Coach Holbrook explaining how she wants it done

Entering her 10th season as the head women’s basketball coach, Cindy Holbrook leads the Falcons through arguably the toughest conference in the country. In her tenure as head coach, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has seen three NCAA champions and two-second place finishers.

The Falcons finish a respectable sixth in last year’s WIAC standings. They had a six game improvement over the 2008 season in the win column and finished 14-12 overall. With every starter and all but one letter winner back, the Falcons look to make a step up in the WIAC standings this year.

Holbrook ranks 11th in all-time career wins among all-time coaches in the WIAC and is currently fourth among active coaches in the conference. She reached a coaching milestone on Dec. 11, 2007 in a 67-54 win over Martin Luther for her 100th career win.

Her coaching philosophy emphasizes enabling her players to perform to the best of their ability.

“I don’t believe in the coach micro-managing or trying to control everything. Our staff’s job is to teach and prepare them and then trust that preparation and trust our team enough to let them play the game.”

As a passionate coach, Holbrook inspires growth and potential in her student-athletes.

“Whether it is in the classroom or on the basketball floor, being a well-balanced person is what competing and being a student-athlete at the Div. III level is all about,” said Holbrook. “We challenge kids to be prepared and give 100 percent every day. That’s the only way to learn what each of us is really capable of. Our daily performance determines our opportunity for success, that’s why our team motto is “Success is a choice.”

Holbrook has coached 16 women to All-WIAC honors during her career, including then freshman Tiffany Gregorich who earned honorable mention to the 2009 All-WIAC team.

Her experience in the WIAC began as a student-athlete at UW-Stout where she was a two-time All-WIAC first team selection in 1993 and 1994. Her senior season she was named the 1994 WIAC Player of the Year and earned All-American honors. She was named to the second All-WIAC team in 1992. She helped the Blue Devils to a 76-27 record and berths in both the NCAA Div. III and NAIA National Tournaments for four seasons. She was inducted into the UW-Stout Athletic Hall of Fame in November 2005. She is the only person who has been named a WIAC Coach of the Year (2001) and WIAC Player of the Year (1994).

Holbrook was the head tennis coach at UWRF and an assistant basketball coach for five years before taking over the basketball program in 2000.

She is a native of south Minneapolis where she competed in basketball, softball and tennis at Roosevelt High School.

Holbrook earned her psychology undergraduate degree and coaching minor from UW-Stout. She completed her master’s degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in sport psychology and sociology at the University of Minnesota. She currently teaches in the UWRF health & human performance department.

Coach Traci Reimann, Coach Kathy Holbrook, Coach Mike Babler and Head Coach Cindy Holbrook