Coaches For The Love Of The Game: Part II

Athletics is a passion. It has plenty of memorable moments. We continue with part two of a story of several of our head coaches talking about their favorite moments as a student-athlete, why they got into coaching, their favorite thing about Goucher College, and their favorite coaching moment as a Gopher. Today, look at the stories of women's soccer head coach Stephanie Ricketts and women's basketball head coach Andrea Preston.

Stephanie Ricketts is a 2007 graduate of Goucher College and is in her fourth season as the head coach of the Gophers women's soccer program in 2020-21. Sports and Goucher have been a major part of her life.

"Athletics has always been a huge part of my life," said Ricketts. "I played soccer, basketball and softball growing up, and almost everyone in my family played a sport. I connected the most with soccer because of my dad's love for it. Soccer and athletics, in general, has taught me some of the most valuable lessons in my life like hard work, commitment, teamwork, and leadership."

As a student-athlete, Ricketts was a four-year starter in goal for Goucher, and she became the fourth goalkeeper in school history to record 300 career saves. In her senior season, she finished with the second-highest save percentage in the Capital Athletic Conference, accumulating a total of 149 saves and a save percentage of .823 that year. Ricketts looks to a meeting against Catholic where she had 16 saves in the nation's capital on September 27, 2006, as a moment that stands out in her playing career at Goucher. 

"We actually ended up losing 1-0, but I think it was one of the best games I've ever played and even though we lost, I walked off of the field actually feeling like I did everything I possibly could have done in that game," said Ricketts.

Ricketts earned a psychology degree at Goucher but jumped into coaching right away as an assistant coach at Adrian from 2007-10. Coaches mean so much, and Ricketts joined the coaching ranks to be that person to the next generation.

"I've been fortunate to have amazing coaches in my life who have been hard on me to make me better, built me up when I needed it, and they were always willing to give me advice or help me when I needed it even if it wasn't soccer-related," said Ricketts. "I wanted to be that for someone else." 

After Adrian, she was a graduate assistant at Westminster for two seasons, and then returned to Baltimore to serve as an assistant coach for Goucher under her head coach as a player, Tati Korba. She left in 2016 for her first head coaching job at Saint Lawrence before returning the next season to take over the women's soccer job at Goucher. 

"The community of people is what makes Goucher special," said Ricketts. "I've been fortunate enough to be a student-athlete at Goucher, an assistant coach, and now a head coach. I've been around this school for a very long time, and it's the people that keep me coming back."

Results are how coaches are judged, but as a coach, some moments mean more than results on the field.  Ricketts and her Gophers ended a 14-game winless streak in Landmark Conference action with a 2-0 win against Juniata on October 12, 2019. The players on the team gave Ricketts a memento to remember the occasion. 

"Our players gave me a signed ball after our first conference win," said Ricketts. "The win was great too, but that small act of kindness meant so much to me."

Though Andrea Preston is not a Goucher graduate, she has made Goucher a home. She is entering her fourth season as the women's basketball head coach and compliance officer. Preston started her role as the Associate Director of Athletics/Senior Woman's Administrator in January.

"I love seeing kids set goals and work to achieve them," said Preston. "It's also awesome to have kids come in as a tentative first-year, discover their confidence, and leave ready to take on the world!"

Preston is a graduate of Luther College in Iowa, where she played women's basketball. One of her favorite moments as a student-athlete goes back to her high school days.

"One of my favorite memories of all time was my junior year of high school and our basketball team making the Sweet 16," said Preston. "We only had two classes for the entire state, so to be one of the best 32 out of the entire state was awesome. We had a great team and coaches."

Changing people's lives is one of the driving forces in why most coaches go into the profession. For Preston, she also enjoys watching and assisting in the growth of students. 

"Player and student development are what drives me as a head coach," said Preston. "I love seeing where kids start compared to where they finish, both on and off the court. It is all about helping them accomplish their dreams and goals."

Preston spent the majority of her life in the Midwest before finding a home at Goucher. She was the head coach at Clarkson (2005-07) and Hiram (2007-14) and also served as an assistant coach at Capital for three seasons before coming to Baltimore. Preston and her Gophers played Hiram and Capital last season in two different tournaments. While Preston had a chance to see her former programs, she loves the Goucher campus and the culture.

"Goucher is special because it's a place where students can come and be embraced fully for who they are, there isn't any pressure to fit or become someone else," said Preston. "As a college, we are committed to embracing diversity and inclusion, and you definitely get that feel on our campus."

In her first three seasons, Preston saw some great moments as a coach. Nicole Wolard hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the only trey of her career on Senior Day against Scranton on February 16, 2019. Almost exactly a year later, the women's basketball team defeated Juniata 71-67 on the road to end a 50-game conference losing streak. She also points to one of the reasons she became a coach as her favorite moments when a student-athlete saw her hard work pay off in a game.

"Olivia Douglas was a first-year player in 2017-18 and had been working so hard!" said Preston. "She had been working on a shot fake and drive from the high post. During a game, late in the season, she was able to make that move and score. The joy she had after she scored was awesome!"

The Goucher coaching staff all came from different backgrounds. Some came to Goucher as students and then returned as coaches. The common thread is that they wanted to help change lives because they had mentors that changed their life. Goucher College has a lot of great people, but the community and the students stand out every single day, and they are happy and grateful to have a meaningful impact on the student-athletes lives for the love of the game.