Guest Coaches join Cougars

The Cougars women’s basketball team will get a pair of distinguished guests on their bench for their Saturday, November 19 game versus the Keyano Huskies.

Dr. David Docherty and his fiancé Kris Henry will join the Cougars bench as special guest coaches for the evening.

David Docherty, PhD, is Mount Royal University’s (MRU) ninth President and, as it happens, is a big basketball fan. His fiancé, Kris, played basketball at St. Mary’s University, and his two sons play high school basketball, making the sport what Docherty calls “a family passion.”

The duties of a university president are rigorous and time-consuming, so it should be a nice break for MRU’s newest president.

“I think it will be a thrill. “I got to play high school basketball, but I never got to play varsity, so this is as close to basketball fame as I’ll get,” jokes Docherty.

The Cougar women and their coaches are looking forward to adding a couple honourary Cougars to the bench. It’s fantastic to have the president in the gym, let alone at floor level, so they know that Saturday will be a special night.

“We are very excited to have them here,” says head coach Joe Enevoldson. It’s kind of a monumental occurrence for us as a program and I think it’s great to see their support of Cougar Athletics. We’re honoured to have them sit on our bench.”

Despite a little bit of added pressure on the Cougar women, Enevoldson expects his girls to get right down to business.

“It doesn’t have to change anything, we just go about business as usual,” says Enevoldson.

“The girls already know it’s happening, so it’s not going to be a surprise. We are going to have…stuff that comes up throughout the course of the year…and we just have to focus on the process. It’s exciting times for the girls and I’m hoping it will be exciting for [the president and his fiancé].”

So with all the knowledge, wisdom and experience that accompany a presidential role, what type of input will Docherty have on Saturday?

“I probably won’t put my two cents in,” quips Docherty. “I’ll be sitting on the bench but probably more in a cheerleading capacity than a coaching capacity, and I promise I will not do my Bobby Knight Impression.” Referring to the famous former Indiana basketball coach who was known for his fiery antics and outburst on the floor.

The Cougars would like nothing more than to take an undefeated record into Saturday night’s matchup with the Huskies, but first they’ll have to get past the MacEwan Griffins on Friday. The Griffins and the Cougars are the ACAC’s only undefeated teams, with identical 6-0 records.
 
As far as basketball weekends go at Mount Royal University, this is one you won’t want to miss.