The Washington Mystics are a dominant force in the WNBA. The players practice and compete day after day under the guidance of some of the leagues best coaches.
The Mystics are currently under the very knowledgeable and talented coaching staff, that use their experience to bring out the best in the team.
Head Coach
Head Coach Trudi Lacey is in her second season with the Mystics. She has seen much success, including a 22-12 overall finish last season. Before becoming head coach, Lacey served as the assistant coach for the Mystics.
This program hasn’t seen much stability, as Lacey is the 12th coach in 14 seasons. With Lacey taking the helm, she’s looking to make her own mark on the Mystics franchise. During the recent WNBA Draft, Lacey looked to gain young, athletic, scrappy types. She wants to emphasize defense and scoring in transition and sees the young athletes as the best types to accomplish this.
Before coaching the Mystics, Lacey was the head coach of Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Head Coach and General Manager of the Charlotte Sting. Lacey has also made her way through the college circuit, as she did coaching stints at the University of Maryland, University of South Florida, NAIA Francis Marion College, Manhattan College, and James Madison University. Outside of basketball, Lacey is the President and CEO of Lacey & Co. LLC.
This company is an executive coaching firm that specializes in strategic initiatives, coaching, personal development, and organizational leadership training.
Assistant Coaches
Laurie Byrd serves is in her first season with the Mystics. Before coming to the team, she also had experience with the Houston Comets, Detroit Shock, and New York Liberty. Byrd was selected for this position for her work ethic, knowledge and experience, and ability to develop players.
Some previous duties have included player development, game preparation, scouting, planning practices, individual workouts, evaluating WNBA personnel, international and developmental league layers, and college draft prospects. While she was doing a stint with the Detroit Shock, she helped the team win the 2003 WNBA Championship.
Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer, Marianne Stanley, is in her second straight season with the Mystics, but has previously been involved with the franchise as an assistant coach in 2001 and head coach from 2002-2003. Stanley had hopes of becoming the Head Coach of the Los Angeles Sparks, but when she was overlooked she decided to help the Mystics.
While she was at the helm of the Mystics, she led the team to the playoffs in 2002 and won the WNBA’s Coach of the Year award. In 2004, Stanley left and became the assistant coach to Patty Coyle with the New York Liberty, where she was in charge of advanced scouting.
She also has an illustrious record as head coach at the college level. She helped lead Rutgers University to the NCAA Championship game as an assistant coach, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002, was the Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 1993, and Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year in 1984-85.
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