Kent State Women's Basketball Camps
Golden Flashes Coaching Staff
Associate Head Coach Lori Bodnar
The 2008-09 season will be Lori Bodnar’s 21st with the Golden Flashes and sixth as associate head coach.
Since her first season with Kent State in 1988, Bodnar has been a crucial part of a program that has produced three Mid-American Conference Tournament champions, 11 20-win seasons and four NCAA tournament appearances.
"Lori is the backbone of the success of the program," Head Coach Bob Lindsay said. "She has been instrumental in the development of a number of all-conference posts through the years. She has an excellent relationship with players and coaches throughout the state of Ohio. Lori also coordinates the in-state recruiting plus European athletes."
Bodnar’s main responsibilities with the program include her role as recruiting coordinator and the coaching of Kent State’s post players. The University of Rio Grande graduate oversees fundraising, community service and public relations for the program. Bodnar also helps out with the monitoring of the team’s academic performance.
Since arriving at Kent State, Bodnar has proved her value to the program by recruiting and coaching 12 All-MAC selections and two MAC tournament MVPs.
One of Bodnar’s greatest successes at Kent State is no doubt the mentoring of former forward Lindsay Shearer to three consecutive first-team All-MAC honors as well as Player of the Year accolades in 2005-06. Under Bodnar’s instruction, centers Andrea Csaszar and Julie Studer achieved MAC Tournament MVP honors in 2002 and 2000, respectively.
For 17 seasons Bodnar has been the director of the Kent State Women’s Basketball Camps. One of the largest team camps in Ohio, it draws nearly 1,000 attendees annually.
Before starting her coaching career, the Blaine, Ohio native was a four-year letterwinner as the starting center at the University of Rio Grande. Bodnar graduated from Rio Grande in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in business education.
Bodnar belongs to both the National Basketball Coaches Association and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
Outside of the Kent State program, Bodnar has worked with the Portage County Special Olympic track and field program for the last 14 years. She is also a committee member for the American Cancer Society’s "Relay for Life."
Bodnar started her coaching career at Buckeye Trail High School in Old Washington, Ohio, where she had two successful years at the girls’ junior varsity and assistant varsity basketball coach.
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Assistant Coach Michael Terry
Assistant coach Mike Terry will be starting his third campaign with the Golden Flashes as the 2008-09 season tips off.
Before joining the Kent State coaching staff two seasons ago, Terry served as an assistant women’s basketball coach at the University of New Mexico from 2003 until arriving in Kent in August 2006.
"Mike’s experience as a highly successful high school coach in Florida prepared him to continue his development and advancement to the Division I level," said Bob Lindsay. "He continues to show a very strong work ethic, a good eye for talent and an excellent network of people who are valuable in assisting in locating and indentifying student athletes."
While with the Lobos, Terry was instrumental in preparing a team that won consecutive Mountain West Conference regular season and tournament championships, made three straight trips to the NCAA tournament and spent the entire 2005-06 season in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, finally finishing the season ranked 21st.
Prior to landing at New Mexico, Terry was the head varsity girls basketball coach at The Benjamin School in North Palm Beach, Fla., from 1998-2003.
On his way to racking up a record of 159-32, Terry led The Benjamin School to six consecutive district championships, six regional championships and six final four appearances while winning state titles in 1999, 2001 and 2003.
Terry was recognized for his prep coaching excellence by being awarded the Palm Beach High School Coach of the Year, the Sun Sentinel Small Schools Coach of the Year and the F.A.C.A. Regional Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2003.
A graduate of Western Ontario University, Terry is a member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, the Black Coaches Association and the Florida Athletic Coaches Association.
Off the court, Terry is a world-class water skier who was a part of the Canadian National Barefoot Water Ski Team during the 1994, 1998 and 2000 World Championships.
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Assistant Coach Jenna Lehmann
Jenna Lehmann enters her fifth season as an assistant on the Kent State sidelines.
Aside from playing a large role in recruiting future Golden Flashes to the program, Lehmann also assists associate head coach Lori Bodnar with instructing the post players.
"Jenna has been a valuable asset to our players and staff," Head Coch Bob Lindsay said. "She coordinates many of our player activities, projects, and community events. She assists in coaching and developing the post players in our program. Jenna also coordinates the recruiting of junior college players nationally."
Before joining Bob Lindsay’s staff, Lehmann served as an assistant at Stetson University in Deland, Fla., for two seasons.
At Stetson, Lehmann served as recruiting coordinator and put together Stetson’s best recruiting class ever when she brought four all-state honorees to Deland. Lehmann was also in charge of marketing and fund-raising at Stetson.
A native of Griffith, Ind., Lehmann graduated from Stetson in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in sports administration. The former forward was named a team captain during her senior season in 1997 after winning the team’s Sixth Man Award the previous season. Lehmann also served as the president of Stetson’s S Varsity Letterman’s Club.
Once her playing days at Stetson were through, Lehmann took a graduate assistant position at DePaul University in Chicago. After earning her master’s degree in Public Service Administration during her first two years at DePaul, Lehmann stayed on Doug Bruno’s DePaul staff as an assistant coach for a third season.
Lehmann returned to Stetson after a spending two years as an assistant coach at Charleston Southern University where she served as recruiting coordinator. During her tenure at Charleston Southern, the Buccaneers posted their second-best record in school history during the 2000-01 season.
Lehmann returned to Stetson after a spending two years as an assistant coach at Charleston Southern University where she served as recruiting coordinator. During her tenure at Charleston Southern, the Buccaneers posted their second-best record in school history during the 2000-01 season.
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Women's Basketball Director of Basketball Operations Kerrie James
Kerrie James, a 2007 Kent State graduate and four-year letterwinner returned to her alma mater in October as the program’s first director of basketball operations. She coordinates the day-to-day operations of the women’s basketball office and serves in an academic supervisory role for the players.
“Kerrie was a very successful student-athlete here,” Head Coach Bob Lindsay said. “Her excellent work habits and strong people skills will greatly benefit our program.”
James played in 104 career games and and earned Academic All-MAC honors following a senior season in which she was also the only player to start all 28 games. In four seasons with James, the Golden Flashes went 76-41.
“It’s a good to be back and be in this team environment,” James said of returning. “Kent State is a home away from home for me.”
The Mississauga, Ontario native earned her bachelor’s degree in December of 2007 after completing and internship with the Harlem Ambassadors in New York. She was part of the Ambassadors’ traveling basketball show performance, which promotes staying in school and staying off drugs.
“Having played here, I now have the chance to see both sides of it all,” James said. “And hopefully I can help the players understand where the coaching staff is coming from.”
James made 61 career starts as a guard with the Flashes, compiling 458 career points, 162 rebounds, 184 assists and 99 assists. James was also considered one of the top defenders on the team.