Basketball Manitoba would like to acknowledge the accomplishments of female basketball players, recognize the influence of women leaders, and advocate for equity for women and girls in sports. Women in sport should be celebrated year-round for the legacy and impact they have left and continue to create for young girls.
Basketball Manitoba is excited to introduce a new weekly social media initiative called "Women in Basketball Wednesdays." This feature will showcase various coaches, officials, board members, league coordinators, and volunteers that make up our basketball community. Every Wednesday, Basketball Manitoba will be posting one individual to feature on our social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter).
If you would like to nominate an influential female coach, official, league coordinator, or volunteer, for this type of recognition, please contact Tiffany at tiffany@basketballmanitoba.ca.
Women in Basketball Wednesday - Kelli Sinnock
Coach Kelli Sinnock is a Physical Education Teacher and Coach at Sanford Collegiate. She has been teaching and coaching at Sanford since 2007 and is in her 14th season as the Sabre’s Varsity Girls Basketball Coach. She has also coached the Girls and Boys Sabre Soccer Teams, the cross-country team, and track and field teams over her years as a Sabre.
Kelli started coaching basketball and soccer in her last year of high school and developed a love for coaching. She started coaching Junior High teams and coached the grade 5 and 6 age group for Jr. Bisons. While completing her Phys. Ed and Education Degrees, she began coaching more school teams.
She is an active member of the basketball community, MHSAA and Zone IV athletics. She has led the Sabres to multiple AAA Zone Championships and AAA Provincial appearances, including Provincial Finalists in 2009, Bronze Medalists in 2010, and other notable performances throughout the year. She has also run many tournaments and hosted provincial championships at Sanford. Kelli was also an assistant coach of the Team Manitoba U15 Provincial team from 2007 to 2009.
Kelli is an advocate for youth sports and providing opportunities for young aspiring athletes. She has taken some initiative in creating programs such as the Mini-Sabres program for youth ages 5-12 in Sanford, where the current high school athletes are the coaches.
Kelli played a huge role in developing Basketball Manitoba's brand new program called the Rural Targeted Athlete Program (TAP) for female athletes ages 12-17 years old in Manitoba's West, East, and South regions. This program provides females in Manitoba regions the opportunity to train at a high-performance level and provide the skills to better develop the athletes for future basketball opportunities at the club, school, Manitoba Games and Manitoba Provincial Team levels.
Kelli has a passion for sport and teaches and coaches young females how to be strong leaders through sport, in the classroom, and in the community. Kelli is always looking for ways to learn and improve for her athletes and students through courses, clinics and learning from other great coaches. Kelli completed her Master of Education in Sustainability in 2019, focusing on Sustainable wellness. This has helped her promote these values in her teaching and coaching. Kelli has been privileged to work with so many amazing young athletes and fellow coaches & colleagues. It has been such a rewarding journey so far, and can’t wait for many more opportunities.