High school basketball officials better watch themselves when they get into heated discussions with Coach Taelene Fowler. She has her sights set on becoming an attorney, and she can make her case.
Two years into working as an assistant for the boys basketball team, Fowler has earned her stripes and the respect of the young men she helps Coach Tim Townsend lead. With an entire season under his belt, Townsend’s respect for Fowler’s abilities has only grown.
“She’s a great young woman. She knows the game of basketball. She was here last year (assistant to Raymond Gonzales), and she found out I was given a job. She asked what’s my role with the team? I said, it’s yours. You deserve it. She’s helped me out a lot. At times, there’s different stuff that she sees that I’m not seeing because I’m into the game, so she’s studying the guys and working it out. We’re a team, Townsend said.
A 2022 graduate of Socorro High School, Fowler took her talents to the college level, but the route of getting there wasn’t easy. Despite being a star wing for the Lady Warriors and pumping in 27 points in a state quarterfinal game against Santa Fe Indian School, nobody was knocking down the door,
It was New Mexico All-Star coach Mandy Montoya of Pensaco who encouraged Fowler not to give up on a scholarship. She also encouraged Fowler to show up for a talent showcase tournament in Las Cruces. At that showcase, Edmonds College liked what they saw and offered Fowler a full ride to go to school in Washington.
Life brings about changes, and Fowler went from focusing on studying physical occupational therapy and business to turning her sights to becoming an attorney. Back in New Mexico, she is now a student at the University of New Mexico.
Lots of things may have changed in her life, but basketball has always been a constant. Then again, there are some differences when it comes to coaching girls versus boys.
“It’s different. Of course, the pace of the game is a lot faster. Guys naturally have the instinct to play harder than girls. They have the mobility and the common sense of the game of basketball. It’s like playing at the next level. It levels out okay with my experience paying college ball because up there it’s so quick, Fowler said.
When Fowler found out Gonzales was leaving his coaching spot and Townsend would be taking over, Fowler knew she wanted to stick around and she had some hidden motivation behind her.
“I want to continue coaching because I want to give the kids stuff I wish I had in high school in basketball,” Fowler said, ‘When I went to go play college basketball, I was behind in so many aspects and just moves. In reality, guys will probably get more scholarship offers than females in basketball. I want to give them the stuff I wish I had so I wasn’t so behind.”
Balancing her studies and coaching has worked so far, but there will be a time when Fowler has to concentrate on her career. This may not leave time for her to be a head coach, but that doesn’t mean she will leave coaching altogether.
“I’m getting my degree in civil law. I do want to continue coaching as long as I am in school, keep coaching, and help build a foundation for coach Townsend,” Fowler said.
Despite her youth and being a female, Fowler hasn’t had many problems earning the respect of the young men she coaches. More than anything, it is Fowler’s knowledge of basketball that quickly quiets any rumors that may happen.
“It’s different having the guys respect me as a female coach and being so young and close in age with most of them; I think that that is the hardest. Just getting respected as just as a female can be hard,” Fowler said. “In the end, I just want to give them the stuff I wish I had in high school, and we have talent here at Socorro.”
As a player and now a coach during a period covered by Covid, Fowler has watched Socorro’s competitive edge slip away, just like the positive attitudes of many athletes here.
“It is definitely a struggle. It’s like we’re just stuck. We can’t get the attitudes and the hustle back. I was talking to my former coach, Lawrence Baca, and I asked, did it hurt you to watch these games? He said it does. I said it hurts me too because it is fan-wide, not just basketball-wise,” Fowler said. “We had a fan-wide community involvement all around. Community pride has just disappeared. When I was in high school, we had a student section, props, chants, face teams, and everything. And now we look at the student section; there’s four students.”
Fowler hopes to help change the four-student cheering section, and she has some advice for other women who might be considering coaching boys’ basketball.
“I would tell them, just try it. There’s always a possibility it works out, and there’s always a possibility in life that it’s not going to work out, and that’s how it is with everything. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. You have to stand on what you believe,” Fowler said.
