Meet
Jacqueline Niagwan Head coach of Plateau Peaks basketball club. The first
female head coach of a Professional men's team in Nigeria.
Coach Jacque as she's fondly called was born and brought up in Jos, Plateau state. The female trojan matched out for Plateau Rocks basketball club, the female basketball club sponsored by the Plateau State Sports council for 22 years from 1989 to 2011. She never played for any other club throughout her career and suprisingly never made a national team appearance, although she was called up once.
Her coaching career started in 2007, when she stood on the sidelines to spearhead her childhood club's promotion from Division 1 into the Zenith Bank female basketball league in her first year in charge, she equally laced her boots for 4 more years to fight for a league title to show her young girls that "truly talk is cheap". But after a couple of final 8 appearances, she pulled the plug on her playing career and continued leading from the sidelines.
Coach Jacque began to create waves in the men's coaching world when she took the Plateau State male basketball team to her first podium finish in 33 years at the EKO 2012 National Sports festival. Winning bronze, defeating host Lagos State in the 3rd place match. Her achievement was deemed remarkable by the Plateau State Sports council who without much ado named her Head coach of their Premier league men's team Plateau Peaks with immediate effect.
It took Jacqueline Niagwan just two years to make her impact felt in the male dominated Nigerian Premier league. She orchestrated her Peaks qualification for the 2014 Final 8 playoffs with an enviable record of second best defensive team in the entire league with just 747 points allowed in 14 regular season games. (Champions Kano Pillars allowed 817 points in the same number of games)Her strong defensive philosophy carried her team all the way. Making her the first female coach not only to handle a male Premier league team, but the first female coach, to qualify for the Premier league national playoffs.
Jacqueline has indeed proved to the world and particularly her female counterparts that women can successfully coach men. Her achievements ask if truly it's really a man's world? No matter what your answer is, this exemplary role model deserves to be celebrated for her achievements.
Coach Jacque as she's fondly called was born and brought up in Jos, Plateau state. The female trojan matched out for Plateau Rocks basketball club, the female basketball club sponsored by the Plateau State Sports council for 22 years from 1989 to 2011. She never played for any other club throughout her career and suprisingly never made a national team appearance, although she was called up once.
Her coaching career started in 2007, when she stood on the sidelines to spearhead her childhood club's promotion from Division 1 into the Zenith Bank female basketball league in her first year in charge, she equally laced her boots for 4 more years to fight for a league title to show her young girls that "truly talk is cheap". But after a couple of final 8 appearances, she pulled the plug on her playing career and continued leading from the sidelines.
Coach Jacque began to create waves in the men's coaching world when she took the Plateau State male basketball team to her first podium finish in 33 years at the EKO 2012 National Sports festival. Winning bronze, defeating host Lagos State in the 3rd place match. Her achievement was deemed remarkable by the Plateau State Sports council who without much ado named her Head coach of their Premier league men's team Plateau Peaks with immediate effect.
It took Jacqueline Niagwan just two years to make her impact felt in the male dominated Nigerian Premier league. She orchestrated her Peaks qualification for the 2014 Final 8 playoffs with an enviable record of second best defensive team in the entire league with just 747 points allowed in 14 regular season games. (Champions Kano Pillars allowed 817 points in the same number of games)Her strong defensive philosophy carried her team all the way. Making her the first female coach not only to handle a male Premier league team, but the first female coach, to qualify for the Premier league national playoffs.
Jacqueline has indeed proved to the world and particularly her female counterparts that women can successfully coach men. Her achievements ask if truly it's really a man's world? No matter what your answer is, this exemplary role model deserves to be celebrated for her achievements.
-By Afrobasket
No comments:
Post a Comment