Any new job, in a new location, at a new level, is going to bring an adjustment period. Unless, maybe, you’re Jody Wynn, who is settling into her new role as head coach of the Long Beach State women’s basketball team quite nicely. Her first official team practice, held in the Pyramid on Monday, was run tightly and efficiently, and was paced within an inch of its life.
The sneaker-squeaks started early in practice and never stopped, as Wynn installed her new drills, almost all of which involved a lot of running. For eight to ten minutes at a time, the 49ers hit the hardwood as their new coach spurred them on, with about thirty seconds in between drills to rest. “I mean, it’s basketball, we do play full court,” Wynn said afterward. “I let them know we want to get up and down the court, which they were very excited about—but in order to do that we have to get in shape.”
While Wynn was teaching the ‘Niners her uptempo drills, a good chunk of the athletic department made their way onto the hardwood to observe, while on the bleachers five reporters watched. It was a lot of eyes for a women’s basketball practice in April, and especially for a coach whose belongings were still in boxes in the freshly-painted offices behind the court, and who’s still getting tips about which freeway exits to use to get to campus. “I don’t have assistants yet,” she pointed out when asked about some coaching specifics. “I do have a short list—I’ve been flooded with phone calls and emails. I have a short list—I’m really big on loyalty and trust, that will take precedence over somebody I don’t know.”
The foundations of the program’s future are being laid, however. Her husband Derek should be brought on staff soon as a defensive assistant (“He just has to get his paperwork in and he’ll be alright,” says Wynn)—and as to the situation at USC, where her mentor and former boss Mark Trakh was recently let go, throwing his employment options and the transfer desires of some of their former players into question, Wynn says, “Everything is up in the air right now. It’s a waiting game to see what’s going to happen.”
The athlete who should be the 49ers’ best player next season, Karina Figueroa, was unable to practice on Monday because she had surgery two weeks ago, to remove the four screws and a plate that had been holding her ankle together. The good news? If her surgeon (who Fig graciously shares with the Los Angeles Lakers) is right, she should be 100% within a month.
“It’s not as bad as my last surgery,” says Figueroa, who supported her teammates with vocal encouragement and by doing situps on the sideline while they ran. She said her new coach’s style is definitely a departure from previous coach Mary Hegarty’s. All that running was daunting, and probably not just because she was on crutches. “I’m nervous—I’m excited, but I’m nervous. It’s a good nervous—I just want to see this team get a better opportunity.”
Wynn seems deadset from the outset to make that the case—after the grueling practice, she had her team run for seven minutes to close the session, with most ‘Niners visibly exhausted after that. “Come on, let’s go!” shouted their new coach. “You’re not tired!” Well, maybe they were tired. “Yeah, it’s a process,” says Wynn. “But you don’t have to be the fastest kid or the most athletic kid to succeed—you just have to run hard.”
It was the kind of practice an established, well-known coach can run on the first day, or the kind of practice run by a new, enthusiastic coach who’s decided to do away with her adjustment period. And then, after her first one-on-one round with the Long Beach press was concluding, one of her new players offered to show Wynn a shortcut to the gym—so maybe there’s a little adjustment period.
Karina Figueroa (be-crutched) looks on as her teammates run through their first practice
Wynn gives her team a (30-second) rest in between drills
