Coaching While Black
This occasional series will highlight Black coaches at all levels of sport. This week: first-year head coach Laura Dinkins (Northern Arizona).
A dream finally came true this past April when Laura Dinkins was named Northern Arizona head women’s basketball coach.
Dinkins, who played on NAU’s only NCAA tournament team during her playing days (2003-08), was the 2007 Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year and 2008 second team All-Big Sky. This is her first head coaching position after 15 years of Division I coaching experience.
“When I was a player,” recalled Dinkins, “I always knew that coaching was something that I wanted to do. But that was just a wish and a dream at that point.”
After she earned her education degree in 2008, the Rialto, Calif. native played overseas in the Netherlands and in Germany, where she led both teams in scoring and helped the Chen Cats (Germany) win the Division II championship.
Dinkins’ coaching career then took off after she returned to NAU as an assistant coach (2010-12), then two seasons at Idaho State, Fresno State (2014-17), six seasons at Long Beach State (2017-23), and two consecutive 24-plus seasons at Grand Canyon University as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator.
“Having the opportunity to come back and coach my alma mater, it’s a blessing,” said Dinkins, who pointed out that every step along the way helped prepare her for her current first-seat position.
“I think one thing throughout my career that I really hang my hat on is doing whatever my job or role was as an assistant as if I was a head coach,” Dinkins pointed out. “Whatever little task it was — whether it’s team travel, equipment — just really taking the ownership in that small job as if I was the head coach in that area, and really going out of my way to go above and beyond.”
Dinkins was the only Black head coach on the sidelines when her squad played St. Thomas at the host school’s Field Day game Dec. 3. An estimated 500 students from a St. Paul elementary school were in attendance.
“I think the best part about that is being visible and just representing,” surmised the NAU coach. “I think the more that our young African American children can see right in front of them someone doing what they aspire or hope to achieve, I think representation is extremely important.
“So it’s a blessing to be able to be in the position I am, and I just hope to be able to pay that forward.”
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.