All in the Family: Bankers Embrace Time Together with Daemen Women's Hoops

AMHERST, N.Y. - Parents coaching their children is common in sports, mostly in the youth to high school levels and occasionally at the college level. But a parent coaching alongside their son or daughter at any level – let alone, the collegiate level? A rarity. 

            That’s what makes the mother-daughter dynamic of head coach Jenepher Banker and assistant coach Kallie Banker with Daemen women’s basketball over the past three seasons and counting a unique feat across the East Coast Conference – and the NCAA coaching landscape itself. Since joining forces in the 2017-18 season (Jenepher's second season as head coach), the Wildcats have posted a 53-32 record and hoisted its first ECC Tournament trophy in program history earlier this year.

            Describing their coaching tenure on Main Street so far as a “passionate and rewarding” experience, the Bankers have a mutual appreciation of each other and their present opportunity.

            “It’s been really amazing to work with my mom but also (with) someone who is so passionate and great at what she’s does,” said Kallie, a former Division I point guard at the University of Rhode Island and the University of Vermont. “It’s been an amazing learning experience so I’m extremely happy and blessed to have gotten the opportunity.”

            “It’s fantastic and it’s something I’ll remember forever, so I’m really happy that we got this opportunity,” added coach Banker. “It’s great to see her every day and talk basketball every day.”

 Part of an athletic family, basketball became the bond for the Banker women fairly quickly through multiple local basketball camps and driving together to AAU tournaments on the weekends. When she was in grade school and middle school, Kallie rode the bus to Grand Island High School to watch her mom coach the Vikings’ varsity girls’ basketball team. Soon, Kallie made the varsity team as a seventh grader and learned from then-senior – and future Daemen player – Courtney Donovan how to be a varsity athlete. In her first varsity game, Kallie made the game-winning shot on the baseline off a pass from the double-teamed Donovan – a moment which still stands out to her mom. Together, the Banker duo and the Vikings won three straight Section VI Class A championships and advanced to the New York State Final Four in the 2010-11 season, Kallie’s junior year. 

            Similar to what the Wildcats are experiencing now, the Bankers said their success at Grand Island was a collaborative effort from the starting five down to the last on the bench.

            “I think it started with hard work and a dream and I think that (junior) year was a lot of hard work and a lot of passion behind that,” said Kallie. “I think what makes a good team ‘good,’ at any level, is that goal that you’re all striving for together and that passion to be able to do whatever it takes to get that job done.”

Before accepting the assistant coaching role in the 2017-18 season, Kallie almost suited up for the Wildcats herself as she had a fifth and final year of eligibility. But with her growing interest in coaching with her mom along with enrolling for a law degree at the University of the Buffalo, finding this balance was something she couldn’t refuse.

            “I always wanted to find a career, where I could compete at all times,” said Kallie, a third-year UB Law student who starts her final semester in mere weeks. “By nature, I’m a little aggressive, which our team would probably co-sign. I always wanted to be arguing in a productive manner. I wanted to work hard. I’m extremely motivated. I just felt that law was a position where I could do all the things I felt I was best at and it would challenge me every day. I’m really happy that I decided to do it.”

            While Banker said her daughter already had a high level of self-confidence, the growth she’s noticed from Kallie as a coach has been impressive, describing her as “an incredibly outstanding coach.”

“It’s honestly, I think, as much natural as anything else,” said Jenepher. “(Kallie’s) incredibly talented at teaching different things. She also has great enthusiasm. When she comes into the gym, she kind of lights it up and is very enthusiastic and motivating but she’s also a very good teacher. She holds our players to a really high standard, which they respond to.”

“My role in practice, I think, is to be more of an enforcer,” Kallie added. “Coach, by nature, is more quieter, so we balance each other out well, I think, on the court. My biggest role is to hold them accountable while being enthusiastic throughout practice.”

The 2020 off-season has been one unlike any other due to ever-changing COVID-19 protocols. And while frustration has amassed at times, Banker has advised her team the following since September: “One day at a time, and when today’s over, we’ll see what tomorrow brings.” 

“We are one of the lucky programs to have an opportunity,” said the head coach. “Basketball is so much a thread to who they are and what they do, players and coaches, really. Regardless of how many people are in a pod and how many people are on a court and what kind of drills we have to do that day based on that, there’s still that common thread. We are appreciative that we are one of those programs that are having that opportunity, even if it’s not normal and if we don’t have our entire team.”

So, what is the key to the Bankers’ coaching success at Daemen? Establishing boundaries at home. If you’re at home, don’t talk about what’s going on at work. Focus on spending time with family instead.

            “I think my brother (Kolby) and dad (Brett) have enough basketball talk to last a lifetime,” said Kallie. “When we’re together as a family, we don’t really spend a lot of time talking about basketball. I think, both as a player and a coach, I think it’s been a really good balance.”

            Whether it’s a high-stakes moment like winning the ECC title or a funny moment like trying to find a Florida restaurant that could serve them on Thanksgiving night, the Bankers said their time coaching at Daemen has provided them a lifetime of memories. 

            For other family coaching duos, the Bankers said enjoying the time together should be the top priority.

            “Be appreciative for the time you get because Coach and I – now more than ever before – spend a lot of time together and it’s amazing,” said Kallie. “A lot of people don’t get that opportunity with their parents after they move out or move on.  I’m very appreciative of it but I’m also really appreciative of being able to grow a program. That has been a really amazing experience to do alongside my mom.”