Team-teaching environment ‘a perfect fit’ for former ASU women’s basketball coach
Former ASU women's basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne (lower right) takes a timeout to direct her players during a game in 2015. Photo by Deanna Dent/ASU
After retiring from coaching women’s basketball at Arizona State University in 2022, Charli Turner Thorne said she took some time to get some clarity on her why. After an eight-month sabbatical and a conversation with longtime friend and colleague Joe Marsit, a College of Health Solutions teaching professor, she found it.
“I mentioned my class, and I thought it was a perfect fit for her because the class is all about building up teams, teamwork, coaching philosophies and being a better coach,” Marsit said. “I thought having somebody who was an Arizona Sports Hall of Fame coach in the class would be a great resource, as opposed to me trying to pull resources off of YouTube.”
Turner Thorne accepted Marsit’s offer to co-teach the class with him and has enjoyed serving as a faculty associate in a team-teaching environment at the College of Health Solutions ever since.
“I was just grateful that everybody was super open to me teaching,” Turner Thorne said.
Marsit says the impact of Turner Thorne’s input on his class was invaluable, and that she was able to refresh a lot of the material with her coaching experience.
“When I show up for a class, I want to be good and on point. I had been in front of classes when I would guest speak, so it's not like I hadn't been in that situation,” Turner Thorne said. “But it's still, ‘Here we go, I'm actually one of your professors.’”
Turner Thorne’s teaching experience expanded once Marsit told College of Health Solutions Teaching Professor Kristin Hoffner that an Arizona Sports Hall of Fame coach was helping teach one of his classes. As a personal fan, Hoffner got giddy at the possibility of teaching with Turner Thorne.
Phoenix Mercury career panel
College of Health Solutions Teaching Professor Kristin Hoffner and former ASU women's baskeball coach Charli Turner Thorne are hosting a career panel on Tuesday, Nov. 19, that will feature a variety of employees from the Phoenix Mercury staff, including an athletic director, a coaching/scout, athletic trainers, front office staff, a nutritionist and physical therapists. They will talk to students about their jobs and how to get an “in” with professional sports. The event will consist of a conversation followed by a Q&A/networking opportunity for students.
Time and location are still TBA; please check ASU Events for updates.
“I followed Charli indirectly without a personal relationship since I got here in 2003. I'm a basketball kid, so I watch women's basketball,” Hoffner said. “Once Joe told me that they were going to be teaching together, I promptly asked for his entire class schedule so that I could come and see her speak.”
In 2023, Turner Thorne agreed to co-teach Hoffner’s Psychological Skills for Optimal Performance (SSP 320) class. Turner Thorne’s master's degree in education psychology made it another perfect fit.
During an SSP 320 class on imagery, which discusses the ability to create mental images and visual representations without visual stimuli, Hoffner would talk about different topics related to imagery and then ask Turner Thorne about what in her coaching career she did for her athletes that involved imagery.
One example Turner Thorne gave was how she and her staff would write scripts to read out to the players while they would all lie down in the locker room and close their eyes. The players would be guided through the mental exercise of imagining they are shooting in perfect form, making a perfect pass and running up and down the court.
Outside of teaching at ASU, Turner Thorne also works as a scout for the Phoenix Mercury, a broadcaster for women’s college basketball and a public speaker. But she thrives on the energy of a busy schedule and says being open to new opportunities is one of the most fun parts of her life.
“That's kind of my whole life since I retired: ‘Oh I'm working for the Mercury now; oh, I’m teaching now,’ and I always kind of wanted to dabble in broadcasting,” Turner Thorne said. “I'm just at a point in my life where I can just stay open to different opportunities.”
ASU women’s basketball takes Jacksonville State at home on Nov. 4 at 6:30 p.m. To see the rest of the upcoming ASU women’s basketball schedule, visit thesundevils.com.
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