Youth basketball leagues turn to female leadership

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers HOOP SKIRTS—Tami Miller, left, has been president of Westlake National Junior Basketball for about a year and a half and Susie Troxler, right, has been president of the Agoura Youth Basketball Association since April. A pair of popular youth basketball leagues are under the leadership of women for the first time.

Susie Troxler is president of the Agoura Youth Basketball Association, and Tami Miller is president of Westlake National Junior Basketball. Both women live in Westlake Village and offer support to one another.

In the past, the AYBA and Westlake NJB leadership has been dominated by males, but that's changing. Miller's 18member board includes five other women: Michelle Bock, Leilie Javan, Traci Oken, Carrie Saks and Janice Liner.

Troxler's 13member executive board also has five women on it—Melissa Smooke, Aggie Kogel, Tammy Flanders, Amy Hile and Andrea Raskind. All serve in a variety of capacities.

"I don't think anybody's ever questioned the fact that I know the game or that I'm capable of handling the position," Troxler said. "But this is the old boys' club. I kind of have that feeling still."

Tami Miller

The Westlake league marks another female milestone—this is the first year that girls have their own teams. In the past, a handful of girls played on boys' teams. Now there are two allgirls divisions, one serving kindergarten through second grade, the other third through fifth grade.

"I worked hard to get this league off the ground. We let (the girls) form their own teams because we knew they would only play if they could play with friends," Miller said. "Now we're hearing from parents of other girls that they want to sign up for summer, so we're expecting double the number for summer."

Westlake had never pushed the girls' league because other groups, like AYBA, offered strong female programs. Miller viewed the move as necessary, as "untapped business."

"Every sports league in the area is trying to bolster numbers to keep leagues in business," Miller said. "Not as many new families are moving into the area. When you talk to people across the board everybody is hurting because of the economy. One of the first things to go is spending $200 for a sports league."

Miller began coaching when her oldest child started playing. The 40year-old mother has four sons: Noah, 9, Josh, 8, Jed, 5, and Zane, 3.

"I've got years ahead of me in this league, so I just want to make it better," Miller said. "It's not always about knowing the most about the sport. It's about being able to control seven to eight squirrelly little 5-year-olds, knowing how to talk to them and making it fun."

Board member Peter Diaz said he is impressed by Miller's commitment to the league, especially because she has four young children.

"I don't know anyone more dedicated to Westlake NJB," Diaz said.

Westlake NJB has 500 players and 45 coaches, some of whom coach more than one team.

Susie Troxler

A mother of two—Brittany, 19 and Victoria, 17—Troxler, 42, began coaching nine years ago when Victoria, then in third grade, started playing basketball.

Basketball wasn't new for Troxler. She grew up playing the sport and was on the team at the University of Washington. When she left the school to care for her sick mother, Troxler enrolled in junior college near her home in Vancouver, Wash.and played for that school's basketball team.

"Being able to play at the junior college helped me get through the time my mother was really ill and her passing away," Troxler said. "Being part of a team, people caring for you, helping the team, has always been part of me ever since I was little."

Troxler first coached a youth basketball team in Woodland Hills, where she lived before moving to Westlake four years ago. Troxler's daughter Victoria was the only girl on the team.

When Troxler saw some girls wearing AYBA jerseys, she called their parents to find out how to get involved with the league.

She began bringing Victoria to Agoura to play on AYBA teams, and Troxler coached there as well. Victoria, now a senior at Viewpoint School in Calabasas, is captain of the varsity basketball team.

This is Troxler's second year on the AYBA board. She was elected president by the board in April. She commends her fellow board members for their commitment to the league and the players. Nearly 1,000 players are led by about 143 coaches in AYBA.

"The AYBA board has been mostly males since the inception," said new board member Drew Fine. "I think Susie represents a new direction for the organization. She is setting some fantastic examples of leadership in a very challenging environment."

Troxler has a number of goals, several of which have already been put into place. The league has a new software application and a new registration process. Mandatory fingerprinting and background checks are required for coaches. Travel teams have been revamped. A new basketball program for special needs players has begun. All aspects of the league and board business have been documented so that future leaders have a written history to refer to when making decisions.

"Anyone who wants to be a member of the board next year can walk into the position and know what they're getting into," Troxler said. "We want new people to join the board. Anything anybody can do we greatly appreciate."

Troxler loves seeing a child make a basket for the first time, and she treasures the smile on the face of a player who's made a good pass.

"Every year there's always something really special about what every kid brings, and I hold it close to my heart," Troxler said. "I don't know if the guys get that part of it. It's really emotional."