have no regrets. It’s about learning something new every day and finding ways to grow. And patience is huge. Give us some time, but it’s going to happen here, and it’s going to be very, very exciting.
How do you change the losing culture here?
Instill energy right away. Be consistent and come ready to work every day. There’s no burnout in me. I’m fired up and the players are too. I had them over for dinner last night and laid down the law. They’re my new daughters now, they’re part of my family. I’m going to love them, but I’m going to hold them accountable. You better come ready to play or don’t come. That electricity is what we’re here for, and it’s something that has also been very successful in recruiting. They’ve come because they want to be the start of something.
Is winning everything to you?
Look, we want to get it done here. If we’re going to play racquetball, I’m going to beat you. I’m all about the future and moving this program forward. We want to be in the postseason, we want to hang a banner here that hasn’t been hung. The Atlantic-10 is ridiculous, but we’re here to get this thing going.
