Get to know new Poway HS girls basketball coach Carissa Jones-Fletcher
POWAY, Calif. — Basketball is more than a game for Carissa Jones-Fletcher, the new girls’ varsity basketball coach for Poway High School. Of course, her goal is to build a successful and cohesive team, but she also wishes to instill life lessons that will support her players through high school and beyond.
Jones-Fletcher wants to impart many values to her team. “I want my players to develop into well-rounded individuals, and I also want to teach them important life skills in addition to the game of basketball,” she shares.
Jones-Fletcher is no stranger to Poway High School: she has been the girls’ JV basketball coach since she started teaching in the Department of Physical Education in 2015. She also serves as the department chairperson. She has been touched by how welcoming the players and parents have been with her in this new role and knows everyone has high expectations for the team and program overall.
While Jones-Fletcher admits to being nervous about filling the shoes of former long-time winning coach Jay Trousdale, she is also excited to implement new game strategies and put her own mark on the program. “I’m not afraid to say that I am nervous—this team has had a winning record since the 1980s. I hope I can begin where the last season ended—on a good note,” she adds.
A significant influence on her own coaching came from her high school PE teacher and track and field coach who she still keeps in touch with today. She describes him as a coach she wanted to model herself after—a player’s coach who was always willing to lend an ear. Jones-Fletcher reflects, “He gave great life advice on topics I didn’t understand as well back then in high school, but I definitely do now.” She also prides herself on being a player’s coach: “The girls come to me for everything and are not afraid to tell me what is going on in their lives. They know they can trust me.”
Ultimately, Jones-Fletcher wants to develop balanced student-athletes on and off the court. She emphasizes, “I want my players to know the lessons they learn with me here on the court will carry forward in many other aspects of their lives—this will help them to develop and grow as individuals.”
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