Texas State women’s basketball Head Coach Zenarae Antoine defines what a consistent and successful coach looks like in women’s college basketball through resilience.
Antoine received her first-ever head coaching position in San Marcos with the Bobcats in 2011.
Since the hiring of Antoine, or, as some call her, “Coach Z,” Texas State has achieved a total of 201 wins, five appearances in postseason tournaments and a regular-season Sun Belt Conference Championship.
Antoine achieved her 200th win for Texas State against the University of Ohio on Feb. 10 in the Sun Belt-Midwestern Athletic Conference Challenge. Coincidentally, Ohio is where she began her coaching career as a Graduate Assistant from 1999 to 2000.
According to Antoine, achieving her 200th win against Ohio on the court where she began her coaching career was an incredible experience.
“[My 200th win] happening at [Ohio University], a place I truly cherished in my time here, both as a grad student and a coach, is awesome,” Antoine said.
Taking over a team that went 9-20 the year prior to her arrival, Antoine immediately led a turnaround in her first campaign at Texas State going 17-14 in the 2011-12 season, nearly doubling the previous year’s win total.
Coaching can be an effective tool to help student-athletes grow in a variety of ways, and Antoine wants nothing more than to be a guide for the girls she coaches, she said.
“My goal initially when I got into [coaching] was truly to help young women, and for them to have the same feeling I had as a student-athlete, which was to find ways to keep pushing myself, have fun playing basketball and learn to evolve to learn the game better,” Antoine said.
Reflecting on her time at Texas State and on campus, she said there has been nothing but enjoyment and appreciation.
“It’s been really fun being here at Texas State. I tell people no doubt I would love for my kids to be Texas State Bobcats,” Antoine said. “This is a great place to live, grow and get a great education. There isn’t a day that goes by where I’m not grateful and thankful for being the head coach here at Texas State.”
Approaching her 14th season in San Marcos with many records, Antoine said being resilient and knowing when her time is up are important factors in her career path.
“There are definitely times that I have failed, but what is important is that I get back up and I keep working and showing [the community] I’m working hard for them to make them proud,” Antoine said. “That’s important. When that fire dies then I know it’s time to retire. That fire definitely hasn’t died.”
