Talisha Washington, or "Coach T" as her Westminster women's basketball players call her, has filled and continues to fill many roles in her career.
The Fulton native was a player on Westminster's 2012-13 NCAA tournament teams.
She has been an administrator with the Missouri State High School Activities Association and Callaway County YMCA and continues to be at Westminster as the Senior Women's Administrator.
And she is coming off her second season as head coach of the Blue Jays, finishing the year with a 12-3 record and a conference championship after winning the SLIAC championship tournament in April. The last time the Blue Jays did that? The 2012-13 season with Washington as a player.
She said it was "a little bit sweeter" to win a conference title as a coach because she had a group of young women who have all bought in to her coaching philosophy as a coach to accomplish one shared goal. It is this feeling of togetherness and the relationship-building that sports offers that made Washington happy to be playing this season.
"Having our student-athletes play was imperative," she said. "We had to play games this year. We said (to the players) 'We're going to play. We're just not sure when."'
Washington said she is thankful Westminster was able to have a season this year after some schools didn't even play games at all not being too far removed from the start of the pandemic. The NCAA didn't have a Division III national tournament this year due to the level of participation in women's basketball, and other sports, not meeting the threshold of 60 percent. Washington said she was frustrated this happened, especially since winning the conference tournament is usually an automatic bid into the contest, but now, the team will follow the mantra of "unfinished business" heading into next season.
Some other unfinished business that Washington has is to make sports better for current and potential student-athletes. A key way she does this is as chair of the SLIAC Diversity and Inclusion Committee, which was formed by SLIAC commissioner Dick Kaiser in October in response to all the events happening in the world - such as protests and movements like Black Lives Matter.
Kaiser asked Washington to chair the committee and find ways to educate and promote diversity across the campuses in the conference, Washington said. She said she was "absolutely on board" with the position and accepted "without question."
To spread the committee's initiatives, Washington said they are actively looking for ideas so it can spread its inclusive message to every campus easier. The committee has already and will continue to host seminars so speakers can talk about their past experiences and people can learn how underrepresented groups can participate in sports as athletes, coaches and officials. Washington said this includes all races, genders and LGBTQ individuals.
Earlier this year, Washington made history when she became the first Black woman to win the SLIAC Coach of the Year award. She said she was blessed and humbled to be recognized by her fellow coaches for the progress she was able to make in one year with the program, after her 2019-20 team went 12-13, and the award provided her with a "feeling of great joy I still have today." As a Black woman, Washington said she also recognizes how significant her accomplishment can be for diversity and inclusion.
"That is like motivation for me, especially being a Black woman, to continue to be a role model for young coaches, for women as well," she said. "Coaching in today's society is pretty much a male-dominant industry."
Having more women involved in sports would help improve gender equality in sports, Washington said. Making sure all voices are heard also furthers this cause, as Washington does as the Senior Women's Administrator at Westminster. She said student-athletes should all get the necessary support and just have someone there to listen to their concerns.
Washington said she is always looking for ways to make things better or to enhance the student-athlete experience as she is well aware of what a student-athlete has to go through, like maintaining grades and juggling various responsibilities, based on her time as one. Helping them deal with issues, Washington said, is "one of the reasons I care so much about all the student-athletes and not just my own student-athletes."
Sports are just too important because of the positives they offer, Washington said, such as life lessons, character-building and relationship-building. She can attest to this after being involved in them since she was young when her parents were coaches at the Missouri School for the Deaf, she said. Since then, Washington said the gym has been "like another home" for her.
Absence can make the heart grow fonder has been a popular saying throughout history. This idea could be applied to sports during the pandemic, Washington said. She said everyone was wondering what to watch as so many sporting events weren't able to occur, but the main thing everyone realized is sports is such an important part of our lives and society. Washington said she wouldn't have realized this in high school but has as an adult.
Now that pandemic restrictions are easing, Washington said she is eager, as are all the coaches in Westminster athletics, to start community camps later this year. There are camps held by Westminster women's basketball scheduled for August, September and October. Washington said it's better when all people, including Fulton children, are able to participate in sports.
"Everybody, everybody, Black, white, LGBTQ, you know, all of that, everybody comes together through sport," she said. "It's so amazing to see that. At the end of the day, sports are there."