She may be new to the Pacific Northwest and the Gonzaga program, but Amy Edwards is far from a newcomer to the coaching scene.

Having spent the last five years on the Missouri coaching staff, she became associate head coach in 2007, and with five years as the head coach at her alma mater Tulsa along with assistant coaching gigs at Notre Dame and Fresno State, Edwards is a seasoned teacher of the game.  

That doesn’t mean her new position will be a familiar walk in the park, however. Edwards is replacing the popular and successful Shannon Stiles, who was a native of Spokane, Wash., and helped the team to its first NCAA Tournament in 2005.

The team finished 2-4-1 in the West Coast Conference a year ago, and Edwards is looking to improve upon that mark with a new direction that’s all her own.

I know things have been hectic lately. Take me through the process of being hired on and guiding the team in the spring season?

“The first week I got here everyone was on spring break. It was a matter of getting into the office and trying to get things organized. When players came back from spring break we had a game four days later. It was good though to be able to see them in a game situation so I could see what was needed. I had five weeks with them and I think we made huge strides from start to finish. Everyone was very open to change, and very coachable. It's been a great group to work with.”

What’s the most difficult part of taking over a new program and replacing a well-established coach?
   
“Probably bringing in a whole new staff and trying to get the players to realize that it’s still their program and their team. Just because we’re the coaches doesn’t make it ours, we’re just trying to help them and we’re bringing in new leaders and a new direction to achieve our goals. They’ve had some good success here and we’re going to build on it. I think we’re capable of making the NCAA tournament year in and year out.”

How will your past coaching experiences inform your coaching at Gonzaga?

“I’ve seen a lot and there’s a lot of experiences in my past that have helped me already to deal with current situations. I feel more prepared because of my vast experience and having the opportunities to work with some great head coaches. I’m much more confident as a coach than when (took my first head coaching job) at Tulsa. I think I’m more excited too. Now I understand the value of this. It’s so hard to become a successful head coach. It’s a great opportunity.”

Talk about your coaching philosophy and the style you’d like to see your team play?

“My philosophy is to be very fair in everything that we do. We want to create a competitive environment but we won’t forget about having fun and enjoying the game. I have a strong passion for the game and helping people grow.

“As far as style of play I’d like for us to have a very attacking style. In the past this team hasn’t had a lot of goals or taken a lot of shots. We want to get forward and be creative running at people and taking people on – we may have to take on some risks defensively to do that.”

What’s the ultimate vision for this program? How will you define success?

“I’m extremely competitive and this is a challenging conference. We’re excited about competing and our goal is to reach the top half of the conference and keep climbing. It’s a goal of ours to knock off the perennial powers, and I see us as being able to make the NCAA tournament year in and year out. And I would add reaching the top 25 as another thing we’re looking at and I believe we can achieve here.”