SPORTS & RECREATION
SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | JULY 17, 2022
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Couple coaches college women’s basketball team BY IAN SACKS Cronkite News
A
t �irst glance, the coaching staff for the Scottsdale Community College women’s basketball team appears fairly typical: a diverse range of voices leading 12 players. Upon deeper look, the staff is unique. Head Coach Tasha Washington is married to assistant coach Joe Bonham. The two complement each other well on the basketball court. She is more defensiveminded, and he is more geared to the offensive side of the ball. But the staff sets itself apart for other reasons as well: Washington is a Black woman. Although diversity data is hard to �ind at the junior college level, at Division I, II and III, 12% of women’s basketball head coaches are Black women, according to NCAA.org. That’s compared to 32% who are white men. White women construct the highest percentage of head coaches at 45%. Just a decade ago, Black women head coaches made up 8%. “More people that look like me are getting more chances to sit at the table,” Washington said. “It makes me feel good. … I have a very diverse group of players. For our Black athletes, you know, I sometimes feel like there is even more of a calling for me to be more of a mentor to them, not that I’m any less than the others, but just how big it is to be able to play for somebody that looks like you.” Washington acknowledged she faced challenges stepping into the leadership role as a Black female head coach. She played for longtime Scottsdale coach Bike Meder, a black man, and her high school coach was a woman. Her sphere of in�luence was diverse throughout her playing days, but as she branched out, she realized just how rare her experiences had been. As the U.S. celebrates the 50th anni-
versary of Title IX, Washington’s rise to the head coaching position illustrates the possibilities available for her players once their playing days end. She said she would not be sitting in the head coach’s chair if it was not for that piece of legislation. “It’s empowering to us, especially to see a woman like that, like our coach, just to see her,” sophomore forward Ashten Martinez said. “How much she’s achieved, it makes us more like, ‘Oh, we can do that too.’ So just to have that role model in our lives, like on and off the court … it’s amazing.” For Washington and Bonham, the connection on the Tasha Washington, left, knows that as a Black female head coach sideline mirrors their of a junior college women’s basketball program, it shows others partnership off the “how big it is to be able to play for somebody that looks like you.” Her husband, Joe Bonham, is her assistant. court. Even when (Courtesy of Scottsdale Community College) they are at home, the game of basketball is never far from their tend practice in the afternoon. minds as a game is always on the televi“When you’re a head coach, you want sion, which have turned their four-year- to have people around you that you trust old son Ciaran into a fan. and who better to have than my hus“It’s awesome just to see them, like, band,” Washington said. “He’s going to connect on the court, off the court,” Mar- have my back more than anybody. So, it tinez said. “It brings us together as well.” just works out.” Bonham is a part-time assistant and Washington and Bonham began dating works a full-time job at Waste Manage- when they were both assistant coaches ment. He works closely with the com- at the Division I level. She was at North pany’s employees on the East Coast, so Florida, and he was at Tennessee State. he begins working in the early morning After six months of a long-distance hours. This schedule enables him to at- relationship, the two got engaged – the
night before their teams played against one another in 2014. Washington’s Ospreys won the game on a buzzer beater. After getting married, the two stepped away from the game, but the hiatus lasted just six months. The opportunity to coach together on the AAU circuit in Tennessee opened, and they jumped at it. They coached with Tennessee Flight and helped to turn their squad from perennial losers to consistent winners. “You could de�initely see that they both correspond with each other with everything,” said Talia Dial, who is embarking on her freshman season with Scottsdale and who led the AIA in scoring with 25.5 points per game as a senior at Dysart High School. “It’s nice having the female, male perspective when we’re going through stuff, so just like it’s more in depth and just helps all the players overall.” From Tennessee, Washington and Bonham came to Scottsdale, where Washington played before at Armstrong Atlantic State as well as professionally. Upon joining Scottsdale, they both served as assistant coaches. Washington was elevated to head coach, and this past season was her �irst season leading the Artichokes. Scottsdale �inished third in the conference with an 8-12 mark and a 14-14 overall record. The team battled COVID issues throughout the campaign. After not playing any games the final 11 days of January, the Fighting Artichokes played 12 games in a three-week span in February. “Those hurdles of helping others and pouring your heart and soul into others and doing it together, the hurdles you hit, it makes your own hurdles not feel as big,” Bonham said. “Certainly, the big ones, it’s easier to overcome because, I mean, you’ve done it with your spouse helping others, right?
