Heather Oesterle brings change, lessons learned to new role at Central Michigan
Central Michigan head coach Heather Oesterle addresses the media after a scrimmage Oct. 27 at McGuirk Arena.
Maddy Watters remembers a mistake in practice during the offseason.
The junior guard and the rest of the Central Michigan women's basketball team were told to run as a form of punishment for the error.
Instead, the team did abdominal planks.
Watters said the Chippewas' new coach, Heather Oesterle, often does planks to take care of her core and back muscles.
Needless to say, they have her back.
When Oesterle took over the Central Michigan program in July, she wanted her team to have fun and continue the winning standard that former coach Sue Guevara set during her time at the helm of the Chippewas.
"She's put an emphasis on having fun but still being able to compete," Watters said. "It's been a very good atmosphere and she's been very caring."
Part of Oesterle's philosophy is wanting her players to be confident in their offensive abilities. She doesn't want the team to be afraid of making mistakes.
In fact, she encourages making mistakes if the players are trying new things in a game.
"That's what I tell all of them," Oesterle said. "I'm not going to take them out if they miss a couple of shots but I will take them out if they pass up open shots. That's no secret."
While serving as an assistant under Guevara, Oesterle was the offensive coordinator for the Chippewas. She also scored 482 points in her career at Michigan, playing for Guevara.
The offensive end of the floor is arguably Oesterle's area of expertise and has taken aspects of Guevara's system, but she is making it her own.
"Some of our offense is similar to what we're trying to do because we've recruited players to fit this system," Oesterle said. "I'm the type that wants all five players on the floor confident to score the basketball."
Junior guards Micaela Kelly and Maddy Watters have emerged as leaders heading into the 2019-20 season.
Kelly has stepped into a larger leadership role following the departures of Reyna Frost and Presley Hudson. Amid a lot of change in the program, Kelly said that she thrives by leading by example on the floor, almost as an extension of Oesterle.
"Sometimes, her being vocal isn't enough, and she wants us to step up, and I like that she gives us a chance," Kelly said. "(Oesterle) wants the players to coach the team because obviously, she's not the one playing.
"She trusts in us to have faith and I've got to have her back as well and give her my all."
'She knows what she's doing'
Before CMU's first preseason scrimmage, Oesterle sent her former coach and mentor Guevara a text admitting that she was nervous entering her first action as the Chippewas' leader.
"I responded with, 'I'm glad you are, you're supposed to be,'" Guevara said. "This is a scrimmage and this is what you get to do, trust your gut, you know what you're doing.
"It makes me proud. She knows what she's doing."
Kelly and Watters have both embraced the change from Guevara to Oesterle but understand that it is a completely new program with a new system and a new coach.
"It's her team," Kelly said. "It's her time to show that she can coach, that she can lead, the different aspects that she learned from (Guevara) and she can take that and put that into her game but show what she's capable of."
An advantage of Oesterle being on staff for nine seasons before taking the lead role is the fact that she already knows the players and their strengths.
When talking about playing in the post, she alluded to the strengths of forwards Jahari Smith and Kyra Bussell. She said the sophomore Smith and junior Bussell are similar but still possess key differences that will allow for well-rounded post play.
"We're playing with our post players more face the basket rather than back to the basket because that's their strength," Oesterle said. "Jahari's not great at backing down someone and finishing, so I told her she has two dribbles and she's got to kick it out. She's better at slipping an on-ball screen and catching and finishing or getting the ball on the short corner and ripping and attacking.
"That kid has come a long way, I've been very impressed with how far she's come from her freshman to sophomore year."
Oesterle said that Bussell, who came in off the bench extensively last season, is similar to Smith when facing the basket.
Bussell is also coming off her second surgery to her right shoulder.
"She's more of a pick and pop," Oesterle said. "Every time she touches the ball, I compare her to Elena Delle Donne because she's capable of doing different things for us. We're going to run her with some on-ball screens because how are people going to defend that if she can shoot the 3 like she can."
'Expectations don't change'
During Guevara's 12 years at the helm in Mount Pleasant, the Chippewas won 231 games, four-straight Mid-American Conference West Division championships, three straight MAC regular-season championships and two MAC Tournament titles.
Oesterle will lead CMU through a tough nonconference schedule with its opener against Green Bay and a Nov. 14 game on the road against Louisville. The Cardinals defeated the Chippewas last season, 72-68, on Dec. 20 in McGuirk Arena.
CMU also travels to South Dakota State, which is one of the top mid-major programs in the country. The Jackrabbits took an 80-71 win over the Chippewas last season in Mount Pleasant.
The 2019-20 season isn't going to be a cake walk, but that's something Oesterle embraces.
"It's very challenging but that prepares us well for March," Oesterle said. "The goals do not change. We want to cut down the nets, we want another ring ceremony. We have the pieces to compete on the national stage again.
"The expectations don't change for this group."
