The Lakehead Thunderwolves women's basketball program enters the 2025-2026 season with a new head coach. Christopher Rao from Welland, Ont. joins the program after most recently coaching at Cape Breton University. Get to know Christopher before the Thunderwolves take the court.
What got you into basketball?
Rao: My dad was a basketball coach and I've been around the game a long, long time now. I fell in love with it early on because I got to watch my dad coach and interact with his players when I was little.
Did you always want to pursue coaching?
Ra: I did, I was about 10 when I kind of figured out it was what I wanted to do. My dad was already (coaching) in high school, I thought I would be a high school coach. We talked about it, he said figure out a way to do it at a high level and I've been chasing that ever since.
What are some things you learned in your coaching journey?
Rao: I learned a lot, it's a hard one to distill down, I think the main one is calm down, be present in the moment. Appreciate what's happening in the moment, be aware of what the people around you need in that moment to get to where you need to go. Lots and lots, always learning but calm down has been a big one that's stuck with me.
What would you say is the most rewarding aspect of coaching?
Rao: It's the relationships with your fellow coaches and the players you work with and watching them all succeed. The best part of coaching is watching your players succeed. They have to go out there and do it themselves in a lot of ways and watching them have the tools and success for that and develop the tools and the success to go do that is the most rewarding part.
What brought you to Lakehead?
Rao: It was a really interesting opportunity, it's a fantastic school, great academic school. The community around the basketball team and the athletics department here is awesome, they've had some of the best attendance in the OUA [and] the best fans in the country, so I am really excited to be here in Thunder Bay and help move this program forward.
What are you looking forward to the most about being the head coach at Lakehead?
Rao: Just being a part of the community and putting together a program and a team that the community can be proud of. I think that's the most important part for a place like Thunder Bay is that they can get behind their team, we can support the university by showing well at home and on the road, and representing the university well. I think that's a big part of being a university basketball coach.
What can fans expect from your team?
Rao: A lot of familiar faces, we've got a lot of kids who have been here for a couple years, a lot of locals. I think they can expect a team that plays really hard, be pretty competitive and we're going to push to make some noise. I think that's what they can expect and I hope we can make them proud and some bounces go our way and we have a pretty good season.