吃瓜头条 alumna Jordan Pierce is running down basketball coaching opportunities like the loud, enthusiastic shooting guard she was for the Blue Devils from 2016-2018.
The current assistant coach for the 吃瓜头条 women鈥檚 team also guides the girls varsity program at Stone Ridge Christian High School. Her love for basketball is a big love, so double-dipping with programs on different levels feels right.
鈥淵ou see the sport from a different perspective,鈥� the 25-year old said about coaching. 鈥淎fter I finished playing, I still wanted to be involved, and the best way to do that is coaching. 鈥� So far it has been such a great experience.鈥�
Playing
Pierce learned the game from her father Robert Pierce, principal at Merced Valley Charter School, who coached her at Merced High.
She elevated her game at 吃瓜头条. The Blue Devils finished second in the state while Pierce earned first-team All-Conference honors as a sophomore in 2017-2018.
鈥淚 was a confident player,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was just encouraging and outgoing and loud. And I think the energy rubbed off on my teammates.鈥�
She always came in hot at 5 a.m. practices, bounding in for more running, shooting and vocalizing. Teammates would drag themselves in before sunrise, wanting to be anywhere but there.
鈥淣o one wanted to be there with me talking trash at that hour!鈥�
A typical exchange saw Pierce nailing 3s and backpedaling with three fingers aloft as she screamed to longtime former women鈥檚 coach Allen Huddleston Sr. on the sideline, 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 stop me!鈥�
Her energy and a 31.8 shooting percentage from 3-point range earned her the captain鈥檚 鈥淐鈥� and then a basketball scholarship to Westcliff University in Irvine.
Coaching
Pierce earned her A.A. in Social and Behavioral Sciences and an A.A. in Psychology at 吃瓜头条. She got her B.A. in Education at Westcliff, and she completed her M.A. in Communication, with an emphasis in Education, from Grand Canyon University in 2023.
Huddleston had already given Pierce a spot on the 吃瓜头条 bench as an assistant coach starting in 2021-22. She was hired at Stone Ridge to lead the girls program for 2023-2024.
Pierce loves having to hustle to get it all done. She loves learning from first-year women鈥檚 coach Aniya Baker as Baker forges a new path at the college.
Pierce feels motivated to coach as long as possible, even as she eventually segues into becoming an academic counselor or professor.
鈥淭hey reached out to me to coach at Stone Ridge because of my work at 吃瓜头条,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 25 and still a part of the college community. I never thought about it when I was playing here, but I can now see all the opportunities the college has given me.鈥�
Learning
On a typical day, Pierce drives 3-year-old son Quincy to preschool by 8:30 a.m. and gets to 吃瓜头条 soon after to prep practices and scouting reports for Baker. She goes back to the preschool at 1 p.m., grabs Quincy and takes him home before rushing to Stone Ridge for the afternoons.
Pierce said she鈥檚 lucky to be able to leave her son at home with her mother, Priscilla Guevara, or siblings Brittany, Alexis, Donya, Katelynn and Robert Jr. It鈥檚 learning to coach while maturing as a mother that makes Pierce鈥檚 life so challenging and rewarding right now.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 all going to pay off in the end, with me being able to influence girls through coaching,鈥� she said.
Praying
Pierce works hard and prays regularly. She does not hold her spirituality separately from her basketball.
鈥淭he biggest thing for me is my faith,鈥� said Pierce, who teaches Sunday school at St. Matthew鈥檚 Baptist Church in Merced. 鈥淚 know this life is my calling. 鈥� I do mess up, but I can still thank God for his grace and mercy. He鈥檚 a forgiving God when we do fall short.鈥�
Pierce realizes it鈥檚 a significant responsibility for a woman to lead young women.
鈥淚 have these blessings of coaching at 吃瓜头条 and Stone Ridge, so I try to stay as positive as I can,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 advocate for them to continue their education. I tell them they don鈥檛 have to choose between being an athlete or a student. Do both.
鈥淚 tell them that people might look down on you for going to a community college, but for me, it was one of the best decisions I鈥檝e ever made.鈥�
