By Taylor Morris
“Coaching is more than just X’s and O’s. It’s about getting your team to play for you and play for each other.”
Tasha Diesselhorst, the new women’s basketball Head Coach of Northwestern Oklahoma State University, said she believes in the importance of the team working as one.
Coaching revolves around hard work, discipline and fundamentals, according to Diesselhorst. She believes that you must do the little things in order to be successful.
Diesselhorst was born in Burlington, Oklahoma. However, as a coach’s daughter she moved around a little bit while growing up. She moved to Enid, Oklahoma when she was in the second grade and then again to Medford, Oklahoma when in the eighth grade.
Since Diesselhorst grew up around basketball, having a passion for the game was inevitable. The speed of the game and how quickly you have to be able to react to situations and adapt on the court is what got her hooked.
Her family had a huge coaching influence in her life. Growing up immersed in the world of basketball, it was all she knew. Her father, mother, grandpa and aunt all positively influenced and affected the lives of a lot of kids through the game of basketball and her hope was to always have that same effect and influence one day.
And of all her family that played a role in her success as a coach, Diesselhorst’s father was her greatest guidance.
“His knowledge, love and passion for the game have always driven me to never stop growing in my profession,” Diesselhort said.
“I am always eager to learn more about the game. His impact on his players and ability to teach life lessons through basketball was always inspiring to me as well.”
Diesselhorst played college basketball at Oklahoma Christian University from 2002-2006. During her time there, the Lady Eagles went to four national tournaments. She was selected as an All-Sooner Athletic Conference pick three times and received an NAIA All-American honor in 2005.
Once she finished her playing career at OC, she coached junior varsity there, while she also diligently worked on her master’s degree. After completing the degree, she took the head coaching position at Pond Creek-Hunter at the young age of 23.
Winning a state championship with her Pond Creek team, the Lady Panthers, in 2014 was definitely a moment to remember, according to Diesselhorst.
“I will never forget the smiles on the girls faces and the memories we made during that journey, that is what coaching is all about,” Dieselhorst said.
And now Diesselhorst has made her way to Northwestern, and she said felt truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to live out her dream of coaching.
“Northwestern was an easy choice for me. Growing up in northwest Oklahoma my entire life I embodied everything Northwestern was about.”
A typical practice on Dieselhorst’s court starts out with shooting skills, followed by drills broken down to work on what their focus is on that specific day, and then 5-on-5 work. She then tries to mix in free throw shooting and conditioning throughout the practice.
But future players of Diesselhorst’s should know that in her practices she wants her players to bring energy in everything they do. In her practices, players do several competitive drills everyday, because she wants her players to compete each day.
And Diesselhort is very excited for this year’s group of Rangers. She said they have continued to grow in the second half of the season. She has seen a lot of improvement since the first game, however she knows her players still have a long way to go to be where they want to be.
But her journey with the Rangers is just beginning.