As a coach, Lindsey Hicks inspires students athletically and academically

Lindsey Hicks (LA’04) had no intention of coaching basketball. She’d just finished up playing professionally overseas for six season after college when she received a phone call that would change her life. The call was from Pam Stackhouse, who was an assistant women’s basketball coach at Purdue while Hicks was on the team.

“She called me on a random Wednesday, 11:00 a.m.,” Hicks says. “She asked me, ‘Lindsey, what are you doing?’ I told her, ‘Nothing. I’m not doing anything.”

There was a coaching opportunity at Morehead State. Stackhouse thought Hicks was right for the job and encouraged her to apply. She spent two years at Morehead before moving on to Alabama, then Northwestern State. She’s now been a coach at Louisiana Tech University for four seasons and is in her second as associate head coach.

“What I love about coaching, on or off the court, is when I see it click for the student-athletes,” Hicks says. “You watch them grow and get better, and you see that difference in them. I love to be a mentor and a leader for these students.”

While recruiting for the Lady Techsters, Hicks draws from her own experiences as a student-athlete. She cautions incoming freshmen that one of the hardest concepts to master is time management.

“All these things need their attention,” Hicks says. “Time on the court, time in the gym, travel, coursework, even doing their own laundry. It was a huge part of my freshman year getting accustomed to all that. It takes self-discipline to manage your time well. When you’re on the road at an away game, you don’t feel like studying for that biology test. But you have to develop that self-discipline to stay focused.”

A visual communications design major, Hicks hauled her art supplies with her on the road. For one project, she recalls packing a stack of flattened cardboard and a box cutter. She needed the materials to build a three-dimensional cardboard sculpture that was due on Monday. She worked on it in her hotel room before and after the game. She now puts those skills to use designing mailings and social media graphics for the team.

She also oversees the academic success program, managing weekly meetings with student-athletes to ensure each one is on track to graduate. On the court, she works with the post players to develop their skills for that position —anchoring defense, running the floor, and dominating the boards. Even though she’s now on the sidelines, Hicks finds herself more emotionally invested in the game than ever.

“I take the losses a lot harder than I did as a player,” Hicks says. “You know how hard they practiced and how much they want to win. As a player, you feel like you have more control over what’s going on out on the court. As a coach, you try to prepare your team as much as possible, but you have to put it in their hands. It’s definitely a different perspective.”