For almost any sport, the coach is what makes or breaks the team. Having a supportive coach helps guide athletes to their success. As they build a deeper relationship, athletes feel more comfortable with their coach, often making it difficult to leave them behind. After 8 years with Graham, the girls’ varsity basketball team will begin their upcoming season with their new coach, Regan Carmichael.
After the previous girls’ basketball coach, Ashley Graham, retired last year, Carmichael began her job at Stevenson. Carmichael, who played basketball throughout high school and college, began coaching in the Midwest area, and most recently worked as a coach for the JV basketball team at New Trier High School.
“Coach Ashley Graham has had an incredible legacy here at Stevenson, I have big shoes to fill,” Carmichael said. “I’m just looking to kind of carry on what Coach Graham did and make it my own.”
Varsity girls basketball player Nisha Musunuri ’25 is hopeful for a smooth transition having enjoyed getting to know Carmichael during the past summer and preseason. She acknowledges however, the challenges that could arise with a coach change.
“Carmichael is a very supportive coach and cares for our wellbeing,” Musunuri said. “I’m excited to see our development as a team together. It’s a completely new system, so we have to be flexible because we don’t know what will work and what won’t work during the season.”
For Carmichael, basketball has played a huge role in her life both on and off the court. Now, she wants to be an inspiration for young athletes and support them while shaping their experience to be a better one.
“My best friends in the entire world are through athletics,” Carmichael said. “I really want to be a part of having a positive impact on athletes, like I experienced from some of my great coaches.”
Like Carmichael, Musunuri also heavily values the role that friendships in basketball have played within her life. The key components of team relationships are crucial in order to be a successful team according to Musunuri.
“The team unity and the relationships athletes create during basketball, athletes are forced to get to know each other,” Musunuri said. “You’re put in situations where you may be uncomfortable with one another. That being said, some of my best friends have been created through my time on the team.”
Musunuri feels that the bonds she made through basketball have proven to be long lasting. This year, she’s adopting more of a mentor role to help alongside Carmichael, as she is now an upperclassman on the team.
“The dynamic is a little different this year because it’s a whole new team,” Musunuri said. “Which is exciting, but now that I’m the leader, it feels different because I am playing more of a teacher role.”
With numerous changes, anxiety and uncertainty face the team as they approach the upcoming season, Carmichael stresses the importance of working together and building a strong bond between teammates. She assures the team that she’s going to do everything she can to make the team as successful as possible.
“No one is going to work harder than me or my assistant coach,” Carmichael said. “My promise to every athlete in the entire program is that I’m going to work hard to do the best that I can to make sure that as a team, we are as successful as possible.”