E-mail: heather.semeniuk@ubc.ca

Heather Semeniuk enters her seventeenth year as head coach for the women's program at UBC Okanagan. Coach "Sem" played for UBC when she was a student and has stayed involved with the sport ever since by coaching at several levels.

Heather loves coaching basketball and strives to coach the whole athlete. In her coaching philosophy, she emphasizes mental preparation and training, nutrition, health and well-being, and individual and team goal-setting.

In three consecutives seasons – from 2003/04 through 2005/06 – Heather's team won bronze at the BCCAA Provincial Championships. For the 2006/07 season, Heather took her charges to the BCCAA Provincial Championship game and came home with the gold. This led to an exciting 4th place finish in Edmonton at the CCAA National Championship.  In 2007/08, Heather led the Lakers to a third place finish at the BCCAA Provincial Championships. The 2008/09 team still made some noise at the provincail championships inspite of an injury plagued season. The 2009/10 Heat team for the second time in four years won provincial gold and as the host team they placed fifth at the national championships.

Follow Kim on Twitter and with her Coaches Blog.

Kim Whelpton, Assistant Coach

E-mail: kwhelpton@gmail.com

Kim Whelpton is going into her 2nd year as the women’s basketball Assistant Coach at UBC Okanagan after completing five years of playing eligibility while obtaining her Bachelor of Business Administration degree specializing in marketing.  In her first year of coaching Kim helped guide the team to a Provincial Championship and a 5th place finish at the National Championships.

Whelpton was named a grant recipient of the Canadian College Athletic Association’s Female Apprentice Coach Program (2009-10) which will allowed her to actively pursue her National Coaching Certification Program education. The Female Apprentice Coach program supports and encourages the development of female coaches at the post-secondary level.

Kim is always excited to share her passion and knowledge of the game with both development and performance athletes.  Committed to constantly improving her coaching resume, Kim recognizes the importance of education and is currently pursuing her Level 3 NCCP coaching certification.

Whelpton was the former starting point guard and team captain at UBC Okanagan winning several medals during her playing career, including a Provincial Championship in 2006/07 with the then Okanagan Lakers. She was recognized as her team’s Most Valuable Player, a Provincial All-Star, and an Academic All-Canadian.

Mandy Trenholm, Assistant Coach 

Mandy is in her second year of helping the Women's Heat. Her work with Rachelle Briscoe was a key factor in Briscoe's development into the BCCAA rookie of the year. Mandy was team captain of the 2006/07 BCCAA Provincial championship team that nearly won the bronze medal at the CCAA National Championship.