February 13th, 2019Evans and Pinske Named Head Coaches for 2019 Basketball BC U15 & U17 Girls Provincial Teams

Basketball BC Manager of Girls High Performance Shaun McGuinness is excited to announce the Head Coaches for the 2019 U15 and U17 Girls’ Provincial teams.

“I am very pleased to announce that our U15 and U17 Provincial teams will be led by two nationally recognized university level coaches, Leanne Evans and Megan Pinske. Both are young dynamic coaches that have a proven record of coaching excellence at both the provincial, and university levels.

Leanne and Megan have been directly involved in Canada Basketball Targeted Athlete program assisting in developing provincial athletes. Through their dedication and commitment to excellence they have guided athletes to reach their potential to play at the next level including university and national team participation.

Leanne is returning to guide the U15 provincial team after leading the 2018 provincial team to a Gold medal finish at the National Championships.

Megan is returning to her home province to head coach the U17 Provincial team. Megan formerly coached both the Alberta and Saskatchewan provincial teams and was the lead Assistant at University of Saskatchewan working with Coach Lisa Thomaidis – Canada’s Senior Women’s National Team head coach

One of the main aims of the provincial team is to best ready our players to play post-secondary level basketball. Leanne and Megan certainly have the skill set, experience and knowledge to best prepare and develop our provincial players for playing at that next level.”

U15 Girls Head Coach – Leanne Evans

Leanne Evans has been a recognized member within the Basketball BC and Canada Basketball community for nearly 20 years as both a player and a coach. She has coached with Basketball BC's high-performance programming through POD, Centre for Performance and provincial teams, and most recently led the U15 Basketball BC provincial team to a gold medal at the 2018 National Championships. Leanne is in the Canada Basketball coaching pool and has attended multiple athlete assessment camps.

Leanne served as the lead assistant at the University of Victoria for 6 seasons from 2012-2018, where she graduated with a Master of Education in Coaching Studies in 2017. She earned a Bachelor of Human Kinetics from UBC. Leanne also holds her Learn to Train, Train to Train and Train to Compete coaching certifications.

Leanne is a former national team member who played for Canada for 8 years at the junior, young women's and senior levels. She competed for the UBC Thunderbirds from 2005-2009, winning a CIS national championship in both 2006 and 2008, where she was recognized as a Canada West all star and the CIS Defensive Player of the year in 2009. She also played professionally overseas in Australia and Europe.

" I am excited for the summer ahead with the U15 Basketball BC provincial program. BC has proven itself as a national contender and I think we have another talented group that will make for a very competitive tryout. I can't wait to bring the top players from across the province together to build on the development that these athletes have gained from their various high school and club programs. This year the National Championships are being held in Victoria, BC, and will give the greater Basketball BC community an opportunity to support our BC athletes and watch some amazing basketball at the beginning of August."

U17 Girls Head Coach – Megan Pinske

Megan Pinske played for the University of Western Washington, captaining the team in her senior year. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Communication and Sport Psychology. She then went on to play professionally in Germany for the Saarlouis Royals. She has represented Canada at two FISU games as well as the Cadette, Junior and Senior teams.

Megan started her coaching career at the University of Alberta for 2 years while obtaining her Masters in Coaching Leadership. She then became the full time assistance coach for the University of Saskatchewan for 3 years, winning the USport Championship in 2016 and a 2nd place finish in 2018.

She has coached Center for Performance and Provincial teams in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. In her 3rd year of head coaching the U17 Jr. Huskies, they won the PEBL championship last spring, in 2018. Megan is currently a head coach for Split Second Basketball in Vancouver.

“I am thrilled to be back in my home province working with Basketball BC. As an athlete, my provincial team experience was such an invaluable part of my basketball journey. I can’t wait to share in the passion this province has for basketball and to work with a group of dedicated young women. Nationals will be extra special this year as we are the host province and get to play in front of a home crowd! “

For more information about the Basketball BC Girls High Performance Program please contact:
Shaun McGuinness
Manager of Girls High Performance and Provincial Coach