Debbie Taylor '86 Named Coach of the Year

BY BEN KENNEDY '05

Photo by Skip Rowland '83

Debbie Taylor '86 has seen a lot since her days playing pickup basketball as a kid on Long Island in New York. Back then, she says, there were only one or two girls playing with the boys on the playground.

Today, however, is a different story. With women's basketball reaching new heights of popularity at the college and professional level, the game has changed. "I think it's a tremendous time to be a young woman playing basketball," she says.

These young women are fortunate to be playing basketball for Debbie Taylor. Seven years after returning to her alma mater, Coach Taylor defied expectations and led the Tribe women's basketball team to its second-best Division I record ever. For that and her other remarkable coaching skills, she was named the recipient of the William and Mary Alumni Association's Coach of the Year award for 2005-06.

Taylor feels a strong sense of pride in receiving the award. "Having the opportunity to come back to my alma mater and use the philosophy that I believe in is fun for me," she says. That philosophy is centered on William and Mary's concept of the "student-athlete," an idea Taylor holds close to her heart. By focusing on the whole person, Taylor says, a coach can help improve her players both on and off the basketball court.

"The whole process is about teaching the skills the kids will need later in life," she says.

Under Taylor's tutelage, the players' skills have gained some impressive accolades. Guard Dani Kell '08 earned a spot on the Colonial Athletic Association's (CAA) All-Rookie team as a freshman while sophomore teammate Kyra Kaylor '07 was honored as Player of the Year by both the CAA and the Virginia Sports Information Directors. Illustrating Taylor's dedication to her student-athlete philosophy, guard Sarah Stroh '07 was named a CAA All-Academic for her strong academic performance off the court. Taylor collected the Coach of the Year CAA award as well.

After graduation, Taylor coached at Richmond, Va.-area high schools before accepting a position at West Virginia University. Following that, she arrived at the University of South Carolina to coach guards and organize recruiting as an assistant coach. While with the Gamecocks, she signed a nationally ranked recruiting class and a future first-round WNBA draft pick. She also helped South Carolina to an all-time best record, a No. 6 ranking nationally and a trip to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. All said, she still appreciates the unique challenges of coaching at William and Mary.

"I like this program because I coach very driven kids in all aspects of their life. There's a tremendous sense of team and great character," she says. "They're doing it because they want to do it, not because you're making them do it."

Taylor does have to push a little. Lifting and conditioning at 6 a.m., long practices and lots of running aren't the most popular tasks among college students, but the players understand the reasoning behind it. "They want to learn, they want to grow, they want to be good," Taylor says.

Being good, though, is not measured with honors and awards. Taylor defines success as "doing the best you can possibly do," and not necessarily by how many points are on the scoreboard at the end of the game.

"There have been games we won that I didn't feel great about; there have been games we lost where I felt we did our best. It's knowing you've done everything you can," she says.

Tribe women's basketball plans on doing great things this season. The team will bring back 10 players, supplying leadership to last year's ninth-youngest team in the country. Among them is Kaylor, the reigning Player of the Year, who led the CAA in points scored and rebounds last season. Perhaps the biggest asset is another season under Coach of the Year Debbie Taylor, who is excited about the year to come.

"I came here because I strongly believe we can have a great basketball program," she says. "We're at the launching pad now."