Courtesy of rochester.edu
UR women’s basketball has been a varsity sport for 41 years, but has never seen a season like this one. This season’s success can be attributed to head coach Jim Scheible’s hard work and dedication to the sport at UR.
Scheible attended Clarkson University, where he graduated with a B.S. in civil engineering, while simultaneously attaining a B.S. in physics from SUNY Cortland. However, after earning an M.B.A. from Clarkson, he found his niche in the yellow and blue.
“I am now doing what I love at an amazing university with wonderful colleagues and students, so I am quite happy,” the UR coach of 12 years said.
Looking back on the 2011-12 season, the women have accomplished a feat previous teams have failed to do: winning 17 games in a row from the beginning of the season. Breaking the old program record of 15 games, Scheible is happy with the year thus far.
“We have a good season to date… The team works very well together and is very supportive of one another,” he said.
This support system showed between players and coach as the team hit a lull, losing three consecutive games. Scheible kept up team morale by putting everything in perspective and giving his players time to recover emotionally after investing so much in such strong opponents.
Senior forward Jodie Luther describes her coach as very passionate about the game of basketball.
“He reminded us that every single game is important and that we cannot overlook any teams,” she said. “He encouraged us not to get complacent and to play hard and with toughness every game.”
Looking forward, Scheible has high hopes for the Yellowjackets, aiming to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The women are currently ranked second in the UAA and 11th in NCAA.
The coach has big dreams for his team, which is posed for its fourth Final Four run this century.
When asked what advice he would give to his Yellowjackets, Scheible said, “Stay the course. We are still a very good team and we will keep winning at a high level if we keep working hard.”
