Daly Joins REDS Coaching Staff
(FREDERICTON, NB) Colleen Daly is coming back to the UNB REDS… again.
As a player, the diminutive guard played big minutes for the REDS women’s basketball team for four seasons, before graduating in 2015.
She came out of retirement to help an injury-riddled REDS team during the second half of the 2017-18 season, finishing her U SPORTS eligibility.
Now, Daly is returning in 2021-22 as a member of the REDS coaching staff.
“It’s starting to feel like I can’t stay away from this program,” said Daly. “I’m thankful for the important life lessons and people I met during my five seasons as a player, and I hope to give back to the program, as it’s given so much to me.”
During those five seasons, Daly played in 73 regular season games, scoring 426 points and dishing out 129 assists.
“I’m really excited that Colleen will be joining our staff,” said REDS head coach Jeff Speedy. “She has a high basketball IQ and was a great teammate when she competed on the court, two qualities that will help her be an impactful coach.”
Daly is the latest former REDS player to join Speedy’s staff, following in the recent footsteps of Laura Fowler and Chelsey Collette.
“To have a former female U SPORTS student-athlete on our bench is critical for our program,” said Speedy. “It’s important for our student-athletes to have someone they can look up to and talk to, that went through exactly what they’re going through.”
Collette, who spent the last five seasons as one of Speedy’s assistants, including the 2020-21 season where competition was cancelled due to the pandemic, has stepped away for personal reasons.
“She’s given so much to this program,” said Speedy. “As a player, a Junior REDS head coach, and a REDS assistant coach. Chelsey helped me grow and improve as a coach. We’re going to miss seeing her every day.”
Daly joins a staff that includes long-time assistant and former UNB Red Raiders’ standout Rick Cotter and Peter Kelly, who is also the head coach of Basketball New Brunswick’s U17 women’s team.
She’s been honing her skills as a co-coach of the varsity girls’ team at Fredericton’s Leo Hayes High School.
“Coaching the team at Leo Hayes for the past three years has allowed me to learn a great deal about myself and the type of coach I would like to be,” she said. “I really enjoyed coaching the girls and was inspired by their improvement from the beginning to end of each season. I believe my experience over the past three years has helped prepare me for this next step.”
“Colleen really wants to learn and grow as a coach and has expressed a desire to possibly be a head coach at the university level one day,” said Speedy. “I’ll do my best to help her get there, and know our staff and student-athletes will do the same.”
Speedy remembers Daly as a student-athlete who constantly strived to improve. He expects nothing less as she takes on her new role with the REDS.
“She improved as a player throughout her career by putting in the work and by realizing that playing with confidence was critical to success. I know she’s looking forward to helping all of our student-athletes in these and many other areas.”
Just as she was when she arrived on campus as a first-year student-athlete almost a decade ago, Daly is full of anticipation.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a number of outstanding role models at various levels of basketball,” she said. “I’m eager to contribute to the sport I love and give back to the UNB community. Basketball is very special to me and I want to pass along the values that I learned from being a member of this team and, hopefully, bring an AUS championship to Fredericton.”
PHOTO: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics