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Kayla Jackson smiles while at the

Women's Basketball

Jackson Reflects on Time at “So You Want to Be a Coach” Program

After suffering an injury during her sophomore year at UMBC, Canisius senior forward Kayla Jackson knew she wanted to be involved in basketball at the conclusion of her collegiate career.
 
"When I got hurt two years ago, I knew I needed to still be connected to basketball," Jackson said.

Recently, Jackson was one of 61 student-athletes that traveled to Minneapolis, site of the 2022 Women's Final Four, to participate in the 19th "So You Want to Be a Coach" program.
 
At the program, each student-athlete participated in a two-day workshop that took place on March 31 and April 1 at the WBCA Convention.
 
The "So" program increases the understanding and application of skills necessary to secure coaching positions in women's basketball. It also increases the understanding and awareness of competencies necessary for success in coaching and introduces female basketball players to coaches and administrators, while raising awareness of the existing talent pool of female basketball players who have a passion and interest in coaching the game of women's basketball.

"Coach Sahar is a great mentor," Jackson said. "Going to Minneapolis, seeing how many coaches are just like her, the success they bring in other people's lives and how they impact it. I definitely want to have the same effect on people, I definitely want to be a coach."
  
Of those who attended the program, Jackson was the only representative from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
 
"It speaks volumes," Canisius head coach Sahar Nusseibeh said regarding Jackson being the lone student-athlete from the MAAC to be accepted into the program. "Kayla is someone who had a really challenging career. Different schools, different coaching staffs and for her to not lose her love, fire and passion for the game. For her to not only be nominated but get accepted into the program speaks volumes. I think she represented the MAAC extremely well."
 
Nusseibeh participated in the program when she attended American University. In just one year of coaching Jackson at Canisius, Nusseibeh noticed certain characteristics that stood out to her.
 
"I recognized she's got such a strong passion for the game of basketball," Nusseibeh stated. "She had such a presence as a senior and leader on our team. Learning more about what the other side looks like, from a coach's perspective, would be beneficial for her. I'm thrilled that she was accepted into the program because I think she took a lot a lot from it."
 
Jackson admitted that she expected to be overwhelmed, but realized that she was going to be surrounded by great people and high-profile names at the program.
 
"It surprised me that the coaches don't realize how big they are and they talked to us individually. Like any other person, we're just normal people for them. To us, it's crazy, it's intense, and to them we're just having a conversation. I felt like everything was genuine. It was really nice because I felt like it was more a learning opportunity."
 
One person that really stood out to Jackson at the program was Joni Taylor, who was just named Texas A&M's head coach on March 23.
 
"From her presence alone you can tell that she had the intelligence and the growth mindset," Jackson said. "The empowerment she has when talking, she just believed every word she was saying because you felt that. You can see the success with every word she was saying."
 
Upon reflection of her time in Minneapolis at the program, Jackson was thankful to everyone that was involved in allowing her the experience.
 
"Thank you to the Canisius Athletic Department for giving me the opportunity to go. They gave me an opportunity to  learn from other coaches that I never thought I'd dream."
 
For more information on the Canisius women's basketball program, follow @GriffsWBB on Instagram and Twitter.
 
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Players Mentioned

Kayla Jackson

#21 Kayla Jackson

F
5' 11"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Kayla Jackson

#21 Kayla Jackson

5' 11"
Senior
F