Julie Plank is an American
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
, most recently of the
Atlanta Dream
The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real ...
of the
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...
(WNBA).
Career
Previously, Julie Plank was the head coach of the
Washington Mystics
The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded pri ...
for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Plank joined the Mystics following a season with the
Minnesota Lynx
The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017.
Founded pr ...
, assistant coaching Olympian
Seimone Augustus
Seimone Delicia Augustus (born April 30, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted first overa ...
and 2008 Sixth Player/Woman of the Year,
Candice Wiggins
Candice Dana Wiggins (born February 14, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. Wiggins played college basketball at Stanford University, where she graduated as the all-time leading scorer in Stanford and Pac-10 women's basket ...
. Prior to joining the Lynx coaching staff, Plank spent eight years with the
Indiana Fever
The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned ...
as an assistant coach and director of scouting. There she helped lead the team to four playoff appearances including the 2005 and 2007
Eastern Conference Finals.
Plank served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team from 1999 through the 2000 Olympic Games in
Sydney, Australia
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...
and helped lead the U.S. to gold medal victories in the 1999 U.S. Olympic Cup and the 2000 Olympics.
Plank began her coaching career in 1984 at
Capital University
Capital University (Capital, Cap, or CU) is a private university in Bexley, Ohio. Capital was founded as the Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Ohio in 1830, and later was associated with that synod's successor, the Ame ...
in
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. She spent two years as an assistant coach, helping Capital to a 39-8 record (.809). Overall, she has helped three different
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
women’s basketball programs to a 343-104 record (.767)
Plank’s coaching career includes spending 10 years (1986–95) alongside
Tara VanDerveer
Tara Ann VanDerveer (born June 26, 1953) is an American basketball coach who has been the head women's basketball coach at Stanford University since 1985. Designated the Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women's Basketball, VanDerveer led the Stanfor ...
at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
where she assisted the Cardinal to eight consecutive NCAA Tournaments (1988–1995), four Final Four appearances (1990–92, 1995) and two NCAA championships (1990, 1992). Plank also served as the lead assistant coach under
Jim Foster at
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
from 1997–99 and oversaw the school’s recruiting and scouting efforts. In 1998, she was ranked the fifth-best NCAA Division 1 assistant coach in the nation by Women’s Basketball Journal.
References
Julie Plank Biography from WNBA.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plank, Julie
Living people
American women's basketball coaches
Atlanta Dream coaches
Basketball coaches from Ohio
Indiana Fever coaches
Minnesota Lynx coaches
Ohio State Buckeyes women's basketball players
Washington Mystics head coaches
Year of birth missing (living people)