Former basketball guard Jasmine Chapman has gained a position as an assistant coach for the Cosumnes River Hawks women’s basketball team.

Jennifer Jacobs, one of the other assistant coaches for the team, said how she noticed Chapman’s potential just last year.

“She just has this passion for the game that a lot of people don’t have,”Jacobs said.

Chapman had been playing basketball for 15 years, and being promoted to an assistant coach position was something she didn’t expect so soon, she said.

Along with gaining her coach’s attention, her former teammates have also seen her potential first-hand, such as sophomore shooting guard Trina Shaner.

“She is very serious in what she does, so if something looks off or look like it’s going right, she wants it fixed right away. She’s actually a really good leader, and she’ll help you,” said Shaner.

Chapman also played other sports, such as track, for four years.

But since starting basketball when she was 8, Chapman had locked her focus onto it to the point that she wants her future aspiration to continue to involve the sport.

“I think I always want to stay around basketball. Doing what is going to fluctuate maybe, I don’t think I really mind how it fluctuates, but I do think I want to stay around the sport,” Chapman said.

Jacobs sees qualities in Chapman that makes her fit for the job, and that alone has helped Jacobs in directing the team.

“She works super hard, she knows a lot about basketball, which is great and she’s a good people person. She just has this presence about her that is really helpful to me and also to the girls,”Jacobs said.

Shaner knows the experience all too well, saying that although it’s “kind of a tough experience,” there’s fun in it.

“She just wants things done like you’re supposed to do, and she just wants you to go hard and play your hardest every game,” said Shaner.

Jacobs said that finding Chapman and another assistant by the name of Taneisha Dyer was easy.

“They played for me last year, so they came to me and wanted to help out and they know a lot about [basketball]. They’re great girls, so that was a super easy decision for me,” said Jacobs.

Although Jacobs is acting as interim head coach, Chapman’s candidacy to be an assistant coach was a shoe-in.

Despite the team’s latest matches against their opponents, the expectations that Chapman has for the team and herself acts as energy that drives her to continue.

Transitioning from being a player to an assistant coach, Chapman said noticed the differences between the two, and described what it’s like.

“It’s kind of trying to figure out how to get your players to do things that you would do, so you switch from how you would do things to how you can inspire others to do things,” Chapman said.

Chapman said that part of her responsibility is to put the team in a position to be successful, and for them, it’s making sure that they’re doing everything in their power to be successful.