User:Club Member/Rochelle Coleman

Rochelle Coleman (born May 13, 1983 in Washington D.C.) is an Entrepreneur, Basketball Coach, and a retired member of Celertas Donar Women's Basketball Team. She is currently the owner of the growing basketball company RAC (Rochelle Athletic Consulting, LLC) and is the Head Coach of Paint Branch High School's Girl's Varsity Basketball Team.

Early life

Coleman was born in Washington, D.C. but moved to Montgomery County, Maryland at the early age of three. Her parents, both from the D.C. district, worked in the Information Technology field, one as a programmer and the other as a tester. Coleman also has a younger sister. Throughout her childhood she was given freedom in regards to what she did with her time. Her parents supported her decisions, as long as she was passionate about what she was doing. Academics and trying new things were highly prioritized topics in the household. Coleman and her sister were expected to maintain A's and B's in school, as well as try out different groups and clubs, such as Band and the Science Club. The key aspect was that the girls put it their best effort when participating in clubs and activities. Her parents frequently took her on road trips, museum visits, and weekly trips to the library, which exposed her to different cultures and ideas. Being well rounded led Coleman to quickly develop independent thinking.

Middle school

Coleman attended Benjamin Banneker Middle School in Burtonsville, MD. She was a member of the school band and girls basketball team, all while maintaining her position as an honor roll student. Her athletic career began to blossom while she was in the 8th grade, where she led her school basketball team, coached by Steve Pisarski, to an undefeated season. Coach Pisarski would later become the Damascus High School Girl's Varsity Basketball coach, which would lead to an ongoing friendly rivalry with Coleman.

High school

Coleman attended Paint Branch High School, located in Burtonsville, MD, and was a member of the 2001 graduating class. She was a four year Varsity starter and had a very successful high school career. In her time at Paint Branch, the Girls Basketball team made it to the State tournament three out of her four years. In her senior year, she led the team to a State Championship title while receiving numerous accolades. She was placed into the First Team All-County for the Montgomery Journal, she was named Player of the Year in the Gazette, she was selected to the Washington Post All-Metropolitan First Team, and was named as one of the top 15 players in Maryland by USA today. On top of that, she graduated as the Paint Branch's girls all-time leading scorer. This record has only been surpassed by one other girl since she graduated. To top it all off Coleman was also an honor roll student, a member of the Marching Band, a member of Orchestra, she also helped with the Amnesty International Club. Due to her successful, she received a lot of college attention. Syracuse University in particular showed interest by offering Coleman a full athletic scholarship, which she accepted.

College

She was a member of the 2005 class at Syracuse University, where she received a Bachelor's Degree in History with the primary focus on US history. While at Syracuse she continued to set records on the Women's Basketball Team. After graduation she was Syracuse's third all-time three pointer scorer (152) and had the seventh all-time highest three point shooting percentage (32.5%). Her senior year was also ranked third in the Big East during the league games, with 4.69 assists per game. With her teammate Julie McBride by her side, they combined for the most three pointers by any Orangewoman in school history (141), and third most in either the Men's or Women's basketball history. After graduating from Syracuse, Coleman decided to continue studying by attending graduate school at Slipper Rock University. In her time at Slippery Rock she was a graduate assistant coach for the Women's Basketball Team. She graduated in 2006 with a Masters Degree in Sports Management.