According to women's basketball coach Pat Knapp, the two key ingredients to having a successful season are pride in the program and a desire to win.
It should be no surprise, then, that when a position opened up on his staff, he chose former Penn player and two-year American University assistant coach Amanda Kammes to fill it.
"She's very knowledgeable of the game. I knew that coaching her for a year in '04- '05," Knapp said.
Those two qualities, as well as her knowledge of the game, helped Kammes contribute as a starting guard on the 2003-04 Quakers team that won Penn's last Ivy League title. Also, she was the team captain in her senior year, her only one under Knapp.
"I really had a great experience while I was a player and student at Penn and I felt very strongly about coming back to the institution that had done so much for me, and trying to give back to it," Kammes said.
Now, she brings another positive quality to the table: experience.
"I've been there," she said. "I've been in an Ivy League championship. I've swept the first half of the Ivy League season. I know what it takes to get to that level and what kind of training it takes to win an Ivy League championship."
Kammes is in a unique position in that she is young enough to relate well to the players, which she hopes will help turn the team around.
"Being the young assistant on the staff, hopefully I will be a good bridge between the players and the rest of the staff," Kammes said.
The players are also excited in the prospect of having a coach on the team close to them in age
"I think that she will expect a lot from people, but she can still relate to us because she is young and not far removed from college basketball at Penn," incoming senior Carrie Biemer said.
When questioned about the special bond Kammes could have with the current players, Knapp quickly dismissed it as nice to have, but not critical.
"Players respond to knowledge," he said in response to what he thought important in an assistant coach. "They respond to people who have been through situations before. And they respond to people who are pushing them to a common goal."
Knapp also pointed out that Kammes' experiences with Penn will not only help on the court, it should pay dividends off the court as well.
"Her alumni connections and knowledge of Penn will help us not only in recruiting, but in development as well," he said.
Kammes will have her work cut out for her in helping try to turn around a team that went on a 15-game losing streak last season. The team ended up at 7-22 overall, with a 4-10 record in the Ivy League.
Moving into next season with a healthier, more-experienced team, Kammes again shoulders some of the responsibility to help bring another Ivy League championship to Penn. This time, however, she won't be on the court.
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