![\"16681509_1839738519607814_1448332164157549953_n\"](\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/files\/2018\/02\/16681509_1839738519607814_1448332164157549953_n.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
By: Andrew Mason<\/p>\n
Kathryn Suzanne “Katy” Steding is painting the scene of one of her earliest basketball memories.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came home from school one day in first grade and begged [my parents] to put a hoop up in the driveway,\u201d Steding says.<\/p>\n
Luckily, her begging payed off. Steding\u2019s parents attached a basketball hoop to the top of their house\u2019s garage, giving Steding the ability to start practicing basketball right in the convenience of her own front yard.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was before the 3-point line,\u201d she says with a laugh, \u201cAnd the corners were a little iffy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Four decades later, in her fourth year as the head coach of Boston University\u2019s Women\u2019s Basketball program, Steding has used her extensive collegiate, Olympic and professional basketball experience to instill a \u201chard work comes first\u201d work ethic, and spin the program\u2019s culture in a complete \u2018180\u2019.<\/p>\n
Sitting in her office Steding \u2013 who recently celebrated a birthday \u2013 is sipping on a coffee in her second-floor office in the BU Department of Athletics building. Decorating the room are relics and memorabilia that trace the success of her basketball life: a photo of her 1990 National Champion Stanford squad posing with their trophy after the championship game, her pressed and professionally framed USA Olympic #11 jersey and numerous other trophies.<\/p>\n
But perhaps the most eye-catching component of Steding\u2019s office is the entire wall that has been transformed into a giant whiteboard, packed full with hand-scribbled statistics, \u201cX\u2019s and O\u2019s\u201d, and comments about her team \u2013 a constant reminder of the grueling work that comes with being a Division I collegiate basketball coach.<\/p>\n Steding\u2019s relaxed posture and cheerful smile fills the room with a sense of comfort that one would not necessarily expect from a woman of her magnitude and intimidating resume. Her dirty-blonde hair falls just below her shoulders as she sits down on the suede couch in her office. She is dressed in casual attire, with a Boston University long sleeve windbreaker and a lime green t-shirt. Both hands remain gripped to her coffee at all times.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Steding describes her family as first and foremost a group of competitors. Growing up in Portland, Oregon, Steding and her older sister had constant hunger for being the best.<\/p>\n \u201cJulie was a natural athlete. She could pick up any sport and instantly be good at it, which was very frustrating for me because I had to work harder at everything,\u201d Steding says. Working harder to beat the competition has always been instinctual to Steding.<\/p>\n \u201cIn everything I did\u2026I was devastated when I wasn\u2019t first. Second sucks to me.\u201d She confesses her addiction of always needing to compete, an obsession that motivates her everyday while coaching the Terriers.<\/p>\n \u201c[My competitive drive] was always in there. I think you either have a competitive drive or you don\u2019t\u2026you either like the feeling of competing for something or you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Two years after she convinced her parents to invest in a hoop for their driveway, Steding decided she wanted to put her skills to the test and play organized basketball for an actual team. But due to the fact that there were no all-girls teams organized at the time, she had to sign up to play in the local boys\u2019 league.<\/p>\n Steding sees herself as lucky to grow up in Oregon, which she regards as \u201ca fairly progressive part of the country.\u201d To Steding, she could not have cared less who her opponents were.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wanted to play, and I didn\u2019t think about necessarily whether it was boys or girls,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Steding finishes her coffee and places the empty cup on the table in between us as we turn the discussion over to her college years. As a result of her success on the court in high school, Steding found herself in the position to choose between multiple scholarship offers to play basketball for a university. But due to the lack of women\u2019s professional leagues at the time, Steding\u2019s focus wasn\u2019t entirely on basketball.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m gonna get the best degree I possibly can so that when I go into an interview my resum\u00e9 jumps to the top of the pile, Steding says. “And Stanford was the pinnacle of education.\u201d<\/p>\n Steding and her Cardinal teammates went on to win the ultimate athletic collegiate prize in her senior year: the NCAA National Championship. In addition, Steding graduated Stanford in 1990 with a degree in psychology, a skill she says she naturally loves and still uses every day.<\/p>\n Seeing a future in basketball for Steding beyond the NCAA, Stanford Head Coach Tara VanDerveer brought Steding to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to practice alongside the country\u2019s best players, such as two-time national champion Cheryl Miller.<\/p>\n \u201cVanDerveer wanted her athletes to see themselves in that elite level of competition,\u201d Steding says.<\/p>\n After her short training period was over, Steding received a shocking one-page evaluation from the Olympic scouts.<\/p>\n \u201cIt only said two things: weak and slow.\u201d Steding used that blunt criticism to fuel her work ethic for the rest of her career. \u201cIt galvanized me. Nobody ever called me weak and slow again.\u201d<\/p>\n After graduation, Steding continued to make progression as a national star, making several USA select teams, including the 1993 World Championship Qualifier team that featured basketball legends such as Lisa Leslie and Dawn Staley. Despite being fresh off of knee injuries on both legs, Steding was invited back to Colorado Springs for the tryouts for the 1996 Olympic Games.<\/p>\n After a \u201ccrazy week\u201d of intense three-a-day workouts, it was time to find out who would be the lucky ones to make the final roster and head off to Atlanta. For Steding, her hard work and resiliency had paid off.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the most exciting day of my life, to hear that [I] was going to be one of the 12 best players in the country and ultimately the world.\u201d<\/p>\n One year later, Steding and her Olympic teammates stepped onto the podium to hear the beautiful sound of the U.S. National Anthem and to receive their new shiny gold medals.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c[The medal] is the culmination of everything I\u2019ve ever worked hard for. It says I was good enough to be in the elite\u2026a literal world champion,\u201d Steding remembers. As a person of faith, she relates her success in Atlanta to the biblical story of the \u201cWell Done Good and Faithful Servant.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was like somebody patting you on the back and saying \u2018you did it, good job.\u2019\u201d As amazing as the experience was, Steding admits winning gold was also intimidating in itself.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember standing [on the podium]\u2026and thinking \u2018What\u2019s next?\u2019\u201d Steding says with a laugh. \u201cNot just \u2018How do I top this,\u2019 but \u2018Where do you go from here?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Little did Steding and her teammates know at the time, the 1996 Summer Olympics had an effect on American culture greater than just the usual pride that comes with winning gold medals. The women\u2019s basketball team\u2019s dominant performance helped spawn a unique nationwide hype around women\u2019s basketball. Investors began putting together the early stages of two major American women\u2019s professional leagues: the American Basketball League (ABL) and the Women\u2019s National Basketball Association (WNBA).<\/p>\n Aside from the fact that the ABL approached Steding and most of her Olympic teammates first, the ABL attracted Steding more than the WNBA for a multitude of reasons. In the ABL,\u00a0the regular season would be held in the winter, not in the summer as the WNBA chose to do, and Steding would get to play for her hometown as part of the Power franchise.<\/p>\n \u201cI was really proud to be from Portland. I could fulfill my childhood dream of being a professional basketball player in Portland<\/em>,” Steding says.<\/p>\n Being the premier founding players of a major American women\u2019s basketball league was a special achievement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt so important to us. It felt like we were playing for a cause still,\u201d Steding says. \u201cCollege [women\u2019s basketball] was coming along and is still today a big fish, but we wanted the game to take another leap.\u201d<\/p>\n However, after just two full seasons, management issues caused the ABL to go under. But Steding, who swapped over to the more successful WNBA, always remained optimistic about where basketball guided her life.<\/p>\n \u201cIt worked out, I got to play in both leagues,\u201d she says with a smile.<\/p>\n After being drafted fourteenth overall by the WNBA\u2019s Sacramento Monarchs, Steding went on to play two full seasons. It was during her one-year venture in Sacramento when Steding met teammate Cindy Blodgett.<\/p>\n \u201cSteding is a positive and unselfish person\u2026she was a great teammate for so many reasons,\u201d says Blodgett. \u201cShe was hard working, tough and supportive. Steding was \u2013 and is \u2013 a terrific competitor and was adored by her teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n Steding has equal respect of Blodgett\u2019s work ethic and knowledge of the game of basketball. Over a decade after the two passed \u201cthe rock\u201d to one another out on the court, Steding asked Blodgett to come join the coaching staff at BU as an assistant coach.<\/p>\n After retiring from playing professionally in 2001, Steding knew her relationship with basketball wasn\u2019t over. Following the path that many former players go down, Steding decided to try her luck at coaching. Seventeen years later, she hasn\u2019t looked back.<\/p>\n \u201cSteding has always loved playing the game and competing, so I was not surprised in the least when she found her \u2018calling\u2019 in coaching,\u201d comments Blodgett. \u201cShe has an uncanny ability to not only recognize peoples\u2019 strengths, but she also tries to exploit them!\u201d<\/p>\n For Steding, the biggest difference between playing and coaching is the illusion of control. She sees herself as a control freak at times in the sense that she always likes to see that things get done.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not as much control on the sideline,\u201d Steding says. \u201c[As a coach] you have to have a really great rapport with your players to make sure they trust you, and they\u2019ll do what you say at the right time because you can\u2019t just do it yourself. You have to show them how to get where they need to go. It can be a little bit daunting at times but it\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2014, Steding was brought on as head coach at Boston University. After two abysmal seasons leading the Terriers (a combined record of 8-52), Steding and her squad were finally able to click during the 2016-17 campaign, finishing with an improved 13-17 record, 11-7 in conference play.<\/p>\n \u201cJust changing what we were doing was a big difference,\u201d says Steding. \u201cChanging personnel, and what we were doing offensively and defensively to a little bit more regimented system\u2026it was comforting for the players.\u201d<\/p>\n Steding is recognized by her players and coaching staff as doing more for BU Women\u2019s Basketball, particularly in the past season, than just help the team boost its record. She’s changed the culture of the program, aiming to create an environment in which hard work and developing on and off the court, as both individuals and as a team, is the expected standard.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe she has helped instill a love for working hard and being proud of what you do on a daily basis,\u201d says Blodgett. \u201cCoach Steding tries very hard to make our players and coaches\u2019 BU experience a positive and memorable one. [She] truly loves what she does and I think we can all feed off that energy and authenticity.\u201d<\/p>\n Steding credits some of the recent success to senior transfer Sophie Beaudry. The 6-foot-5 Canadian center from Monmouth University proved very useful to the Terriers in their 2016-17 season, taking home the team\u2019s Most Valuable Player award at the end of the year. Beaudry finds it a unique opportunity to play under a coach with so much basketball experience and knowledge.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the techniques [Steding] learned are extremely useful. She changed my shot, and I\u2019m very grateful for all the tips she gave me,\u201d says Beaudry.<\/p>\n Aside from personal help, Beaudry also believes Steding has strategically structured the Terriers\u2019 roster in recent years to be more successful.<\/p>\n \u201cShe knows what kind of player she wants on her team, personality and skills wise, Beaudry says. “I believe that\u2019s why we all get along very well.\u201d<\/p>\n Coming off an impressive season, Steding knows she and her players have much more to improve on.<\/p>\n \u201cMy philosophy is I want to teach them to be better basketball players, not just run a system better,\u201d Steding says. She doesn\u2019t look at a team like a robotic machine as some coaches do.<\/p>\n \u201cTeams scout you and adjust, so I want our kids to be able to recognize the situation and eventually be able to handle it on their own,”says Steding. “I want to teach them the game rather than just teach them shooting and screening and whatever.”<\/p>\n Outside of basketball, Steding and her husband, John, are getting ready to celebrate their 21st wedding anniversary this May. They have no children.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to think that every year I have 13 to 15, 18-to-22-year-olds,\u201d Steding jokes. The couple lives in the city very close to campus. Both she and her husband\u2019s families all still live in Oregon, making her feel homesick at times.<\/p>\n \u201cA little far away from Boston, but I\u2019ve always loved Boston, so I\u2019m here on purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n Steding wants to own a dog someday. In fact, she claims that if she were to have a perfect stress-free day, the majority of it would be spent playing with a dog. But for now, Steding typically relaxes by watching golf.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t really explain it, but I love the strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n She also enjoys juggling three or four books at time. As a lover of American Colonial history, Steding also enjoys sightseeing and traveling to historic places. Besides Boston, her favorite spot to satisfy this interest is Washington D.C.<\/p>\n \u201cI love our country. I love what we\u2019re about, and I love where we\u2019ve been: scars, warts, and all.\u201d says Steding. \u201cD.C. is one of those places where I get to charge that.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked whether or not the thought of retirement was in the near future, Steding only laughs and responds, \u201cOh lord no!\u201d The retired lifestyle of \u201cputtering in the yard\u201d is completely unappealing to her.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t imagine not coaching, not working, not doing something,” Steding says. “I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll coach forever, but I also know I probably won\u2019t ever completely retire, period.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking back at her life so far, Steding holds that she has no major regrets.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there are things that happen in your life that you\u2019d like to have been different but that you can\u2019t really control, so you either roll with the punches or the punches roll you.\u201d<\/p>\n Steding embraces the mistakes she has made. In both basketball and in life, messing up allows for learning and growing.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what makes the journey so fun.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Andrew Mason Kathryn Suzanne “Katy” Steding is painting the scene of one of her earliest basketball memories. \u201cI came home from school one day in first grade and begged [my parents] to put a hoop up in the driveway,\u201d Steding says. Luckily, her begging payed off. Steding\u2019s parents attached a basketball hoop to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17192,"featured_media":13763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1040],"tags":[1053],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13655"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17192"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13655"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21794,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13655\/revisions\/21794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"37607053534_a29a24703f_o\"](\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/files\/2018\/02\/37607053534_a29a24703f_o.jpg\")
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