Pepperdine’s coaching duo prepares for a new endeavor—the birth of the couple’s first child.
By Hailey Amato
Staff Writer
The season is over, but the responsibility isn’t. Derek and Jody Wynn, assistant coaches for the Pepperdine women’s basketball team are welcoming one more challenge onto their plate … their first child.
One of the few married coaching duos in their field, the Wynn’s story is truly one of love and basketball.
Derek grew up in Upland, Calif. A basketball player who knew since he was young that he was meant to coach, Derek took the position of freshman head coach at his alma mater, immediately after high school graduation.
“I thought about playing,” Derek said, “But when I thought about it, what I really wanted to do was coach.”
He moved up in the ranks to varsity coach and while attending California State University, Northridge, met his future wife who would lead him to Pepperdine.
The tallest girl in the fifth grade, Jody Wynn was noticed during an elementary school basketball tournament by none other than Pepperdine women’s Head Coach Mark Trakh, the local high school coach at the time.
Trakh remained Jody’s main basketball influence throughout junior high and high school in Brea, Calif., and continued to support her when she was recruited to play at the University of Southern California.
“I really think Coach Trakh has influenced my coaching more than any other coach,” Jody said. “It’s his philosophies I cherish most.”
A tumultuous college career (playing under three head coaches in four years) proved worth it in the end.
“I was a very bitter athlete,” Jody said. “I felt like I had had my college career cheated in some way. Now, looking back, I realize I was blessed to have three different coaches who brought such different philosophies to the game. I’ve learned what I liked as a player and what didn’t work and that has helped me as a coach.”
A career-ending ankle surgery her senior year dashed all hopes of continuing to play basketball (except for an occasional game of HORSE) and threw her into coaching because she said, “To be honest, I didn’t know what I’d do without basketball.”
Shortly after her college graduation, only 22 years old, Jody accepted an assistant coaching position at Pepperdine under her mentor Coach Trakh and has now been here eight years.
Derek and Jody met in college through a friend of a friend, talking for three weeks over the phone before they met at one of Jody’s games.
After five-and-a-half years of dating, and Derek’s job change to fill the other assistant coach position at Pepperdine (“I knew a pretty good person to help me get the job,” he jokes), the two were married in the spring of 2000.
Now the coaching staff, between Trakh and the Wynns, has a noticeable family atmosphere.
“As a team I think we bring a continuity,” Derek said. “We’re both there for the kids on and off the court. I think it works pretty well.”
Derek and Jody balance each other well, each bringing different talents to program.
“Derek is a mellow, laid back kind of guy,” Jody said. “He’s very knowledgeable as far as defense goes. He has the ability to make game time adjustments and just sees things on the court. I really cannot ever imagine coaching without him.”
Derek sings many praises for his wife’s coaching abilities as well.
“Jody has a great feel for the game,” Derek said. “She picks things up really quickly and can break down tape just like that. She understands the opponents and their tendencies.”
When asked how they deal with the fact that they are always together, both reply that they don’t see it as a problem at all, but instead a blessing.
“I love her, I love being around her,” Derek said. “It’s been a real privilege and I have to thank Coach Trakh and Pepperdine for this opportunity.”
Jody agreed that having her husband share the same profession is a comfort.
“It’s really nice to go home with him,” Jody said. “When I’m breaking down film late into the night, I have someone right there with me. When I’m on the phone, calling recruits all summer, I have someone with me. I come home and I don’t have to tell him how my day was. Some people might say ‘24/7, how can you take it?’, but it’s great to be with someone who has the same passion I do.”
Both hope to eventually move on to head coaching positions, but only if they get to go together. For now, they’re making big differences in the lives of the players they coach.
“I love being around kids and having an impact in their lives as they move on, graduate, do big things,” Derek said.
This year Derek has seen two of his former Upland High School players have breakout years. One was called up to the NBA’s Orlando Magic from the National Basketball Development League and the other is playing for the University of Nevada in the Sweet 16.
“I’ve known these guys since ninth grade,” Derek Wynn said. “I know what they’ve been through, how hard they’ve worked and now I get to see their dreams come true.”
The newest life they’ll get to influence is that of their first child. The baby, a girl, is due June 10 to two very excited parents.
“It’s something you dream about all your life basically,” Derek said. “Now it’s only a couple of months away and it’s a great feeling. I think it’s going to be my proudest moment.”
Jody will take time off this summer to be with their child. Three early verbal commitments for the junior class means that the recruiting load will be light and the only reason she’d go out on the road this summer is if, according to her, she “just can’t stay away.”
Obviously, a new addition to the family will mean changes in the Wynn’s already busy lifestyle.
“It’s going to take a lot of time to focus on our kid,” Derek said. “It’s going to be a great experience. We joke that tough losses aren’t going to seem so important anymore. Our baby, smiling after the game, isn’t going to care if we win or lose.”
Submitted March 25, 2004
