FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Courtesy of Providence Journal, Written by Bill Koch
BOSTON — The winningest active head coach in the NCAA Division III women’s basketball ranks is a Pawtucket native and University of Rhode Island graduate.
He was a tennis player for the Rams, topping their singles lineup during a career that spanned the late 1960s. The transition to the hardwood was a seamless one for the son of a longtime Central guidance counselor, one that started during an undefeated run on the sidelines with his Phi Mu Delta fraternity brothers. He’s been in charge at tiny Emmanuel College for 1,002 games, a career that dates back to his first season with the Saints in 1977-78.
How much longer does Andy Yosinoff plan to go on?
“Ten years ago I said I’d coach to 65,” Yosinoff, 67, said in a phone interview last week. “A couple of years ago I said I’d coach to 70. The way I feel today, if I feel like this, I can go to 75. I’m only going to keep coaching if I’m feeling like I am now and I’m doing a good job.”
The last part of that statement shouldn’t be a concern — Yosinoff and the Saints haven’t lost a conference game this decade in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference and have earned 18 NCAA Tournament bids. Runs to the Final Four in 2000-01, Sweet 16 in 2006-07 and Elite Eight in 2011-12 have served as the highlights — Yosinoff was the first coach of any Boston-based school to make a basketball Final Four in any category, covering the men’s and women’s ranks in Division I, II or III.
But it’s been about more than the results for Yosinoff, who retired after a long career as a physical education teacher in the Boston public school system and 17 years as Emmanuel’s athletic director. The relationships he’s enjoyed with his players keep him invested and energetic every time he takes the floor with his team, which he did for the 1,000th time in Tuesday’s 67-62 loss to Eastern Connecticut State.
“I enjoy the excitement of coaching kids from all over the country,” Yosinoff said. “I love to win and I love to compete. I haven’t lost my urge.”
Yosinoff credits his father, Louis, as his inspiration. Now 97 years young, Louis attended the Saints’ first game this season and laid the groundwork long ago for what would become his son’s career. It was that foundation that brought Yosinoff to Emmanuel interviewing for a job as a tennis coach, and — as the old saying goes — the rest is history.
“I said, 'Do you have a basketball coach?' Yosinoff said. “They said, 'No.' I said, 'Well, now you do.'”
What the Saints didn’t have was a regulation gymnasium — the floor was 10 feet short of the standard 94 feet from baseline-to-baseline. There was no scoreboard. Yosinoff had just six players on his first team in 1977-78, a season that coincided with the famed February blizzard that crippled the region for days. It seemed an appropriate parallel for what would become Yosinoff’s only losing campaign.
“Most of my years at Emmanuel, we only had five sports,” Yosinoff said. “Now we have 17 sports and the nicest gym in New England. The growth of women’s athletics is just phenomenal.”
Yosinoff’s crowning moment to date — not easy to pick out of 39 seasons and 750 career wins — came during that Final Four run against NYU. Emmanuel traveled to New York for the game and faced off against a school whose enrollment pushed 40,000 at the time — the Saints numbered just a fraction of that total and still awaited the decision to welcome male students starting with the 2001-02 academic year.
“The competition level now is so intense,” Yosinoff said. “Division III is more intense than anything — there are 80 Division III schools just in New England.”
In addition to his program’s considerable success, the promise of spending four years in Boston is Yosinoff’s best recruiting pitch. His current roster includes players from 11 states, including former Westerly star Maddie McLaughlin. Yosinoff also schedules an extended team trip every season — West Palm Beach, Fla., is the destination in 2015-16, as Emmanuel will play in the Keiser University New Year’s Classic.
“If you can find a better location to go to school anywhere in the country, come back and talk to me,” Yosinoff said. “That’s my big sell.”
When asked for the secret to such longevity in his profession, Yosinoff circled back to his players. He’s still in contact with several members of his teams from the early 1980s, using email and text messages to stay in touch. His current group keeps him on his toes in ways he never would have expected.
“They keep you alive,” Yosinoff said. “They don’t like the way you dress, they don’t like your hair, they don’t like anything — I have a unique relationship with my players.
“When I coach, I’m on them. Off the court, we have a unique relationship. We have a lot of fun.”
To view the recap from Yosinoff's 1,000th game on November 17, please click here.