Gold Coast (Australia) - Derin Stinnett a member of Guam's National team and an upcoming coach in the Pacific shared her optimistic outlook on the future of women's basketball in her country.

Stinnett, a member of the 2019 Pacific Games Guam national team is taking part in the Tournament Coaches Course for Females organized by FIBA is a testament to her commitment to her coaching aspirations.

"I love sharing my experiences and all the life lessons I have learned from the game with our youth," Stinnett said. "Watching my player's love of the game grow every day and seeing them practice the things, I teach them with the eagerness to perfect it has been exhilarating."

The 29-year old is currently the coach of the Guam Elite Basketball Club Girls U15 club and also the Saint Paul Christian School Warriors Girls’ Middle School and has held both posts since 2017.

"In 2017 my husband (Willie Stinnet, Men's National Team member) started a club team so I coached the girls' team and picked up a gig in my alma mater in Middle School," she shared.

Photo: Stinnet (top right) with her team

The basketball scene in Guam has picked up over the years and Stinnett a member of the Guam National team since 2007 is proud to share that she is expecting a bright future for women in the sport.

"The growth of basketball has been amazing even from just when I started coaching. There are more programs catered to youth and more schools participating in interscholastic tournaments. It was way more popular even in the 1970s from what I heard but we're now gaining that traction back," Stinnett said.

Stinnett, who played shooting guard in last year's Pacific Games pointed out her teammates, Destiny Castro and Kali Benavente as good examples for the talent Guam has to offer.

"If you look at Destiny and Kali they were able to get an education through basketball. I foresee more players offered scholarship opportunities in the future from New Zealand, Australia, and even the Philippines," she said.

Castro and Benavente graduated in 2020 at the Chaminade University on a full scholarship and both played with Stinnett in the Pacific Games, with Castro playing her way into the All-Star Five and Benavente holding down the starting point guard spot for Guam.

Photo: Stinnett playing for Guam in the 2019 Pacific Games

Stinnet herself was able to get offers from college but chose to stay and studied at the University of Guam due to family reasons.

"When I graduated high school I was afforded a lot of opportunities through basketball but chose to stay in Guam. I was offered a scholarship by the University of Dallas in Irvine and Chaminade University. I hope more women will take the opportunity in the future," Stinnett said.

The Guam native is proud to be an inspiration to the youth in the island country and hopes to continue to share her knowledge and help the rapid ascent of the sport in her country.

"I have been very blessed these past 10 years and basketball is a huge part of that, it led me to meet my husband and have a family. It's an honor for me to be able to share my experience with young girls playing the sport and I hope we continue to develop and further along with women's basketball in Guam," she proudly said.

FIBA