It’s a good bet John Friar hasn’t incorporated lessons on breaking a full court press or mastering a zone defense into any of his lectures. But Friar, an executive professor of entrepreneurship, got a chance to be a part of a different kind of lesson outside of the classroom through the women’s basketball team’s Honorary Coach Program.
The program was started last season by head coach Daynia La-Force Mann and allows Northeastern faculty to get an inside look at her team before, during and after a game. Faculty members get to sit on the bench and be a part of the team huddles.
“My goal for the program is just to allow the faculty and staff a little insight into what a typical day of a Northeastern athlete is like,” La-Force Mann said.
In addition to giving him an inside look at the life of a Northeastern student-athlete, Friar said the program also gave him a chance to see how the coaches taught their players.
“It’s great to get to see the coaches’ work and see what they are thinking,” he said. “They are teachers too, but in a different environment.”
La-Force Mann said she got the idea for the program from St. John’s, where she was an assistant from 2002-05.
“St. John’s started [the program] after I left,” La-Force Mann said. “I wanted to wait until my second year at Northeastern to get it going so I could establish my philosophy and style of play before I could open it up for anyone to come in and watch. Once that happened and the kids felt comfortable with the way the program was running, I thought that would be the perfect time to allow the faculty and staff to witness what it’s like.”
In addition to an announcement posted on GoNU.com, La-Force Mann said word of the program was spread by Fred Wiseman, the university’s faculty athletic representative. Once interested faculty contact the team, they are told to arrive an hour to a half-hour before the game so they can be part of the coaches’ pregame meeting.
During the game, the name of the faculty member, along with a brief biography on them, is read. The next day, they are given a Northeastern T-shirt and a plaque commemorating their game as an honorary coach.
Even though he sat the end of the bench, Friar said the players and coaches made him feel welcome as a faculty member.
“All of the players came down to the bench to make sure they included me. This year, a couple of players were goofing around with me a bit,” said Friar, who served as an honorary coach in last season’s home opener against Massachusetts and the Boston University game Nov. 25 this season.
“I was impressed by the players, how the upperclassmen take a leadership role and how mature and friendly they all were,” Friar said. “The coaches were really nice too. Last year, they asked for my advice at halftime, this year they were smart enough not to.”
The program is relatively uncommon, as no other teams at Northeastern do it and only a handful of other teams across the NCAA have a similar program.
Despite this, La-Force Mann said every home game last season had a faculty coach present, and every home game this season was booked, with the exception of a few games during winter break. Many faculty members who did it last season signed up again this season.
Some notable participants included Executive Vice Provost Susan Powers-Lee and Vice President for Student Affairs Ed Klotzbier.
“I think it’s something that bridges the gap between faculty and athletics,” La-Force Mann said. “It’s definitely something that most programs should take advantage of.”
Any interested faculty can contact assistant coach Chelsea Perry at 617-373-5227 or at [email protected].
