Women's basketball Head Coach Stefanie Pemper doesn't want to be remembered for her team's accomplishments on the court, and that's precisely what makes her great.
Being a coach means much more than instructing. Beyond a person with knowledge of the sport, a coach is a motivator, a teacher, a tactician, a mentor. It was this complex and multi-faceted nature of coaching that first attracted Pemper to the job. As a coach, "you have to be so many different things," Pemper said. "It's a balancing act."
Pemper isn't just a basketball coach, she "really incorporates being a teacher into her coaching," said Kelsey Borner '09. "All of her players completely trust her and trust what she's teaching them as a sort-of mentor."
And Pemper doesn't just teach her players about basketball. Aiming to help prepare her players for their futures, she teaches them about "leading by example, taking risks (on the court, in the classroom, and in the community), reliability, and hard work" said Pemper. "Team sports challenge people like life does. Sports are so complementary to academic and extracurricular interests."
In practice, Coach Pemper doesn't concentrate on winning games.
"We just focus so much on getting better and that just consumes us," Pemper said. "We set our own little goals that we try to meet everyday."
Though Pemper does not judge her seasons by her team's win-loss record, her team has won a few games. In the middle of her ninth season coaching the Polar Bears, Pemper stands at an incredible 234-41 mark. She has an .886 win percentage over the past five seasons and owns a 16-7 record in NCAA tournament play. Her teams have reached at least the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in each of the last six seasons, and they have reached the Elite Eight for the last five.
Her 2004 team (30-1) was the first Bowdoin team to compete in an NCAA National Championship game. Having coached the winningest team in Bowdoin women's basketball history, Pemper is the only Bowdoin coach to have won the NESCAC Women's Basketball Championship since its establishment in 2000. She was named the District One Coach of the Year in 2003 and the NCAA National Coach of the Year in 2004.
Yet Pemper seems to be more a teacher than a coach.
"She has high expectations and really believes in her kids," said Director of Athletics Jeff Ward. "She understands that she has bright players and encourages them to use their own minds."
By teaching her players how to assess a situation rather than how to make certain practiced shots, Pemper can create more complete players.
"She sets up practice situations and prepares you so you know how to react, but ultimately she forces you to make decisions as a team," Borner said. "When it comes time to do it in a game, you and your teammates know exactly what to do. We succeed because she's provided us with the opportunity and the skills to know how to succeed."
After growing up playing all kinds of sports with two older brothers, Pemper says she is about as competitive as they come. "I understand that the scoreboard says a lot," Pemper said. "I definitely want to win and that drives me to be as good as I can be."
But in the end, she said she wants to be remembered not as a basketball coach, but as "a respected member of the community" and "a respected teacher and mentor."
When she finally puts the clipboard down, there is no question that Pemper will be known as an exceptional basketball coach. After all, she's already won the most games in the program's history and is one of the most successful coaches the NESCAC has ever seen. But that won't be enough for Pemper, the teacher.
"As much success as they've had, I don't think she judges herself on that basis," said Ward. "I think her real scorecard is 20 years down the line to see how athletics affected the lives of her players. I think she'll get straight As."