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They fill a crucial role in every college program. They juggle multiple responsibilities and put in long hours behind the scenes. They arrive early to hit balls, they stay late to provide advice and they keep in contact with potential recruits.

They are assistant coaches.

Although they may not get as much attention as head coaches, they are highly valued by many.

In this edition of Meet The Assistant, we profile Navy women’s assistant coach Alessandra Pedergnana:

Why did you get into coaching?

I had a great experience during my collegiate time at UMBC. My head coach, Keith Puryear had an opening for the assistant job and asked me if I would be interested. I said yes immediately. I love our sport and I wanted to make sure my future players would get a great learning experience on the court and off. I wanted to be able to make an impact and connect with people both individually and collectively. As coaches, we play a big role in our players' lives and I wanted to make sure they knew I was there for them regardless of what it was.