NY Liberty - Head Coach


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After several years of serving as an assistant coach to head coach Richie Adubato, Pat Coyle is now the head coach for the New York Liberty. In her new role, she is in the position of trying to set the Liberty on course to a winning season. The head coaching job means implementing strategies that she believes can help the team win. Do to this, she works with the players at practice sessions and works closely with her assistant coaches to scout opponents and determine game strategies.

A passion for the sport and an ability to get along well with numerous different personalities are integral to success as a professional head coach. Not unlike the players, the head coach is constantly involved in some aspect of the game during the season, making this a round the clock job. In addition to coaching activities, the job involves ongoing communications with the media, which in a city like New York can be exhausting. Nonetheless, Pat manages to handle interviews in-between practices and game nights.

On the Road to Coaching

To reach her current position, Pat worked hard, not only honing her coaching skills as an assistant coach, but from her playing days at Rutgers University. "Most players just run the plays," says Pat, "But I always wanted to know why and how it worked." Pat also spent a lot of summers while in college, helping kids learn the game in basketball camp programs. She enjoyed teaching and explaining the game as well as being part of a team atmosphere. "I enjoy the teamwork it takes to be successful," she adds.

A star player at Rutgers University, Pat Coyle ranked in the top ten all time on the team’s assist list and as the 17th leading scorer in school history. After she graduated in 1982, well-before there was a WNBA, she went on to a college coaching career, first at the University of Miami, then at her alma mata, Rutgers, followed by a stop at St. John’s and then at Loyola University in the early 1990s. Then it was on to the WNBA, where she became an assistant coach.

A Winning Attitude

“As part of the women’s basketball scene for more than two decades, Patty is a proven winner as a player and as a coach,” says Liberty senior vice president and general manager Carol Blazejowski.

If you're not a player, but want to be involved in the dynamics of a team, then being an assistant coach may be a great place to start. As Pat Coyle can attest to, it is a great place to learn the leadership role needed to be a head coach. To succeed in coaching, Pat recommends that you learn the details of the sport and have patience when trying to teach and help younger players improve their games.