Botham named Queens Basketball head coach

Red Deer College and RDC Athletics are very pleased to announce the appointment of Mandy Botham as the head coach of the Queens Basketball program. The past two seasons, Botham was the head coach of the Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC) Wolves, who play in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Women's Basketball North Division.

"Mandy is a young coach with a lot of potential," says Diane St-Denis, RDC Athletic Director. "She has taken the right steps to secure and maintain her coaching certification, and she is connected to great mentors from the national team program and U Sports."

Botham, who is nearly finished the Train to Compete stages of the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP), brings a gamut of valuable ACAC coaching and playing experience to RDC.

Prior to her time guiding the Wolves, she was the head coach of the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Eagles and an assistant coach with the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves, in her hometown of Prince George. Botham was also the assistant coach of Team B.C.'s U15 Girls in 2014 and head coach in 2015, and she coached at the Canada Basketball Centre for Performance in Vancouver.

Mandy Botham

"I am excited to have the opportunity to come to Red Deer College and lead the Queens Basketball team," says Botham. "RDC is known for its strong tradition of athletic excellence and I look forward to building on these traditions."

Botham will join a strong and knowledgeable group of RDC coaches, who have achieved success at the ACAC and Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) levels.

"Mandy is a student of the game and our job will be to support her ongoing development," says St-Denis. "Mandy displays the necessary skills and attributes that will help her succeed, and she has the support of our experienced coaches and staff at RDC."

Botham's time coaching in Grande Prairie was a homecoming of sorts. She was a student-athlete on the most prolific Women's Wolves Basketball team in GPRC history. During the 1994-5 season, Botham's Wolves had a perfect ACAC regular season record and captured the ACAC Championship. Then at the CCAA Women's Basketball National Championship, the Wolves earned a bronze medal in Nova Scotia.

Botham will arrive in Red Deer in mid-May and will step into her duties as Queens Head Coach on May 16.

"I'm looking forward to coming to Red Deer and immersing myself in the high-performance environment at RDC," says Botham.