Sitting out her sophomore season at Philadelphia University with an injury taught Stephanie Agger that she was destined to be a coach.
Serving as head coach and teaching at John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School in center city taught the North Cape May native that she wasn’t cut out to be in front of a classroom all day. She’d also served as a teacher’s aide at Upper Darby Middle School.
“My mother and twin sister are teachers,” said Agger, a 1,000 point scorer for the Caper-Tigers from 2004-2007. “It takes a special person to be a teacher, but it’s not for me. I found that I’m meant to be a full-time coach on the collegiate level.”
Agger, 24, was recently named the 11th head women’s basketball coach at Penn State’s Abington campus, a Division III school coming off of a nine win season in the North Eastern Athletic Conference.
“Stephanie brings a wealth of knowledge and a track record for success to our athletic department,” said Abington AD Shawne McCoy in a prepared statement. “We are pleased to welcome Stephanie to the Nittany Lion coaching staff and feel that she will be an excellent role model for our student-athletes. I look forward to working with her as we continue to build our women’s basketball program.”
A left-handed point guard for Roy Wright’s Lower Cape May squad, Agger earned All Cape-Atlantic League and All South Jersey honors in Erma. “Coach Wright taught me about having passion for the game,” said Agger, a member of the Lower Cape May Athletics Hall of Fame. “He knew there was nothing you couldn’t achieve if you cared enough and really wanted it.”
As a collegiate player at Philadelphia University, Agger played four seasons under one of the region’s top ranked Division II coaches in Tom Shirley. She helped the Rams to a 75-41 record and was an instrumental part of the 2008-09 team that won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) championship and earned the program’s seventh NCAA Tournament berth.
A two-time CACC all-conference selection, Agger concluded her career as a Ram with 1,078 points and 405 rebounds. She also ranks fifth all-time in assists (339) and third all-time in steals (226).
She left the school with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in business administration. “Winning that championship in my sophomore year will always be a special memory,” said Agger, who’s engaged to be married to seventh year Widener University men’s basketball coach, Chris Carideo.
At Hallahan, the sister school to Roman Catholic High School for boys, Agger was responsible for scouting, recruiting and player development as well as fundraising and developing community relations programming. She also worked a number of college and high school basketball camps and training programs in Pennsylvania, including the 76ers Women’s Basketball Camp, Caper-Tiger Camp and Nothin’ But Net Basketball Camp for the past six years.
The so-called coaching fraternity really is a close knit community and Agger was able to use her considerable contacts within the network to earn interviews for the head job at two colleges.
“I’m excited to here at Penn State Abington and be part of the community,” said the daughter of Martin and Sueanne Agger. “I hope to raise my expectations and challenge not only myself but my student-athletes by demonstrating my vision for this program and providing a positive experience on and off the court. I am very eager to get started and bring back the fun and excitement in women’s basketball and be part of the positive vibes at Abington.”
She spends a great deal of time on the recruiting trail following AAU tournaments and other events which showcase young talent. She’s intent on building a winning program and continuing to grow as a head coach.
Agger’s coaching philosophy is to have the players believe in themselves. “It’s the core of what the girls can offer to the team—themselves,” she said. “We have an excellent support system from our administration because they know that successful athletics programs can boost enrollment.”
Speaking of the coaching connections, Agger just added former Wildwood star Lana Harshaw to her coaching staff. She also informed her fiancée about a special young player she saw on the Wildwood Crest basketball courts. Former Warrior star Francis Christian has signed on to play for Widener.
Her goal for her first year at Abington is to simply win more games than last year’s nine. She realizes that success is most often a process and a result of sustained hard work and dedication. She knows the key is attracting talented basketball players who are also good kids.
“We just want to improve upon last year,” she said. “It takes a lot of time but I love what I’m doing.”
Reach Rossi at joerossi61@comcast.net
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Do you think it's appropriate for BLM to call for "Burning down the city" and "Black Vigilantes" because…
