New Terrapins assistant women’s basketball coach Tina Langley emphasized that building relationships is vital in college coaching, and Langley would know.
She’s returning to the profession after a two-year hiatus to earn a master’s degree in counseling, focusing on college mental health.
“Working with young people is one thing I always wanted to do,” said Langley, whose last coaching stint was at Georgia in 2006. “Coaching was an opportunity to do that, but the last two years have opened my eyes.”
“When I was going through some of the course work I was thinking, ‘If I had just known that when I was a college coach,'” Langley said. “I don’t think it would be right to be counseling the kids, but I can be there for them and have a better understanding.”
Langley will get an opportunity to use some of those skills with a Terps team full of talented but untested young players, especially in the frontcourt after the departure of pivots Laura Harper and Crystal Langhorne.
Langley also specializes in recruiting, something that caught the attention of head coach Brenda Frese while searching for an assistant to replace Diane Richardson, who announced she was leaving the program in April.
“I think she’s going to be a perfect fit because she can do so many things well,” Frese said. “The fact that she has been a recruiting coordinator and the abilities she has there is a perfect complement with the other two assistants that we have.”
Before serving as Georgia’s recruiting coordinator, Langley worked in the ACC as an assistant coach at Clemson for two years.
Before that, she was a part of the staff at Toledo, where she helped guide the Rockets to two NCAA tournament bids and two nationally ranked recruiting classes.
“Recruiting is about getting to know young people and trying to help them find the right school and the right fit for them,” Langley said. “I’m so excited about Maryland because I think Coach Frese has a genuine concern about the players she recruits and puts them into a position to succeed not just basketball-wise, but academically, too.”
Besides Langley’s experience, Frese talked about the familiarity the two already have with each other from their coaching days in the Mid-American Conference. The two often bumped into one another during recruiting trips while Frese was coaching Ball State and Langley was with Toledo.
“I’ve known Tina for years,” Frese said. “Obviously, when you spend a lot of time out recruiting, your paths cross. I’ve always been impressed with how hard she works.”
And from Frese’s perspective, Langley’s recent academic background can only help her in her new job.
“What a phenomenal second degree to get. You can definitely utilize that in this profession,” Frese said of Langley’s counseling degree. “I know she’s extremely passionate about getting back into coaching. For her to come back and coach at Maryland; I know she’s excited about the opportunity.”
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