Defying the Odds: Assistant Coach Shae Dheensaw Leads TMU to an Emphatic Win

"Defying the Odds: Assistant Coach Shae Dheensaw Leads TMU to an Emphatic Win"

TMU Bold women's basketball team went face to face with the Brock Badgers in an emphatic win for TMU, trumping Brock 71-48. They continued their hot start to the season, improving to 5-0. As good as they were, there was a massive gaping hole in their team. Head coach Carly Clarke was away with the Canadian national team as pre-qualifiers for the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris were under way.

It was down to the job of young assistant head coach Shae Dheenshaw to take the reins and lead the team. Many were curious about Shae's mentality going into the game. And would she bring something new to fill the void of veteran head coach Clarke missing out? "She came in saying I'm not trying to be the next Carly[Clarke], and she wants to be herself and be as successful as she can for herself, and I think that's propelled us at this time," said guard Jayme Foreman. 

Joining the coaching staff in the summer of 2021, Shae has always brought that young, addictive, positive energy that fills the team with the passion the players have admired about her. "You know Shae gives us a lot of stories about herself and experiences," added Foreman. "She always gives us little things like that, that make us relate to her really well and be like she's gone through this too, and it just helps us a lot." 

As for the game today, the good vibes on the bench were all down to Shae and how she set the mood for every player to reflect on. "We started our game meeting today with a belief video, so she tries to bring a little more fun and just has a little different energy," 3rd year Hayley Feddick mentioned.

She continued on about the vibe of the game. "She's bringing it to us, and it just gets us light before the game. There wasn't a dip at any point in terms of energy. She just kept us up the whole way through."

Coach Shae Dheensaw showing the belief video before the game helped their play on the court. The Bold put a lot of Belief into their shooting and shot a very impressive 10-31 from 3, and notably, Jayme Foreman shot 7 of 10 from deep. 

As Shae keeps the head coach role until Carly Clarke returns next week, the Bold goes into their big rivalry matchup against cross-town rival varsity Blues 5-0. They face off on November 15th, 6pm at U of T.