PSU Magazine Fall 2003

Women crossing the gender gap imo men's sports is a hot topic, but nol down on the Aschoff family [arm in Milford, Utah. That's where former Viking basketball star Renae Aschoff '97 now lives, helping out her parents in her spare time. Her full-time job? Coaching boys basketball at Milford High School. In a supposedly enlightened era, Call me 'sir' road to Milford was unusual, bul it appears to be a place she truly belongs. Aschoff grew up on her parems'– Carl and Margaret's-dairy farm in Oregon, prepping al Sandy High School before attending Portland State in the early 1990s. While earning a double major in general science and biochemislry, Aschoff starred on the Viking basketball team. From 1990 to Coach Renae Aschoff '97 is breaking barriers. an uproar can still be crealed by such a simple thing as a woman-say, golfer Annika Sorenstam-competing against men. Well, what about women coaching the male gender? "lt hasn't been an issue for me or my team," Aschoff says, "because l never saw it that way. "l tend to be a blunder-fonh-and– see-what-happens kind of person. And I would have to say it's all been pretty smooth. I've been coaching the same kids for a couple of years now, and they've been very receptive and respect- ful of me and what we are trying to do. " While she isn't the first female to coach a male team, Aschoff is still on an exlremely short list, particularly in a high-profile sport like basketball. Her 28 PSU MAGAZINE FALL 2003 1993, she played on some of lhe best of PSU Hall of Fame Coach Greg Bruce's teams, compiling an 88-29 record. In 1992, lhe Vikings placed third in the nation. Aschoff became one of PSU's all-time leading scorers and earned Pacific West Conference Player of the Year honors in '93. That year she also led the nation in free throw shoaling percentage. All the while Aschoff maintained a near 4.0 GPA, earning Academic All-Confer– ence honors. following her playing career at PSU, there were no professional basketball options for women in the Uniled States (the WNBA was slill years away). So, Aschoff moved to Australia to play semi-professionally. She was given a place to live and was assisted in finding a job in a pathology lab. In her first o[ seven years playing Down Under, Aschoff's team, Wagga Wagga, won the ew South Wales state cham– pionship. "It really expanded my game play– ing down there," Aschoff says. "Where I used to be a shooter at PSU , I learned right away nobody was going to work hard to get me the ball in Australia. Nobody made the third pass. lt was more of a one-on-one game. So, I really developed my driving and pass– ing skills. In fact, my final year, in 2000 at the age of 31, I was my team's defensive player of the year. l know that would really surprise Coach Bruce! " Ar that point, Aschoff became hun– gry to move home. By then her parents had moved to Utah and started a new dairy farm in Milford . Figuring she would move back to help out on the farm, Aschoff knew she still needed to be involved in basketball. In fact, she had run some basketball camps and even coached high school-aged boys during her time in Australia. So, out of the blue, she called John eilson, the principal at Milford High School, and asked if she could