Former
UDC standout named head coach at Lock Haven
July 18, 2004
(Lock Haven, Pa.) - Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania has named Valerie
Curtis as the new head coach of the Lady Eagle basketball program. Curtis had
served the previous two seasons as the assistant coach for the Lady Eagles.
This will be her first position as a collegiate head coach.
Valerie Curtis
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Curtis succeeds Britt King, who left to become an assistant coach at her alma mater, American University.
“We are pleased that Lock Haven is the place where Coach Curtis will have her first head coaching job,” said University President Craig Dean Willis. “One of the good things that the previous coach did was to bring Coach Curtis into Lock Haven. She’s an extremely hard worker and any organization would be lucky to have her.”
“Based on her interactions with the athletics administration in everything she handled the past two years, we had great confidence in Coach Curtis,” said Director of Athletics Sharon E. Taylor. “It was nice to find that the student-athletes also had a real comfort level with her as well as confidence.”
Prior to coming to Lock Haven, Curtis was serving as a Health and Physical Education teacher at West Side Ninth Grade Success Academy in Newark , New Jersey . Before that, Curtis was a member of previous head coach Britt King’s staff at Fresno State from 1998-2002. In addition to on-the-floor duties at Fresno, Curtis served as recruiting coordinator and was in charge of opponent scouting, pre-season and post-season conditioning, as well as student-athlete academic advising.
“I’m glad to be able to continue with the Lock Haven women’s basketball program, to keep our family together and to remove some of the anxieties the players had with the changes going on,” said Curtis about her new assignment. “I’m excited to remain at Lock Haven and having a repore with the players helps -- I didn’t want them to worry about making the adjustment. As far as the program goes, I am looking to continue to give the student-athletes the chance to succeed academically, as people and as players every night on the court.”
Curtis began her coaching career at the University of the District of Columbia in Washington , D.C. While at UDC, she served as an assistant coach for two seasons from 1995-97. During that time, she also served as the coordinator of Martha’s Table Adolescent Program, which counseled and motivated disadvantaged teens, and as a project site director of the Communities in Schools program in Washington , D.C. , administrating and implementing the development of the D.C. Reads program at selected elementary schools.
As a student-athlete, Curtis was a four-year starter and leading scorer for the UDC Firebirds. She was the 1993 NCAA Division II steals leader, averaging 6.1 steals per game (135 total), an average which still ranks her second on the nation’s single-season chart. With a career total of 4.7 steals per game (318 steals), she is third on the NCAA’s all-time list in steals average. As a senior, Curtis helped lead the Firebirds to a 20-6 overall ledger and a berth into the 1995 NCAA tournament.
Prior to post-secondary education, Curtis served in the United States Navy from 1986 through 1990. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Health Education in 1996 and a master’s of science in Public Administration in 1998 from the University of the District of Columbia.
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