ULM women’s basketball head coach Brooks Donald Williams announced Monday the promotion of Amber Donnes to assistant coach.
“Amber’s personality is infectious,” Williams said. “She brings incredible and consistent energy into a room. We are looking forward to her impact in recruiting and on the floor. During her short time in Monroe, she has made instant connections in the community and on campus. I had the privilege of coaching Amber in college so she has a familiarity with our expectations, daily operations and our system on the floor. I have no doubt she will care deeply about helping to develop our student-athletes in every facet of their lives and will be passionate about growing our game and growing young people. She is a young, bright star in our profession and we are thrilled to have her with us.”
Donnes spent the 2019-20 season on staff at ULM as the director of basketball operations. Her responsibilities included liaison to the equipment operations staff, all team and recruiting travel, as well as supervision and organization of the Warhawk student manager and practice squad. She also managed numerous game day activities and coordinated necessary preparations for meals, practice and shoot around times and any additional operational tasks.
“I am so excited for this opportunity to continue working with such a special coaching staff led by coach Brooks Donald Williams,” Donnes said. “I can’t wait to step on the floor with our student-athletes, help them grow and learn, and most importantly, impact them any way I can. I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of this Warhawk family.”
Prior to ULM, Donnes spent two seasons with the Ragin’ Cajuns Women’s Basketball program and the previous four as a student-athlete on the McNeese State Cowgirl basketball team, three of which were under Williams.
Donnes served as a graduate assistant with the women’s basketball program at Louisiana-Lafayette during the 2018-2019 and 2017-2018 seasons under coach Garry Brodhead, a former assistant under Williams at McNeese. Donnes received her Masters of Science in the College of Kinesiology with a concentration in Health Promotion, Recreation, and Sport Management in May of 2019.
While at Louisiana-Lafayette, Donnes oversaw the interactive mailing layouts for all prospective student athletes, filming of practices and games, team film sessions, and securing all equipment, jerseys, and necessities needed for travel. On game days, her main duty was prepping the locker room for final pre-game scouting and team reminders.
Donnes entered the McNeese Cowgirl Basketball 1,000 Point Club a few games shy of her last collegiate game. While at McNeese, Donnes did more than just make an impact on the court she was heavily involved as the Student Athlete Advisory Committee all four years and was selected as co-president during the 2015-16 academic year. She was also a nominee for the Southland Conference Steve McCarty Citizenship Award and a two-time recipient of the Cowgirl Community Service Award.
The Hammond, Louisiana, native was a 2013 graduate from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School. Donnes was a two-time Louisiana girls’ basketball state champion, winning the title for Falcons in 2010 and 2013 and being named 2A Louisiana State Tournament Most Valuable Player in 2013.
Donnes is the daughter of John and Genna Donnes of Hammond, and has two younger siblings, Nancy and John Ross Donnes.
https://ulmwarhawks.com/news/2020/4/20/donnes-named-assistant-womens-basketball-coach.aspx
