Sherry M. Winn
Head Coach
(304) 357-4821
sherrywinn@ucwv.edu
Intensity is the word which best describes Coach Winn. As an athlete, a student, and a coach, she has always displayed concentrated focus. This focus has led her to numerous awards. As a player, she reached the epitome of all athletics—the Olympic Games. In both 1984 and 1988, she was a member of the United States Team Handball Olympic Team. During her collegiate years, she was an Academic All-American with a 4.0 GPA and a two-time Honorable Mention All-American. She still owns 10 school records at the University of Charleston including most points in a season (682), scoring average (22.7), and the most points in a game (44). In 1993, when her team won the NAIA II National Championship, she was voted Coach of the Year in the Frontier Conference and District 12, as well as honored as the NAIA II National Coach of the Year. Last season, Coach Winn surpassed the 400 win mark claiming a total of 407 victories in her career.
She began her coaching career at the University of Minnesota—Morris where she took an eight year losing program and turned it into a winning one in just two seasons. At Montana State University—Northern, her teams compiled an overall record of 139 wins and 20 losses, winning the Frontier Conference five times in a row. The move to the University of Southern Colorado proved to be a difficult one. Once again faced with a program which had not won for years, Coach Winn was eager to do battle. Unfortunately, she was crippled physically and emotionally with chronic pain and discovered her teams could not win without her healthy at the helm.
During the eight seasons she has been at the University of Charleston, Coach Winn has created a true sense of team chemistry and positive work ethic claiming an overall record of 180 wins versus only 69 losses. During her first season at the helm of the Eagles, she managed to take a program that was 12th in the WVIAC in 2001 to a 6th place finish in 2002. The Golden Eagles were able to take another big step in 2003 by finishing 14-4 in the conference with an overall 20-10 record. Sporting a 23-8 record in 2004, the Eagles pushed onto the national scene by making a national tournament appearance losing their first tournament game to California, PA, the eventual national champions. In 2005, the Eagles once again rocketed to another winning season, recording 29 wins with only five losses and an East Regional Championship Title. During the Elite Eight, the UC hoopsters lost in the first round to Washburn, the 2005 National Champions. The year of 2006 proved to be the best record ever in UC history with 31 victories, a WVIAC Tournament Championship, and an East Regional Championship. At the Elite Eight, the Eagles were defeated in the first round by the team who won the NCAA II National Title. In 2007, the Eagles survived injuries and illness to complete a 23-8 record and a 2nd place finish in the WVIAC. The 2007-08 season proved to be challenging, finishing with a 17-11 record. The Golden Eagles rebounded in 2008-09 with a record of 26-7 winning the WVIAC Title, claiming the WVIAC Tournament Championship and advancing to the second game in the NCAA Regional Tournament.
While she is a passionate coach on the sideline, she is equally passionate about her players off the court. The Golden Eagles team GPA has never dipped below 3.2 and every senior with the exception of one who remained with the program has earned a degree from the University of Charleston. Coach Winn also believes in community programs involving her players in several projects throughout the year.
Coach Winn is an intense coach who likes to push the phrase “positive demanding.” She believes in pushing her players outside their comfort zones, making them reach seemingly untouchable goals, but always doing this is a positive manner. She will be the first person to reward an athlete with a hug, a slap on the back, or words of congratulations. She will also be the first person to constructively criticize techniques and tactics.
“I require my athletes over the summer to work on their weakness so that they can become better athletes. Likewise, I require myself to look at the things that I need to improve. While some of the things identified are related to basketball skills, more often they are related to self improvement. Becoming more aware of who I am allows me the opportunity to grow in a more positive direction. As a leader, I have worked harder on leading from the center, the center of myself and the center of the team. I believe that understanding my center enables me to become a better leader and that leading from the center of the team rather than from the top looking down authorizes each player to feel ownership of the program. My goal is to provide an environment that allows those around me to reach their potential.”
Return to the 2009-2010
Interactive Media Guide
Head Coach
(304) 357-4821
sherrywinn@ucwv.edu
Intensity is the word which best describes Coach Winn. As an athlete, a student, and a coach, she has always displayed concentrated focus. This focus has led her to numerous awards. As a player, she reached the epitome of all athletics—the Olympic Games. In both 1984 and 1988, she was a member of the United States Team Handball Olympic Team. During her collegiate years, she was an Academic All-American with a 4.0 GPA and a two-time Honorable Mention All-American. She still owns 10 school records at the University of Charleston including most points in a season (682), scoring average (22.7), and the most points in a game (44). In 1993, when her team won the NAIA II National Championship, she was voted Coach of the Year in the Frontier Conference and District 12, as well as honored as the NAIA II National Coach of the Year. Last season, Coach Winn surpassed the 400 win mark claiming a total of 407 victories in her career.
She began her coaching career at the University of Minnesota—Morris where she took an eight year losing program and turned it into a winning one in just two seasons. At Montana State University—Northern, her teams compiled an overall record of 139 wins and 20 losses, winning the Frontier Conference five times in a row. The move to the University of Southern Colorado proved to be a difficult one. Once again faced with a program which had not won for years, Coach Winn was eager to do battle. Unfortunately, she was crippled physically and emotionally with chronic pain and discovered her teams could not win without her healthy at the helm.
During the eight seasons she has been at the University of Charleston, Coach Winn has created a true sense of team chemistry and positive work ethic claiming an overall record of 180 wins versus only 69 losses. During her first season at the helm of the Eagles, she managed to take a program that was 12th in the WVIAC in 2001 to a 6th place finish in 2002. The Golden Eagles were able to take another big step in 2003 by finishing 14-4 in the conference with an overall 20-10 record. Sporting a 23-8 record in 2004, the Eagles pushed onto the national scene by making a national tournament appearance losing their first tournament game to California, PA, the eventual national champions. In 2005, the Eagles once again rocketed to another winning season, recording 29 wins with only five losses and an East Regional Championship Title. During the Elite Eight, the UC hoopsters lost in the first round to Washburn, the 2005 National Champions. The year of 2006 proved to be the best record ever in UC history with 31 victories, a WVIAC Tournament Championship, and an East Regional Championship. At the Elite Eight, the Eagles were defeated in the first round by the team who won the NCAA II National Title. In 2007, the Eagles survived injuries and illness to complete a 23-8 record and a 2nd place finish in the WVIAC. The 2007-08 season proved to be challenging, finishing with a 17-11 record. The Golden Eagles rebounded in 2008-09 with a record of 26-7 winning the WVIAC Title, claiming the WVIAC Tournament Championship and advancing to the second game in the NCAA Regional Tournament.
While she is a passionate coach on the sideline, she is equally passionate about her players off the court. The Golden Eagles team GPA has never dipped below 3.2 and every senior with the exception of one who remained with the program has earned a degree from the University of Charleston. Coach Winn also believes in community programs involving her players in several projects throughout the year.
Coach Winn is an intense coach who likes to push the phrase “positive demanding.” She believes in pushing her players outside their comfort zones, making them reach seemingly untouchable goals, but always doing this is a positive manner. She will be the first person to reward an athlete with a hug, a slap on the back, or words of congratulations. She will also be the first person to constructively criticize techniques and tactics.
“I require my athletes over the summer to work on their weakness so that they can become better athletes. Likewise, I require myself to look at the things that I need to improve. While some of the things identified are related to basketball skills, more often they are related to self improvement. Becoming more aware of who I am allows me the opportunity to grow in a more positive direction. As a leader, I have worked harder on leading from the center, the center of myself and the center of the team. I believe that understanding my center enables me to become a better leader and that leading from the center of the team rather than from the top looking down authorizes each player to feel ownership of the program. My goal is to provide an environment that allows those around me to reach their potential.”
Return to the 2009-2010
Interactive Media Guide
