New Haven women's basketball coach Ty Grace. (Photo courtesy of New Haven Athletics)
WEST HAVEN ? There?s one thing certain about Ty Grace in her new role as women?s basketball coach at the University of New Haven: She isn?t going to be intimidated by the competition.
That?s not to say that battling the likes of Northeast-10 powerhouses like Bentley isn?t difficult, but Grace has spent the last four years as an assistant at Seton Hall.
?I?ve been in the Big East,? Grace said. ?We?ve played UConn and Notre Dame, the best teams in the country.?
Grace replaces Jessica Smith, who left to take an assistant?s role under first-year coach Jessica Mannetti at Sacred Heart University. Smith led the Chargers to a 14-13 mark last season, a staunch improvement from the 3-23 mark the prior season.
?The foundation is here,? Grace said. ?Now we have to build on it.?
It is a homecoming for Grace, who graduated from New Haven in 1999 and registered over 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her stellar career.
?I?m just so excited to be back,? Grace said. ?It?s going to be so much fun to play in alumni games and go to homecoming and see all my old friends. I haven?t been able to do that in so long because of my other commitments.?
Grace has 13 years of Division I coaching experience and served as a head coach at Ramapo College in New Jersey from 2004-06. She most recently served under current Connecticut Sun coach and Hall of Famer Anne Donovan while at Seton Hall as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator.
?Without a doubt (Donovan) is one of the best coaches I?ve ever worked for,? Grace said. ?I learned so much from her. We were building a great program there and I learned how to build from her. She?s also just a great person.?
Grace was instrumental in assembling recruiting classes ranked as high as 25th in Division I, including the signing of two McDonald?s All-America nominees. Continued...
Grace was Donovan?s top recruiter while at Seton Hall and hopes to hone that skill at New Haven. For now, however, she takes over a team with a full roster.
?We had no scholarships (to offer) so I?m just working for the 2014 season,? Grace said. ?To be a great team you have to have great players and I?m hoping that the relationships I?ve built will pay off. I?ve already been out recruiting and getting ready for next season.
?One thing that I?m looking for is great kids, too. I want to have great players, but they have to be great kids.?
The most difficult task that Grace may face is evaluating her current players. Grace not only didn?t recruit them, she?s never seen them play.
?I?ve gotten a chance to talk to each one of them and they?re all excited,? she said. ?Right now I?ve be watching tapes on them. But it will be fine. We?ve got time to work together and build a team.?
Grace said she wasn?t about to put a timetable on making the Chargers a conference contender.
?That?s the goal,? she said. ?New Haven wouldn?t have hired me if they didn?t think that I could do it and I wouldn?t have taken the job if that wasn?t in their plans. It?s going to be a process. I don?t know if it?s going to take four years or so, but we have a high level of expectations.?
Grace is the 16th head coach in program history and was inducted into the New Haven Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.
Source: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/08/01/sports/doc51fb2aeddfc51325596599.txt
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