SHU’s Mannetti hopes the Pioneers carry over last year’s late momentum
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (BVM) — Going into her eighth season as the Sacred Heart women’s basketball coach, Jessica Mannetti is hoping to start the season like they finished the 2019-20 season, where her Pioneers made it to the semifinals of the Northeast Conference (NEC) tournament. SHU finished the season with a 13-17 (9-9 NEC) record and finished as the five-seed in the conference.
“The bright spot the team has taken from last season was catching fire down the stretch – we ended the season on a five-game win streak…before the tournament got canceled due to COVID-19,” said Mannetti. “We were plagued with injuries last season, many of our young players had to play a ton of minutes, we had minimal depth and just couldn’t get into a rhythm.”
Mannetti began her coaching career in the AAU and high school ranks from 2004-08 before becoming an assistant coach at Hofstra University from 2008-12. Her journey to becoming a Division I coach has not come without obstacles.
“Doubt from others who thought I couldn’t make coaching a career, and self-doubt when I would have failure early on in my coaching career due to inexperience,” said Mannetti. “But here’s the thing with doubt – believing it is a choice and it wasn’t a choice I was going to make. There is nothing that is more gratifying as a competitor than proving someone who doubts you wrong.”
Growing up in Fairfield County, Mannetti joined SHU in 2013, going home for her first Division I head coaching job. Since then, Mannetti believes that being so close to home has made her a better coach as well as a better person, even if her time with the Pioneers did not start so brightly.
“It was a blessing to be able to return home to begin working my dream job…that year I was trying to handle the stress of a first-time head coaching position, a new team, a challenging season and the loss of my father,” said Mannetti. “But there was also a ton of growth this year, lots of self-evaluation and reflection back on things I could have done differently…all of which continue to put me in a position to better relate to my players and things they may be going through.”
In her first seven years at SHU, Mannetti has had four winning seasons. In 2015-16, she led the Pioneers to a 16-2 record in the conference to win an NEC regular season title and earn the NEC Coach of the Year. Mannetti has qualified for the NEC tournament every year as well as appearing in the Women’s NIT on three occasions (2015-16, 2016-17, and 2019-20).
Mannetti’s mindset and culture change is one of the few reasons her time at SHU has been successful.
“Show up with a positive mindset, bring relentless effort, never let anyone outwork you, and get better every day,” said Mannetti. “If we are prepared, if we have put in the work early to prepare, if we leave it all on the court whether it’s in practice or a game, then we can walk away saying we gave our best effort and believe that a positive outcome will be the result of that.”
Mannetti and her staff also have the upperclassmen help the new players get acclimated to the team and understand the squad’s philosophies.
“Our culture carryover is also a huge component of this which is why we have ‘SHU sisters’ on our team,” said Mannetti. “We pair an upperclassman with a freshman or sophomore who becomes a mentor that can teach a younger player our culture, team standards and expectations.”
Unfortunately, SHU did not have an opportunity to play for a spot in the 2020 women’s NCAA Tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic the canceled NCAA spring sports. Mannetti talked about how the team stayed in touch while in quarantine, waiting to hear the announcement on the new season’s start.
“The team has been tremendous to coach during this pandemic,” said Manneti. “We have been able to stay very connected – whether its Zoom calls, texts, etc. During the months of quarantine we were able to keep a strong foundation of our family culture even though we couldn’t be together… Now that we are back at SHU, they showed up with tremendous work ethic both in the weight room and on the court – they continue to stay connected and happy to see each other and be together and that’s all a coach could ever ask for.”
With the NCAA announcing that basketball will be returning on Nov. 25, Mannetti and her staff are excited for this year’s team, who seem motivated to continue their end-of-season form.
“This year’s team brings a great new energy to the floor,” Manneti said, “it’s a nice balance of returners as well as new players who are hungry to contribute and make their mark. I think it increases our overall competitiveness as they vie for starting spots and minutes… They [the seniors] have been talking about a ring for the last three years and last year feel as if the opportunity was taken away from us, so I have a feeling that in this final quest for a championship we could see some special things happen.”
