Briercrest College Athletics is excited to announce the hiring of a familiar face in Jackie Senneker to lead the Briercrest women’s basketball junior varsity program.

Briercrest women’s varsity basketball head coach Dwight Olney is excited to work with Senneker this coming year.

“I am very excited to welcome Jackie Senneker into the roles of JV women’s basketball head coach and assistant coach for the Varsity team,” Olney said. “Jackie is a basketball legend in this community. As a player, she was always a strong scorer, rebounder and defender. Jackie was clearly a solid reason her elementary and high school teams were able to win city championships and provincial medals. In more recent years, she has applied her basketball savvy to the coaching aspect of the game. A brilliant analyst and tactician, Jackie was part of the CHS Senior Girls coaching staff that won two bronze and two gold medals in the last four years at HOOPLA. Having served skillfully as a volunteer assistant coach for me this past year, Jackie has proved her ability to be at the helm of a college basketball team.”

Senneker is very familiar to Briercrest and the town of Caronport, as it has been her home for the past 18 years.

“I moved to Caronport with my parents and three brothers in 1998,” Senneker explained. “I attended the elementary school, high school, and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Recreation Leadership at Briercrest College and Seminary. Briercrest has had a major role in my life for a few reasons.  Not only did I receive a quality education here, but it was also where I met my husband Aaron, and since had two beautiful children, Maui and Messi, join our family. It is also where I met and made life-long friends. Most importantly though, it is where my relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ was formed. For these things I am forever grateful.”

Senneker experienced a great deal of success as an athlete in Caronport.

“As an athlete, I played a variety of sports throughout my primary and secondary school years,” she explained. “I was successful at various levels of competition, which included multiple gold, silver, and bronze medals at provincials in basketball, track and field, and soccer. One particularly successful athletic achievement came quite unexpectedly in track and field. During my Grade 12 year I was invited to train with an Olympic javelin coach from China. Ming Pu Wu invested much time and energy into me, and with his coaching I was able to beat a 30 year old provincial record, followed by a 3rd place standing at nationals. I had the opportunity and invitation to train for the 2008 Beijing Olympics with the Canadian National Throwing team, but I realized my heart was more dearly attached to basketball. For this reason, I chose to pursue basketball at Briercrest instead. Unfortunately, my college career (2005-2007) was cut short due to a couple of serious career ending knee injuries. With sadness, I was forced to hang up my shoes, but also quickly realized that I was actually swapping them for a clipboard. It only took seven knee surgeries to realize that coaching was the safer way to stay involved in the sport I loved.”

Senneker comes from a rich line of family member who have been involved in Briercrest basketball over the years.

“Basketball has always had an important place in my life and it's no wonder, looking at my family,” she explained. “I joined our family tradition being the 6th family member to play Briercrest basketball. The tradition also included all six family members undergoing knee surgeries, and finally, joining yet another family tradition of coaching.  Coaching is in my blood and has been a passion of mine since I retired as an athlete. I have been coaching basketball for more than seven years at various levels ranging from elementary school to college. The last four years I was able to help coach the Caronport High School girls’ basketball team alongside my dad, Leigh Wolverton. In those four years we were able to capture two provincial bronze medals and two back-to-back provincial gold medals at Hoopla. During this current school year I had the privilege to coach under Dwight Olney as the unofficial assistant coach for the Briercrest women's basketball team.”

Senneker wants to use coaching to make a difference in the lives of the student-athletes.

“As I coach, my desire is to help every player pursue and work towards their full potential,” she explained. “I want to equip them with the skills, tools, knowledge, and confidence to be continually improving and growing in their personal game; to address their weaknesses, and give them the confidence to capitalize on their strengths. I believe success should be measured by what we do with the abilities we have, both on and off the court.”

“One of the reasons I love the game is the context  it has for building character,” Senneker continued.  “Athletes are faced with opportunities to refine and strengthen their personal character on a continuous basis. My desire is for players to be challenged both on and off the court towards a deepening and authentic relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and to be continually growing in their obedient walk with Him.  My desire is to create a team atmosphere of servanthood, wherein we follow the example of Jesus Christ and serve one another. Through the attitude of serving, we learn humility, selflessness, and love. In addition, all such qualities are essential for building team unity.”

Senneker is excited to begin coaching next season.

“I'm eagerly anticipating working with the girls next year on both the JV and varsity teams, and consider it an honour and privilege to work alongside of Dwight.”

 

For more information on Briercrest Athletics follow us on Facebook or at gobriercrest.ca. For more information on the Briercrest Junior Varsity women’s basketball team contact Jackie Senneker at jsenneker@briercrest.ca, or fill out the recruitment form here.