Amanda Hanneman is back like she never left
09/21/2017 | 12:08:00 | Women's Basketball
Hanneman readies for her second stint on head coach Cindy Stein's coaching staff
If you ask Amanda Hanneman why fifth-year head coach Cindy Stein brought her back to Southern's coaching staff after a two-year hiatus, Hanneman doesn't hesitate.
"I think Coach Stein likes me on staff because I'm a little crazy with my energy," Hanneman said with a laugh. "I want to see the love of the game come out in these girls. If I could play basketball every day without pain, I would."
An intense competitor dating back to her days at Blue Springs South in Blue Springs, Mo., Hanneman broke her nose during her senior year and a week later dropped 33 points to lead the Jaguars to a district semifinal win. She was recruited by Stein to play at Missouri and was a four-year letter winner for the Tigers.
Her relationship with her former coach brought her to Carbondale twice, the first time as a graduate assistant video coordinator during Stein's first two seasons as Southern's head coach, and again after the departure of former assistant coach Kat Martin, who left for UMKC in May of 2017.
"I've known (Stein) since she started recruiting me when I was 17 years old," Hanneman said. "We've been through a lot. She understands me and has always looked out for me. I've learned everything I know as a coach from her."
During her first stint at Southern, Hanneman was instrumental in helping the Salukis post their first winning season in eight years and was part of the biggest turnaround in program history.
Asked how it felt having to leave the Salukis after she graduated with a master's degree in sports studies in 2015 with the program on the rise, Hanneman didn't mince words.
"It was hard leaving after two years," Hanneman said. "Our first year was spent changing the culture. Those first two years of changing the program were two of the biggest learning years for most of us on staff."
Hanneman returned to Kansas City, Mo. after graduation and was named the head coach at St. Teresa's Academy later that year. She immediately put to work what she had learned as a graduate assistant at Southern, as she not only challenged her players physically, but also mentally.
"When I went to St. Teresa's, it was like SIU all over again," Hanneman said. "I had to change the culture, change the mindsets and get the team rolling back."
The Stars had immediate success with Hanneman at the helm, as they won 21 games in her first season and posted a .620 combined winning percentage in her two seasons as head coach.
"I trained my kids at St. Teresa's for what college coaches want," Hanneman said. "I treated it just like a college program. I was hard on them. I was tough and we had a lot of rules."
Not only did coaching at St. Teresa's allow Hanneman to gain valuable in-game coaching experience, but it also forced her to return to square one when teaching the game of basketball, which, in turn, made her a better coach.
"It was a lot of teaching," Hanneman said of coaching at the high school level. "When you're at the college level, you don't have to break the game down as much. So it was good for me to go back and coach high school because I literally had to break down every aspect of the game down to its simplest form."
Hanneman will have her hand in every facet of the Salukis in her second stint on staff. She will work with Southern's guards, oversee SIU's practice players and managers, help with social media and assist with recruiting and scouting.
In addition to her day-to-day responsibilities on staff, Hanneman has also spearheaded SIU's positive performance training, an initiative she has taken on with the help of Southern's Faculty Athletic Representative, Dr. Julie Partridge, in the hopes of teaching the Salukis how to better prepare their minds for competition.
"We've had about four classes so far," Hanneman said of positive performance training. "Its something I really love and something I've been really into ever since I got into coaching. You can only do so much physically, but you have to train your mind just like you do your body."
Hanneman's goals for the upcoming season are simple; she wants to see the Salukis take the next step in 2017-18.
"I want to see us get better each year," Hanneman said. "I want to see changes and I want to see improvement."
The first official practice of the 2017-18 Saluki women's basketball season is on Oct. 3. Southern hosts Kentucky Wesleyan in its exhibition opener of Oct. 28, and welcomes UT-Martin to the SIU Arena on Nov. 10 to open the 2017-18 regular season.
