Marisa Moseley, the head coach of women’s basketball at Boston University, sits down with us in this episode of the 35,000 Feet podcast and gives us insight into her journey as a basketball coach. She shares how she got her start in coaching basketball, some of her favorite travel experiences including the 2012 Olympics, the highlights of the 2019-2020 season, and more!

In this episode, we discuss:

• How this past season went for Boston University Women’s Basketball team

• How Coach Moseley got into coaching (2:38)

• Marisa’s favorite travel experience (4:51)

• One thing that no one knows about Marisa (8:20)

• Marisa’s advice to athletes wanting to play in college (9:42)

• Marisa’s next adventure (11:09)

Highs and Lows of 2019-2020 for BU Women’s Basketball

Morgan: We're excited to hear about your story and your team. I guess just to get going and get to know you and your team better, can you tell us about your highs and your lows of your current season?

Coach Marisa: This season, it's my second year at Boston University and it's my alma mater so it's been really exciting to be back in the capacity of a head coach as opposed to just a player. Last season we were picked to finish ninth in the Patriot League and we finished fourth, we should have finished third. It was wishful thinking. We should have finished third, not fourth. I was fortunate enough, my kids played really hard for me and won coach of the year. Coming into this season, the expectations were higher for myself and the team. We were picked to finish fourth this year and we just finished the regular season in second. That would be definitely the high so far.

And then today, we just had the major awards come out for the individuals for the team, and one of my freshmen, Maggie Pina, got rookie of the year. I had three kids on an all-rookie team and we had one kid on all-defensive and then one of the players made second-team and one made third. Really just an exciting time, where we talked to them, we're not really big on individual awards here, but the reason why you get those is because you play on a really good team and your teammates help you to achieve those things.

As far as lows, I would say, just, I think I have really high expectations. We started off the non-conference season and our record wasn't necessarily indicative of how we played in some of those games. That was frustrating. I intentionally wanted to play a tougher non-conference schedule and we traveled some, we went out to Cal, Berkeley and UC Davis, so we did a west coast swing that we had not done before, and my seniors in their four years that they've been here. I wanted them to experience college athletics, not just as one coast, but for them to see other parts of the country as well as compete against other universities.

Morgan: Well, it sounds like you've got good things going over there. From what I can tell it sounds like your team's working hard, so that's impressive.

Coach Marisa: I think we're moving in the right direction for sure.

Morgan: You can tell. You can tell that you have that passion for your team. That's going to take you guys far.

Coach Marisa: Thank you.

Coach Marisa Moseley’s Start in Coaching Baksetball

Morgan: How did you get to be a coach? What's your backstory behind that?

Coach Marisa: Like I said before, I went to Boston University undergrad and I thought actually I was going to do television. I went and worked at ESPN straight out of college and was a production assistant. It was awesome. Great first job. I worked my way from behind the camera to on the camera, and after about 10 months I was like, "This isn't exactly what I thought it was," and I missed the comradery of basketball and the competition. Was fortunate enough to get into coaching at the ripe old age of 23.

I got my first job at the University of Denver, and I was there for two years. I worked two years at the University of Minnesota, and then I was nine years at UConn, and then finally took the leap two years ago, I guess now, to become the head coach here at BU. It's my 15th year coaching, and every day I definitely learn something new, but it's just inspiring to be able to help young women. That's really why I got into it. I felt like my coach really influenced my life in such a positive way and I just wanted to be able to pay it forward.

Morgan: That's so true. I love that you're viewing this as a way to make impact on player's lives. That's so cool. I can tell that you're a great coach. But if you don't mind me asking, you mentioned that you played at Boston, what position did you play?

Coach Marisa: I was a 3-4, and I was a pretty big defensive player. Which ironically now, we work on offense a lot. But I come from the school of Geno Auriemma, and we do a ton of offense. Not that we didn't play defense at UConn, but he just had such an incredible offensive mind, so I definitely was soaking that up every single day. But for me, when I was a player, I loved to block shots and steal the ball and I was considered the "emotional leader" on the team. I'm never lacked for passion for sure.

Coach Moseley’s Most Memorable Travel Experience

Morgan: That's awesome. That's honestly, what gets you places, is that passion and that effort, that work ethic. That's awesome. What's one of your most memorable travel experiences?

Coach Marisa: If you separate basketball from it, I got an opportunity... Well, with basketball, I got the opportunity to go to the 2012 Olympics in London. Coach Auriemma brought our staff with him, it was his first time being the Olympic coach for the women's national team, and he felt really comfortable with us as his staff members. We were able to do scouting and work behind the scenes. We were at every practice and we got to attend their games and try to prepare them for the gold medal, which they were the eventual winners of. That was really an incredible experience. I had never been to London before and we were actually gone for a month, so we flew into Turkey first and played friendly games, then trained. Then we went to Manchester and then finally finished out 10 days in London. That was just an incredible trip of a lifetime and just the experience, never did I ever think that I would be attending Olympics, let alone being able to help a team achieve the ultimate goal. From basketball traveling standpoint, that would be probably one of the most memorable trips.

For a personal trip, my boyfriend and I took a trip to Morocco about four years ago now, in May. We spent nine days there in Marrakesh, and we stayed in an old Riyadh, which is an old palace that they turned into a hotel, and we stayed within the old city walls. It was very much traditional. Women covering their knees and covering their shoulders out of respect. We did it overnight. We drove through the Atlas Mountains and stayed in the Sahara Desert overnight, and we rode camels and got to climb a mountain and watch the sunrise on the Sahara. It was incredible. I feel very fortunate. I love to travel and I think it's a huge part of who I am.

Morgan: That is so cool. It's so cool seeing so many different things in the world. I totally agree. The Sahara Desert, that's so cool. I've always wanted to go there.

Coach Marisa: I highly recommend it. As far as trips that we've taken, it was one of the more affordable trips that we've taken. The people were incredible and just seeing a different culture, being immersed at it, I was obsessed. Still am.

Morgan: I bet you took so many photos.

Coach Marisa: Tons of photos and ate really good food and brought back so many different textiles and two different rugs that are currently in my home. I went a little crazy, but it was totally worth it.

Morgan: That totally makes it worth it. You have to bring home stuff to help remember the experience.

Coach Marisa: If I could have brought home a Moroccan door, I would have, but I couldn't get it on the plane.

Morgan: Are they just super unique?

Coach Marisa: Very ornate. There's a lot of carvings. Between the light fixtures and the doors, they also do a lot of inlaid bone dressers. It's exquisite. There's arches and I just am a sucker for arches. Anything with that, I just really enjoy decorating, so it really is my second calling if I didn't do basketball.

A Fun Fact About Coach Moseley

Morgan: You would have done that. Well actually, that leads perfectly to something I wanted to ask you. What's one thing that no one knows about you that you could share?

Coach Marisa: What's something that no one knows about me? I think people know this about me, but they might not know to the extent, but I have a really, probably terrible shoe habit. I own a lot of shoes. I've just loved them since I was a kid. I used to always try on my mom's shoes and walk around in them. I definitely got it honest, but I love shopping in general. I do like gifting stuff for other people, but it's so fun to find unique things and put together a fun outfit. It's like decorating yourself. People might know that about me, but some people might not.

Morgan: That's super good to know. What's your favorite shoe brand?

Coach Marisa: Probably, it's called a Louise et Cie, it's by Vince Camuto. If you're listening, feel free to send anything this way.

Morgan: That's so funny. Oh my goodness. I've never heard of them, I'll have to look it up and look into it.

Coach Marisa: They've got great stuff. They sell them at Nordstrom, so it's awesome.

Morgan: I love Nordstrom. That's so fun. I love that. We like the same things. That's fun.

Coach Moseley’s Advice to Future Collegiate Athletes

Morgan: If you're an athlete wanting to play for a team or university, what would your advice be to them?

Coach Marisa: I would probably tell them don't be discouraged as you're going through the process. For me, when I was being recruited, and it's changed tremendously since when I was a student-athlete, but I think a lot of people get caught up in social media and sending in videos, but I think if you're really talented, coaches will find you. Ultimately, you need to find the place that you want to... You ultimately want to know that's the coach you want to play for and the players you want to play with. I always tell my kids that when they're making their decision when recruiting. Who do you want to play for and who do you want to play with?

Because everybody has buildings and libraries, and there's really not at a university at this point in our country, or probably in the world, who is not going to provide you with a world-class education. But you've got to decide when you're playing athletics because this is such a huge part of your experience, who it is that you want to play for and play with? Because those are the people that are going to make or break your experience, not the school itself.

Coach Moseley’s Next Travel Adventure

Morgan: It's so true. Along with sports, I've noticed a lot of the time, your team becomes your family. It's such a big deal that where you're going, you love the people you're with and you work hard for that. Thank you for sharing that. It makes a big difference. It makes a huge difference. Well, what's your next adventure?

Coach Marisa: What's my next adventure. Well, until this coronavirus, I was supposed to be going to Rwanda with an organization I'm on the board of called the Shooting Touch, and they use basketball to help provide health care awareness, and health care and education to boys, girls, and women in Rwanda. And then they have an arm here in Boston. I just joined it last May and it's already made a huge impact on my life. I've tried to do what I can to integrate with the girls here in Boston. We've had some different programming that we've teamed up with my team to do during the season. I was really hoping to get an opportunity to go and see the work that they're doing on the ground in Rwanda.

It's just postponed for now, we'll see where things go. Obviously safety first, but whenever the time comes, I'm really excited to have the opportunity to go and learn. Each person who's gone has told me that they come back changed. I'm really looking forward to that.

Morgan: That's so cool. I know I've never been to Rwanda, that sounds like an awesome trip. It sounds like an awesome organization that you're a part of.

Coach Marisa: They're incredible.

Morgan: I'm glad that you're able to have that experience. Wow. Are there any other places that you're hoping to go?

Coach Marisa: I have a huge bucket list of places I'd like to go. My dad is originally from Guyana, South America, so we are actually going back. We haven't been back to his home country since I was 15, my sister was 17 when she graduated from high school. I won't tell you how old I am, but it was 1997. Actually, I'll be 38 next week, so it'll be about 23 years since we've been there. We're excited and I now have two nieces, so my sister's two girls and her husband and my dad's wife. It's going to be a really great trip.

BU Women’s Basketball Upcoming 2020-2021 Season

Morgan: That's so fun. What are you most excited about this upcoming season?

Coach Marisa: Well, I think for us right now, we're heading into our Patriot League playoffs, that starts on Monday and we get to host. If we win we host the semi-final here on the following Thursday. For me, I'm just excited for us to hopefully come in, play well. This is the highest seed that we've ever had since we've been in this league and I'm just looking forward to making a statement and continuing to grow the program.

Morgan: Well, from what it sounds like, since you've only been there two seasons, it sounds like you're doing good things with the program, so that's awesome.

Coach Marisa: It's been good. We're definitely moving in the right direction.

Morgan: Well, I'm excited to see where your team goes and what you guys accomplish.

Follow Boston University Women’s Basketball

• Boston University Women’s Basketball Team Twitter

• Coach Marisa Moseley Twitter

Podcast made in partnership with Acanela Expeditions

Theme Song - I’ll Just Be Me by Gravity Castle