Cougar
Women's Basketball
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Head Coach
Linda Cimino
Adelphi University '01
Second season
Linda Cimino begins her
second season as coach of the Caldwell College women’s basketball
team after guiding the Cougars to a 10-17 record in her first year.
Cimino, who coached for five years at the high school and junior
college level, came to Caldwell in 2006 after serving as an
assistant women’s basketball coach at Adelphi University the
previous season. Cimino’s high-energy coaching style and enthusiasm
for the game has revitalized a program that reached double-figures
in wins for the first time in three years.
In fact, the Cougars were in position for a berth in the Central
Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament until an injury ended the
season for Mackenzie Lynch, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder,
with six games to play. One of the highlights of the 2006-07 season
was a 66-62 victory over Adelphi, Cimino’s alma mater.
“Last year we made good strides towards putting in the foundation
for a successful program,” Cimino said. “Now we can continue to
build on that foundation and keep working towards our ultimate goal
of earning an NCAA Tournament berth.”
After one year on the job, Cimino recognizes the potential of the
program to be competitive in the CACC and the Northeast Region.
“Because of the administration, the facilities, the strong academics
and the players we have here now, Caldwell College is very
attractive to recruits,” Cimino said. “We’re located in a good area
for talent, but we’re also looking to expand our recruiting efforts
to find the players we need to be successful.”
Cimino
returned to Adelphi in August 2005 to become an assistant coach
under Kelley Watts, helping the Panthers to an overall record of
15-13 and a third-place finish in the New York Collegiate Athletic
Conference. Prior to her stint at Adelphi, Cimino was the varsity
girls’ basketball coach for three seasons at Calhoun High School in
Merrick, N.Y., where she also coached volleyball for four years.
Cimino began her coaching career in 2001 as the head women’s
basketball coach at Queensborough Community College in Bayside, N.Y.
A member of Adelphi’s basketball squad from 1997 to 2000, Cimino
still appears on the Panthers’ all-time lists for free throw
percentage and three-point field goals. She also holds the school
record for most three-pointers in a game with six. While at Adelphi,
Cimino built a reputation of being a clutch performer in late-game
situations. In her first collegiate game, she hit the game-winning
basket at the buzzer to defeat the University of New Haven in
overtime. Cimino continues to play in the urban professional league
in Manhattan.
Cimino graduated from Adelphi in 2001 with a Bachelor’s degree in
Health and Physical Education, and earned her Master’s degree in
Health Education from Adelphi in 2004. She also received a Master’s
degree in Administration from Touro College in May of 2006. She has
been a health teacher for the past five years, including four years
at Calhoun High School, where she also was an Adaptive Physical
Education teacher. Cimino is an American Heart Association CPR/AED
instructor and a member of both the Women’s Basketball Coaches
Association and the Basketball Coaches Association of New York.
Off
the basketball court, Cimino has made an impact on campus as an
assistant athletic director and Senior Woman Administrator. She
coordinates the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), which is
active on campus and in the community. Last year, Caldwell’s SAAC
raised over $1,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Through SAAC,
Cimino also organizes the community service efforts for each team.
She also works with campus ministry to assist with Midnight Run,
which brings food to homeless people in New York City. In October,
Cimino organized a Midnight Madness on campus to kick off the
beginning of the basketball season.
“My role as an administrator has allowed me to be involved in many
aspects of campus life beyond coaching basketball,” Cimino said. “In
my time at Caldwell, I have experienced so many things, from
attending conference and NCAA Tournaments with our other teams, to
working with students on campus, to traveling to France with our
men’s basketball team. I’m appreciative of the opportunity to be a
part of an athletic department like Caldwell’s and I thank Mark
Corino and the College administration.”
A native of Lincoln, R.I., Cimino was all-state in both basketball
and softball at North Smithfield High School.