Teaching, tempo, and trust: Sarah Besselink’s blueprint for the Dinos
By Maggie Hsu, July 31 2025—
The University of Calgary Dinos women’s basketball team is writing a new chapter with the arrival of newly appointed head coach Sarah Besselink.
With Besselink’s repertoire rooted in recent experience as a player, teaching and a belief in culture-led success, she has already begun to put the gears in motion to set up the team for success in the 2025-26 season.
The combination of two passions
Besselink, who spent the past four years as lead assistant coach with the Ottawa Gee-Gees, officially stepped into her new role earlier this spring. But before the whistle blew on her coaching career, she was already familiar with the court. Having played six seasons for the Gee-Gees as a student-athlete before transitioning to coaching within two years, Besselink knows of the stresses and struggles of being an elite-level athlete who has to balance courses and life.
“[I’ve] experienced the lows as well as the highs,” Besselink commented in an interview with the Gauntlet. “Being able to bring that experience that I had as a student-athlete and make sure that we can set ourselves up here [with the Dinos] as well as being in conference championships and winning a national medal has helped shape my coaching philosophy and makes me well-rounded.”
She adds that her role as a coach truly combines her two greatest passions: basketball and teaching. Having completed teacher’s college, Besselink chose to leave the University of Ottawa’s athletic program following seven years of school but her heart never swayed far from basketball as she coached a junior girls basketball team while balancing the final years of teacher’s college.
Then COVID hit. But it didn’t impact her plans too much as she managed to pick up a position with a private school and as U SPORTS prepared to return following the cancellation of the 2021 season, Besselink connected with her former lead assistant coach during her playing years, Rose-Anne Joly. Joly was named head coach of the Gee-Gees in June of 2021 and was looking for someone to take over her role and Besselink seemed like the perfect fit.
“I had a decision to make,” Besselink reflected. “I’d been offered another teaching contract at the same school that I was at and I hadn’t invested a whole lot into my teaching career other than the two years of school and one year teaching.”
“Luckily, there were only a few of the athletes I coached who I played with left on the team.” She added that the quick turnaround from playing to coaching weighed a bit on her, as transitioning that pre-established relationship can be challenging.”Being friends and being teammates to now telling them what to do on the court, they had told me they were already used to that, so it wasn’t any different.”
Bring success out West
During her four seasons as Ottawa’s lead assistant, the Gee-Gees posted a dominant 65-15 record. That stretch was built on two key principles: elite defence and relentless pace in transition.
“Those two pillars really defined us,” she says. “We always strived to be top in the country in both. Even if we weren’t the most gifted team offensively, defence and tempo kept us in games — and that’s something I want to bring to Calgary.”
This aligns perfectly with the identiy the Dinos have established already and Besselink has been in conversation with the upcoming season’s returning players about building on that foundation while co-creating a new team identity.
“I’ve been asking them what’s worked in the past, what they’re used to, and where we can evolve together.”
Why Calgary?
Besselink always had her eyes set on becoming a head coach, but the opportunity had to feel right.
“These jobs don’t come up often,” she says. “Calgary is a fantastic and outstanding academic school, the ability to recruit here is amazing, so that drew me to the job. [The team] has a track record of success over the last 10 years so being able to come into this job and build from that was very intriguing.”
While she’s new to the Canada West conference after years in the OUA, she welcomes the challenge. “I’m a little biased but the OUA is a very fun league because you get to play different teams on Friday or Saturday night and with 18 teams in the league, there’s a lot of variety. We were in a division with Queen’s and Carleton, which were the top teams in the country for the past five years.”
“Canada West is the same — being able to play Alberta, Saskatchewan, Regina, UBC — there’s a lot of challenging teams out here,” she added. “It’s going to be an adjustment playing the same team back-to-back on Friday and Saturday and I’m still learning the playoff structure.”
Besselink gave credit to the returning players for supporting her through this transition. “They’re working hard and trying to find something that works.”
Learning the Dinos DNA
Since arriving, Besselink has made it a priority to connect with her players one-on-one, many of whom helped steer the team through a mid-season coaching change last year. “It was important [to me] to give them this space to chat about anything that came up — it wasn’t necessarily basketball-related, but it’s a no-pressure conversation or two to get to know them, what their goals are, and different layers like that.”
“They gave me this five-page document of terminology, what they like doing on defense — they’re very organized, very eager to get started and very keen on starting,” she praised the team’s preparation to get the season going. “They are giving 100 percent effort, which is outstanding to have that culture already established. It’s awesome.”
Looking Ahead
Beyond wins and making a push for U SPORTS finals, Besselink wants this season to be about cohesion and identity.
“There’s always a bit of a reset when a new coach comes in,” she admits but is positive in how she and the team can work together to establish cohesion as a group. “We’re fortunate enough to bring in a mental performance coach. We’re going to build the culture of what it means to be a Dino together to make sure we can sustain it this year and hold each other accountable.”
Overall, while the need to compete is present, Besselink is looking to prioritize the goals of the team and build off of a foundation that’s already been set up by the returning group of players. There’s no need to overhaul anything beyond building trust with her team as a newcomer, as what’s existing is already so strong.
If the early signs are any indication of what’s to come, the Dinos are already on their way to creating a new dynasty in the Sarah Besselink era.