Coco Sauve recently finished her second full season with the Huskies women’s basketball team. In her short two years, she has accomplished an incredible amount both on the court and in the classroom. Well on her way to turning her love of the game of basketball into a career, Sauve is currently an operations assistant with the Fraser Valley Bandits of the new Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL).
After initially finding her love for the sport and culture of basketball while in high school, Coco began working on her craft. Her efforts ultimately led to her earning a roster spot at the colligate level with Langara College of the PacWest in Vancouver. After two years of playing for the Falcons, the Vancouver, B.C., native knew she needed to leave the place she grew up in.
“I felt like I had outgrown my hometown of Vancouver, [as] I was sort of plateauing. I have always believed that in order to really reach your full potential, you have to be outside of your comfort zone and push yourself,” she explained. “I was getting too comfortable in Vancouver, and I had bigger aspirations for myself that I felt I couldn’t accomplish if I stayed.”
After taking some time and weighing her options, a single phone call resulted in Sauve deciding to move more than 4,374 km to continue her collegiate and academic career.
“I did some research and decided on George Brown because they had my program (Business Administration) and they were the only college that was located in downtown Toronto,” Sauve said. “I was still deciding between some schools, but once I reached out and had communication with Warren Williams (head coach at the time) and Omari Wiltshire (assistant coach) it was kind of like game over. They’re what really made me decide to come to GBC.”
George Brown’s women’s basketball program was coming off an impressive 15-2 record when Sauve joined in the summer of 2018. Even with the high standard and expectations in place, the team did not miss a beat the following two years, posting a 27-6 combined regular-season record. The forward believes the buy-in from everyone allowed the achievements to continue to grow on the program's overall success.
“In my first season with the Huskies, we were able to build off the success from the previous season and build our team’s culture and identity for future recruits. The coaches have done a really great job of recruiting in my time at GBC, but as players, I think we have done a really good job of making the program seem very attractive for the top recruits.”
In two seasons with the Huskies so far, the 6’1 forward has averaged 8.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, and one steal across 28 games. In addition to success on the court, she has found an equal amount in other areas of life. Sauve gives a ton of credit to George Brown for her overall development from day one.
“My time with the Huskies has really shaped me into a different person than I was when I first walked in the door. The overall athletic program is structured to see the athletes succeed. There’s a lot of support for athletes,” she stated. “Because of this, I have really enjoyed representing the Huskies, and I truly feel like being a Husky has allowed me to grow into who I wanted to be when I first started at George Brown.”
Yet, Sauve’s standing as an athlete is still only half of her ‘student-athlete’ status. She is currently enrolled in George Brown’s Business Administration program, which was another crucial reason why she decided to come to Toronto.
“It is my goal to work in the sports industry once I’m done school and I thought this program would be my best opportunity to make that happen,” she explained.
Through the first two years, Sauve had to juggle sports, academics and working part-time as an Athletics Centre Student Ambassador. All the hard work, perseverance and time management paid off in May when she earned an internship in Basketball Operations with the Fraser Valley Bandits of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire CEBL season was played in St. Catharines, Ont., which led to the internship being done virtually. Yet that did not stop Sauve from learning while adjusting to the new norm.
“My role was done entirely remotely. It was a very interesting experience with how the pandemic affected the professional sports industry. Our innovation skills were really tested in terms of having a sort of virtual season where we couldn’t have fans in attendance,” she said. “I did a lot of work surrounding fan interaction and how to keep them engaged when we don’t have face-to-face interactions with them.”
Sauve did such a stellar job during her internship that the Bandits promoted her to Operations Assistant this past September. The role is focused around community relations, fan interactions and brand development. In 2018, when she first came to George Brown from Vancouver, B.C., Sauve wanted to take advantage of what the business administration program had to offer, and to network within the most prominent sports city in Canada in order reach her ultimate goal.
“My dream job is to work in operations in the NBA. I like how operations kind of encompass a lot of different roles and responsibilities. You aren’t just stuck in sales or marketing, you’re filling a lot of different positions,” she explained. “I like how there are different responsibilities on game days versus during the off-season, et cetera. I really like the idea of working in a smaller front office too, just to get even more hands-on experience.”
Even in these uncertain times, Sauve is doing whatever it takes to keep carrying her love for basketball with her into the future, and she is well on her way to doing just that.
