Sarah Eagan believes she is ready to be a head basketball coach.
"It's a great opportunity," Eagan said Wednesday after it was announced she was the new head girls basketball coach at Helias. "I've always looked up to Helias as a school and as a basketball program.
"When I heard about the opportunity, I jumped at it. I believe I can lead this program to great things."
Eagan has been a graduate assistant with the women's basketball program at Truman State the past two seasons. She said that experience will pay dividends for the Lady Crusaders.
"Playing the game and coaching the game are two very different things," Eagan said. "I learned a lot about how to help players develop their skills to improve and the time it takes to make that happen."
Eagan played college basketball at William Woods, where she was an all-academic team selection. In high school, Eagan earned Clarence Cannon all-Conference honors and was a member of three conference championship teams at South Shelby. She also lettered in softball for three seasons and track for one year.
"Sarah comes from a family that is a hard-working, Catholic family and that's something that will fit in very well for us as we continue to grow as a staff at Helias," Helias activities director Brad Dempsey said. "She's going to be a great asset."
At 26, Eagan isn't all that far from her days of playing in high school.
"I think I can relate to players in a way that most coaches may not be able to," she said.
Dempsey said the school had no concerns about Eagan's age.
"I'm really excited to get a young female coach," he said. "She has a very bright future. She really knows how to relate to girls and player development is very important to her."
Having gone through it himself, Dempsey can relate to any potential growing pains Eagan might experience.
"She might be a little older than I was when I first became a head coach, so I have an idea of what she's going to go through," he said. "But Josh Buffington (the Helias boys basketball coach) and his staff, they are so willing to help the girls team, and as the A.D., I will do everything I can to help her grow into the great coach I know she will be."
Eagan replaces Doug Light, who had been the head coach for four seasons. The Lady Crusaders finished 14-11 this season.