By Peter Ash
For the first time in her 11-year coaching career, Carly Clarke will be coaching at the highest level in Canada.
According to a Canada Basketball release, the Ryerson Rams women’s basketball head coach has been named an assistant coach for the senior women’s national team, effective immediately.
For the past two seasons, Clarke has served as Canada’s junior women’s team head coach, helping some of the country’s best young players reach their fullest potential.
In July, she led the U19 team on a historic run en route to capturing their first-ever medal at the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup, defeating Japan to claim bronze.
Clarke also made history in 2015, when she coached the cadet team to its first-ever gold medal at the FIBA Americas U16 Women’s Championship.
But don’t get it twisted; Clarke’s coaching record with Canada basketball isn’t the only reason why she’s joining the nation’s most elite staff.
At Ryerson, Clarke has transformed the program into one of the country’s best. In her five seasons with the school, she’s led the Rams to the postseason every year, including a program-best 16 wins in a 2015-16 season that culminated with the team’s first OUA championship.
Before joining the Rams’ coaching staff, Clarke was an academic all-Canadian player for the Bishop’s Gaiters. She then served as the Dalhousie Tigers lead assistant coach from 2006-2008 and the head coach at the University of Prince Edward Island.
For now, Clarke will focus on Ryerson’s season, which kicked off with a victory over Algoma on Oct. 27. The team takes on the Windsor Lancers and Western Mustangs on the road on Nov. 3 and Nov. 4 before their home-opener against the Brock Badgers on Nov. 8.
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