A lot of organizations both in and outside of sports, claim to want a family environment in the workplace.
But according to Kellie Harper’s assistant coaches, that connection is real among the new Tiger women’s basketball staff.
“All knowing each other for 10-plus years and working together at multiple stops and playing with each other,” Missouri assistant coach Liza Fruendt said. “I just think that it’s something that’s for life.”
Fruendt is one of many assistants on staff with numerous connections to each other.
She played for Harper at Missouri State, as did assistant coach Kenzie Kostas, and worked for Harper at Tennessee.
Kostas played for Harper, then worked for assistant coach Jennifer Sullivan at Florida Atlantic.
And Sullivan is joining Harper’s staff for the third time after being an assistant on Harper’s teams at Missouri State and Tennessee.
“There’s a lot of different relationships prior to all actually getting to work together,” Kostas said. “Having that prior, knowing each other, I worked for Sully before, played for her, played with Liza and our other assistants as well, having those connections. I think, just, everybody brings a lot of experience.”
When it comes to prior relationships, it’s hard to beat the ones built by two long-time friends who played ball together in college. Now that Fruendt and Kostas are reunited on a coaching staff for the first time, Fruendt said it’s like a dream.
“It has been a dream come true,” Fruendt said. “It’s so weird, like, yesterday, we got back from the recruiting shutdown and we all walked into the office. I was like, ‘Guys, we’re back,’ you know, we’re all actually back together in the office again. I think you just don’t get that. It’s so unique, we’re so lucky, we’re so fortunate. And it’s just an opportunity we both couldn’t pass up. It’s pretty cool, you look across the hall and there’s your best friend in life.”
And the new staff is hoping those long-time connections and family feeling will pass on to the players on roster, helping form strong bonds among the athletes as well.
But Fruendt said describing the connections and bonds can seem a little over the top early on.
“It’s kind of overwhelming at first because it’s like, we have to explain, like, how really connected we all are,” Fruendt said. “It’s like, can everyone halde this? Just to be able to understand and trying to get them to understand the magnitude of the connection, it’s like, we are so connected. And again, we’re so fortunate to be in this scenario and I really think the connection of our staff is going to lean really well into our team and into our players. And that’s what I think we’re really excited about. You know, if we’re connected, they’re going to be connected.”
Now that connection among the staff is helping build a new era of Missouri women’s basketball, one that prioritizes individual empowerment and long-term thinking.
Sullivan said that long-term thinking helps build lifetime relationships that will help the team grow more and more successful.
“I think she puts together phenomenal staffs,” Sullivan said of Harper. “So if you look at her track record with her staff, she’s had assistants that have been with her for long periods of time. And this day and age, it’s kind of uncommon. We have a lot of coaches that are here and there, but she’s had coaches that have been with her for seven years, six years, five years, that type of thing. I think she does a really good job of making everyone feel valued, giving everyone their role and letting them be the head coach in their area so to speak. And I think that allows all of us to feel empowered to be a part of what we’re doing.”
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