Hendricks selected for WeCoach NCAA Women Coaches Academy

11/10/2025 7:31:00 PM

TALAHASSEE, Fla.--Westminster College graduate assistant Chance Hendricks was selected as a member of the 55th class of the NCAA Women Coaches Academy (WCA) Monday afternoon.

The WCA will take place Nov. 16-18 in Indianapolis, Ind. Hosted in collaboration with the NCAA, this impactful Academy offers a multi-day transformational experience focused on leadership development and personal growth for women coaches from all sports and collegiate levels, including both two-year and four-year institutions. Since its inception, more than 2,400 coaches have graduated from the NCAA WCA.

"The NCAA is proud to continue its partnership with WeCOACH as we welcome the 55th class of the NCAA Women Coaches Academy to our National Office in Indianapolis," said DeeDee Merritt Guster, NCAA Managing Director of Leadership Development. "We are especially excited to help host this year's class in our home city, where our mission to educate and empower student-athletes, coaches, and athletics administrators comes to life every day through our operations and leadership programming. This Academy continues to deliver transformative learning experiences that strengthen leadership and support the advancement and retention of women coaches in collegiate athletics. WeCOACH remains an invaluable partner in this work – and through collaborations like this, we are able to broaden our reach and deepen our impact across the coaching community."

The WCA Class #55 features 78 women coaches representing 18 different sports and 679 total years of coaching experience. Participants come from a diverse collection of institutions across NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, as well as the NAIA and NJCAA. A highlight of this year's Academy will be the presentation of the 2024-25 WeCOACH Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Jostens, to Tara VanDerveer for her lasting impact on the coaching profession. Attendees will have the opportunity to gain insights and inspiration through a keynote conversation with Coach VanDerveer.

"I am very excited, and honored, to have been selected as a participant in the NCAA Women Coaches Academy. I know it will be a great opportunity to continue developing my skills as a coach while expanding my network," said Hendricks.

Hendricks recently completed her second season as an assistant coach with the Titans' women's soccer program. She was on head coach Girish Thakar's staff in 2024 when Westminster went 11-6-1 and finished first in the PAC regular season standings with a 9-0-1 conference mark. Hendricks joined the College's Department of Athletics in September 2024 after graduating from Marist with a degree in marketing. She was a four-year member of the Red Foxes' women's soccer program and is pursuing a Master in Business Administration (MBA) with a general management concentration.

Hendricks was a member of the 2025 cohort of the NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar (ELS), an annual professional development program that educates, develops and connects selected learners and equips attending young professionals with the skills necessary to accelerate their career progression in college sports, last February.

ABOUT THE NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association provides a world-class athletics and academic experience that fosters lifelong well-being for more than 520,000 student-athletes annually. The NCAA stages 91 championships across three divisions, and its 1,100 member schools provide nearly $4 billion in athletics scholarships every year. Visit ncaa.org and ncaa.com for more.

ABOUT WeCOACH
Founded in 2011, WeCOACH is a one-of-a-kind 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to recruiting, advancing, and retaining women coaches in all sports and levels through year-round professional growth & leadership development programs. Prior to Title IX, over 90% of women's collegiate sports teams were coached by women. Today, over 50 years later, the data indicates that number has decreased to 41% across all three NCAA Divisions, with only 7% of women head coaches of color. Only 5% of women coach men's teams. At the youth level, the data is hard to estimate, approximately less than 20% of teams are coached by women. WeCOACH launched MOVE the NUMBERS in 2022 to help change the landscape for women coaches and the student-athletes they lead. If she can see her, she can be her. For more information visit MOVE the NUMBERS .

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