Air Academy hires Theresa Scott as girls basketball coach
When Theresa Scott and her husband, AJ, lived on the grounds of the United State Air Force Academy, they were housed right near Air Academy High School.
They had just two kids then: Josh and Jordan.
Several years and three kids later, the Scott family no longer lives on the Academy grounds, but Theresa will be a regular around Air Academy once again.
The Kadets named Scott as their new girls basketball coach on Thursday. She takes over for Phil Roiko, who retired at the conclusion of the 2019-20 season.
She has several years of coaching experience in her past, but spent the majority of her time in recent years watching her sons compete in high school athletics. Four of the five boys played basketball at Lewis-Palmer High School, each winning a state title.
All four continued their playing careers in college.
And now Scott wants to get back into the coaching world and is excited to jump on at Air Academy and continue the program’s trend of successful seasons.
“A lot of the girls are soccer players and they’re smart players,” Scott said. “I can’t wait to get to work with them. They have a lot of heart. I’ve watched film and they have a ton of heart and that’s something that’s harder to train into them than skills.”
The Kadets won their only girls basketball title in 2012 and advanced to the Class 4A Final 4 in 2019. In 2020-21, they’ll play in the combined 5A/4A PPAC league.
There has been a bit of a layoff since Scott has sat on a coaching bench (including varsity assistant stops at Lewis-Palmer and The Classical Academy) but she’s not overly concerned especially considering that her family has deep basketball roots.
When asked if she was likely to get unsolicited advice from her boys, she laughed it off and said any suggestions she takes from them she will likely reach out for.
“They’ve all asked me different questions about what I thought I would do,” Scott said. “In fact, one of them was asking last night. I’ve already told them I thought it would be fun to see what their take on it would be. As I remind myself of drills and stuff, there’s a lot I can ask them about. I really respect my boys’ level of basketball IQ.”
It has to be hereditary. Scott played basketball at the Air Force Academy and then raised a family that never looked out of place on the court. With them all out of the house, she’s embarking on a new journey of educating kids about a game her family has always loved.
