The Lambton Lions Women's Basketball Team has hired Kendel Ross as the new head coach for the upcoming season.
The Sarnia native has experience on the court as both a player and a coach. In addition to playing for the University of Dayton, Ohio, Ross has also played with various levels of the Canadian National team, including a trip to the World Qualifiers held in Mexico in 2013.
She also played professionally in Portugal and Spain, taking home league Most Valuable Player honours for both teams.
Ross says she is looking forward to sharing her basketball knowledge with the team.
"Work ethic is always number one, it's always been a staple of my career and what helped make me successful," says Ross. "I need some players that want to work, and then after that it's just taking all of the stuff that I did throughout my career and try to apply some of that knowledge to make the program successful."
Ross says she's already been in touch with some returning members of the team.
"Before the announcement even went out, it was really important for me to meet with the players and let them know where I stand and what I want to do with the program and what their role is in that," she says.
The 28-year-old Northern Collegiate graduate also started an off-season program for high school athletes and was selected as an assistant coach by Team Ontario for the 2017 season.
Ross takes over for Dave Elsley who stepped down at the end of last season to focus his efforts on the St. Pat's basketball program.
Lambton is coming off a difficult campaign, having compiled a 5-13 record and allowing nearly 300 more points than they scored.
The new OCAA season gets underway in October.