Colleen Matsuhara has been coaching at various colleges for more than twenty years. This year she completed her tenth year as Head Women’s Basketball Coach and Associate Professor of Physical Education at West Los Angeles College. She was recently honored by the WNBA at their “Inspiring Women Night”.
“It was a great honor,” says Coach Matsuhara. “The WNBA is a league that I think is a great opportunity to be a role model to young women.”
Coach Matsuhara has participated in the basketball tradition since her youth. She played many years in both the Northern and Southern California Japanese American basketball leagues. In college, she played three different sports as a student athlete at both California State University, Sacramento and Sacramento City College, where she is an inductee in the SCC Athletic Hall of Fame.
Serving as Head Coach at UC Irvine in 1991-97, Coach Matsuhara led the Anteaters to their first ever, and so far, only NCAA post-season berth. She had also served as Head Coach at University of Nebraska from 1980-83. Coach Matsuhara also served at various schools—including UCLA, Texas, USC, Notre Dame, Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton—as Assistant Coach.
For the past ten years she has been happy to work at West LA College.
“I wanted to resume being Head Coach,” says Matsuhara. “The position of Head Coach puts in you in the responsibility seat,” where she is able to make sure the “program goes in a positive direction.”
“I’ve really enjoyed my career at West LA College,” says Matsuhara. “New buildings have sprung up since I first started, and it’s exciting to see where things are going because I live in here in Culver City.”
After over twenty years of working with student athletes, she half-jokes that one of the few things that has changed for her career is social media.
“I had to learn how to text,” she says with a laugh. “It’s amazing for me to learn how fast students can communicate. But I think they haven’t changed in motivation and setting goals both basketball-wise and academically.”
“I’m fortunate to have a job I’m passionate about. I love trying to help students try and get a scholarship or a job or a four year degree,” she says.
And the community is thankful to Coach Matsuhara for her service to our students and young women in achieving those goals.
