UNCASVILLE, Conn. — It’s the season of the first-year head coach in the WNBA. Seven of the league’s 13 teams are being led by someone stepping into the role for the first time. For the Sky’s Tyler Marsh and the Sun’s Rachid Meziane, that challenge collided Wednesday night in a matchup between the league’s bottom two teams.
Before tipoff, Meziane said he related to Marsh’s struggle: Both are trying to grow into the role and teach their style of play without much time to do it.
“It’s tough for him; it’s tough for me,” Meziane said. “But we have to just keep trying to control what we can control. We’re trying to give our best.”
Ask any first-year coach, and you’ll hear the same refrains: It’s an adjustment. It takes time. There are growing pains.
For Marsh, the leap is from assistant on a championship-level team to leading a roster that is still building a winning culture. For Meziane, who coached a French club, it’s a new country, a new league and a Sun team that lost its starting five during the offseason. Both coaches are trying to install systems and mindsets in a limited window, often focusing on incremental progress rather than dramatic results.
As rebuilding clubs, the Sky and Sun have only 14 wins between them. Without a realistic shot at climbing the standings, the rest of the season is more about the small victories.
One small win for the Sky: no trade requests this season. Last year, there were at least two, most notably Marina Mabrey, who asked to leave in the middle of the season. This year’s group has stayed together so far, with players crediting Marsh’s steadiness and patience as factors.
“He hasn’t changed from the 30-point blowouts to the 10-point wins to the five-point losses,” guard Ariel Atkins told the Sun-Times in July. “His voice is always to stay the course, and he’s doing that himself. When your head of the snake can do that, it’s easy to follow.”
If Marsh’s strong locker room carries him into a second year with the Sky, it could pay off. Nate Tibbetts, the league’s only second-year coach, is proof of the jump a second year can bring. His Mercury underwhelmed in 2024 but have thrived this season.
“Last year, [Tibbetts] didn’t know what to expect,” Mercury star Kahleah Copper told the Sun-Times this month. “He was coming in just trying to be whatever he can be for us. Now he knows what to expect.”
Tibbetts said his comfort has grown with experience — practice planning, postgame talks and simply being front and center.
“As an assistant, there can be days where you duck and move, and people don’t see you,” he said. “As a head coach, you answer questions and help navigate everything.”
Marsh has navigated plenty himself. He lost star point guard Courtney Vandersloot early in the season. Atkins, his leading scorer, went down with a calf injury. Most recently, All-Star forward Angel Reese has been sidelined indefinitely with a back injury.
“There are certain things that you’re thrust into that you can’t be ready for,” Marsh said. “But no matter how many we’ve missed from injury, it can’t halt our preparation moving forward.”
Preparation was what Marsh came into the season valuing and feeling confident about. This year has taught him to adapt — balancing immediate challenges with developing for the future.
“We just had to take it day by day, week by week, not knowing what’s in front of us,” Marsh said. “But credit to our team for staying together through that.”
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