Seattle Pacific University Athletics named women’s basketball assistant coach Karen Byers as the new interim head coach for women’s basketball on August 19, 2024. Byers is taking the helm following the departure of former head coach Mike Simonson, who has accepted the head coach position at Biola University.
Byers previously spent four years as the head coach of the Bainbridge High School’s girls’ basketball team. She first arrived at SPU as an assistant coach under Simonson at the start of the 2022-2023 season.
After spending time as an assistant coach, Byers knew she wanted to become a head coach again. She has had little to no issues stepping back into the head role.
“When I first knew that the head coaching position would be open, I immediately started emailing [the] athletic administration, telling them how interested I am in the job,” Byers said. “I just threw my hat in the ring right away, and then I had an interview with the president and was quickly put in the position. It was fast, but it was nerve-wracking and it’s been a goal of mine for years to become a head coach.”
Byers has only had a few new responsibilities to learn, having overseen most of the team’s operations last season. Despite all her confidence, Byers does have some worries about any potential unforeseen circumstances.
“I know a lot. I just don’t know the head coach part with game contracts and stuff like that, but the rest feels like being a head coach again,” Byers said. “The challenges will be unexpected. I’m nervous about forgetting [about] some compliance thing that I oversaw or didn’t foresee that I needed to do. I’m learning a new role, and I’ve never done this at the collegiate level before.”
In her new role, Byers plans to build on the team’s style of play, shifting from former coach Simonson’s defense-oriented model to her offense-focused approach.
“We’re good at defense already. I feel like we have elements on offense that we can tap into that weren’t tapped into previously,” Byers said. “I want to play faster, and I want to play the type of basketball that people want to watch. We’re going to run more [and] I want to score more. We will definitely see a different team out there than in previous years.”
Although she will still give input and make final decisions on plays, Byers will primarily focus on coaching the offense and leave defensive training to her assistant coaches.
“I’m definitely an offensive-focused coach. I’ve always been that way. I’ve had my assistants always be the ones that take over the defense, kind of like a football team where they have the defensive coordinator. That’s still what I intend to do [but] I’ll still have my say in it.”
Byers hopes to maintain good energy between her and the team as she continues working with them.
“My energy [and] the ability to break down skills and teach well will help me get the team to where I want them to be and get their skills to where I would like them to be.”
As she looks forward to the season, Byers is most excited to develop and coach the athletes she has known and to see them get ready for games.
“That’s where my passion is, that’s where my heart is. I’m excited for the athletes to come back and for us to get going,” Byers said. “I want to elevate their skills, and… I want them to know where they’re best, where they best score from. I think that will elevate our play, and they’ll have more creative freedom to play than previous years.”
