In the U SPORTS landscape, where head coaching positions are as rare as a needle in a haystack, a new coach often signals the start of a new era. But for a program to cycle through three coaches in a single year? Virtually unheard of. That's exactly the situation the Calgary Dinos women's basketball team faced after longtime head coach Damian Jennings departed midway through the 2024-25 season, prompting the appointment of an interim head coach and forcing the program into a period of reevaluation.
Enter: Sarah Besselink
On April 16, the University of Calgary Dinos announced the appointment of Sarah Besselink as the new head coach of the women's basketball team.
Stepping in as the ninth head coach in program history, Besselink brings five seasons of coaching experience — but even more notably, a deep familiarity with the U SPORTS landscape. As a former student-athlete herself, she understands today’s players on a level few can match.
During her coaching tenure with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, she spent four of her five seasons on the staff as lead assistant coach, where she went out with a bang, as her squad won the OUA's Critelli Cup and a proceeded to take home bronze medals at the 2025 U SPORTS National Championships.
Now, she will lead the Dinos with a player-first approach honed through years of experience on the court and behind the bench.
"When I decided to pursue coaching as a full-time job, I knew my end goal was to be a head coach," Besselink says. "Calgary is an outstanding academic school and the ability to recruit here is amazing. They have a solid foundation with this team and their track record over the past 10 years has been amazing — being able to build from that was very intriguing."
From player to coach
Before she was coaching top-level athletes at the University of Ottawa, Besselink was one herself — not too long ago. While earning her bachelor of human kinetics and bachelor of education, the Kingston, Ont., native played five years with the Gee-Gees, finishing her own career with a U SPORTS bronze medal in her final year. Her experience as a player and understanding of the game translate naturally into coaching.
"I view coaching as combining both of my passions: basketball and teaching," she says. "There's a huge educational component with coaching — from how you convey messages, to teaching different skills, but also letting athletes explore and solve problems on their own."
Besselink emphasizes relationship building with her student-athletes as a foundation of her coaching philosophy. Both on and off the court, she's a firm believer that coaches can get the best out of their players through the effort of getting to know them as individuals. Besselink says that is what she took away from her time as a student-athlete herself.
"That's where the team bonding and memories are created."
Bringing a culture of excellence from Ottawa
With the Gee-Gees as lead assistant on Rose-Anne Joly's staff, the team posted an impressive 65-15 record and saw them consistently ranked among the top 10 nationally. That success, she notes, was rooted in culture, consistency and communication.
"With my former head coach, there was a foundation of excellence — I benefited from learning that first and foremost and try to continue," Besselink says.
Sarah Besselink was a key part of the Gee-Gees' 2019 U SPORTS bronze medal as a player. After five years behind the bench, she helped lead the program to their first national tournament appearance since that team, winning bronze in Vancouver. Photo: Greg Kolz/Gee-Gees
"We strived to be the top in the country [in defense and an up-tempo transitional game]. Both of those we believed would keep us in games where we weren't necessarily the most talented offensively."
In addition to building a team culture, these are aspects of the game that Besselink brings to the University of Calgary. Which, for a team that has a solid foundation built around defensive strategies and principles, should be a perfect fit.
Looking ahead: schooling the coach
While Besselink is at the helm of the team, she noted how the team themselves have been instrumental in absorbing her into the squad and the Dinos' culture.
“I met with each student-athlete one-on-one,” Besselink says. “It was important to give them space — not just to talk basketball, but to get to know who they are, what their goals are, and understand them as people beyond the court.”
She adds that the team, having gone through the coaching change earlier in the year, was prepared for a new coach to come in.
"They have these sheets ready," she smiles, reflecting on her new squad. "They gave me, I think, five pages of their terminology, what they're used to doing on defence and different actions. They're very organized and very eager to get started."
And while every coach talks about focusing on one game at a time and not looking too far ahead into the conference or national finals, Besselink sees the bigger picture.
"We're going to build the culture of what it means to be a Dino together to make sure that, we can sustain it," she says. "We can hold each other accountable. I'm very fortunate that 11 athletes are returning to the team. So there's already that foundation that's there."
Besselink has goals in mind and will look to make the transition with the team as smooth as possible. And yes, they want success on the court, but the priority is establishing what "success" means to them.
With Sarah Besselink at the helm, the Dinos women’s basketball team begins a new chapter — one defined not by transition or turbulence, but by a renewed sense of identity, trust, and intention. The goal isn’t just to compete, rather to also evolve together.