NEWPORT NEWS, VA. – The Apprentice School announces that head women's basketball coach Lanica Williams-Tallon will be appointed to the position of Associate Athletic Director. The Associate Athletic Director position is a recent addition to the organization structure of the Apprentice Athletics department. Coach Williams-Tallon was selected to fill the role as she carries on with her responsibilities as head coach of the Lady Builders.
"Bringing Coach Williams-Tallon on to our athletic administrative staff provides two big wins for The Apprentice School," said Apprentice School Athletic Director Keisha Pexton. "Adding the Associate Athletic Director's position to our organization will help us better facilitate the daily operation of the athletics program. That along with our head women's basketball coach becoming a full-time position with our company, helps affirm the growth of female leadership in our school. Coach Williams-Tallon is the best fit to take on those challenges. She is a great addition to our program and we are excited to have her," she added."
She joined the Apprentice School athletic staff in October of 2007 and in her first season helped lead the Lady Builders to 10 wins including road wins at Washington & Lee, Norwich University (VT) and a win at Southern Virginia for the first time since 2002-03. Her second season saw the Lady Builders earn a first-round bye in the USCAA Nationals and finish with a 17-13 record. The team turned it around in January after a stretch where they faced six NCAA Division II opponents in a row. Her squad reeled off eight straight wins and 11 out of 12 to qualify for the tournament.
Now in her fourth year with the Lady Builders, she has led the team to one USCAA National Tournament appearance (2008-09) and has had two USCAA All-Americans, three honorable mention All-Americans and one USCAA All-Academic selection in her coaching tenure. Her teams have always been known for being fundamentally sound, solid defensively and very athletic.
"I am thrilled and honored for the opportunity to extend my role to serve The Apprentice School and our athletics department," said Williams-Tallon. "Coaching is my true passion, and my new position allows me to better connect with and 'coach' all apprentice student-athletes, as well as, assist our athletics department in its continued development structurally and organizationally, she added."
Williams-Tallon is a native of Newport News, VA and is a 2006 graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne College where she earned a bachelor's in Athletic Training. While at L-R, she was a three-year starter for the Bears after transferring from Alabama A&M. She was a key cog in Lenoir-Rhyne's first South Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship and NCAA Division II National Tournament appearance in 2002-03 when she averaged 20 points per game in the SAC Tournament. An outstanding student, she was named to the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll as a senior.
As the newly appointed Associate Athletic Director, Coach Williams-Tallon will serve as the compliance officer, academic coordinator for student-athletes, as well as, serve as an assistant event coordinator.