Press Release :: Women's Basketball Coaches Association

ATLANTA, Ga. - The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) has selected Joy Couch of Dorman High School (Roebuck, South Carolina) as the 2007 Russell Athletic/WBCA National High School Coach of the Year. This year marks the 18^th year that this accolade has been presented, which has been selected by the WBCA since 1990. 

We are honored as an association to announce the RUSSELL ATHLETIC/WBCA National High School Coach of the Year as Joy Couch,” said WBCA CEO Beth Bass.  “She has worked hard to enhance women’s basketball at the grassroots level and we look forward to continued success as Joy furthers her career in athletics.”

Dorman High School’s head coach Joy Couch accumulated a career record of 525-184 and has been awarded numerous honors throughout her coaching career.  She is a two-time South Carolina Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year, named Coach of the Year by Spartanburg Herald Journal numerous times, and was named South Carolina High School Coach of the Year in 1990, 2003 and 2004. 

Under her reign, Dorman High School has an overall record of 214-34, which includes 6 region championships and three consecutive state championships.   Couch served as an assistant coach for the white team during the 2005 WBCA High School All-America Game.  Recently, she accepted the position as Athletic Director at Converse College. 

"Russell Athletic is proud to support the winners of the WBCA Coach of the Year Awards.  Just like these individuals, for those who have what it takes on the inside, Russell has what it takes on the outside,” said Chris Passarell, Senior Director of Marketing, Russell Athletic.

The WBCA would additionally like to congratulate the other eight District Coaches of the Year:

Each winner is selected through a two-level process.  The first level is by District, in which coaches from each WBCA geographical district vote for their respective top coach.  Couch, having been named the District 3 Coach of the Year, advanced as a finalist to the national level of the selection process along with the other eight District Coaches of the Year in high school.  The top four vote getters are invited to coach in the WBCA’s High School All-America Game presented by Nike unless they have received this honor in the past five years.

The coaching line-up has also been selected for the Red and White Team for the 16^th Annual WBCA’s High School All-America Game presented by Nike.  The head coach of the Red Team will be Ellis Barfield, head coach of Lynwood High School, while Lurline Jones, head coach at University City High School, will lead the White Team.  Serving as an assistant for the Red Team is Gary Glasscock, High School All-America Game Committee Chair, and for the White Team will be Pat Diulis, head coach at Regina High School. Co-Captain of the Red Team is Candice Dupree of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky and Katie Smith of the WNBA’s Detroit Shock will be the White Team Co-Captain.

Couch and the national winners from the other five divisions will be honored at the Russell Athletic/WBCA National Coach of the Year Luncheon presented by AstraZeneca on Monday, April 2, 2007, at 12:00 p.m. (ET) in the Crowne Plaza’s Grand Ballroom. The luncheon is part of the 2007 WBCA National Convention, held in conjunction with the NCAA® Women's Final Four® in Cleveland, Ohio.

About Russell Athletic

For more than 100 years, Russell Athletic has been designing and producing the most innovative, most comfortable apparel to help athletes at all levels perform their best.  From the youth practice fields, to premier collegiate teams, to the most respected professional arenas, whenever you see athletes and teams who demand the highest quality, exceptional durability, and extreme comfort, you’ll find Russell Athletic.  

Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game in all of its aspects as a sport for women and girls. For more information about the WBCA, please visit WBCA.org.