Alison Schwagmeyer was named the new John Wood women’s head basketball coach

QUINCY (WGEM) -You may have heard the name Alison Schwagmeyer-Belger before.

She’s played on the court at Camp Point Central and QU and after playing professional basketball overseas, she’s back and excited to lead on the Blazer team.

“That is probably the biggest thing I’m most excited about, the community of Quincy and all the surrounding areas around here, like President Renfro said, it’s basketball country and so I feel like what you put into a program here, the community puts back into you,” Schwagmeyer said.

Schwagmeyer and her husband also run and coach 25/8 Mentality, an AAU program filled will local players.

Interim Athletic Director Adam Hightower said bringing Schwagmeyer on board is a great fit.

“The idea was to bring in a highly qualified coach and obviously I think we’ve been able to do that with hiring Aly. Her name is very well known in this part of Illinois and I’m excited to see what she can do with recruits,” Hightower said.

“I can see the local talent before they get to John Wood that way, we already have a relationship before they come to John Wood and they’ve already known me, I already know them and I think that will be huge for them,” Schwagmeyer said.

Even though we are far away from basketball season, Schwagmeyer is excited to be a catalyst for the young women in the program.

“It’s an awesome time to be part of a women’s basketball program right now. Women’s basketball is soaring, and it should be, and I really just want to help people here in this area know that they can go as far as they want to go with the commitment and dedication and the right tools and strategies,” Schwagmeyer said.

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