| The Lonning family with father Greg, Gable, Connor, Moran, Gara and mother Kealy (left to right) |
Two months ago, Moran Lonning was preparing for her honeymoon when her brother Connor called to share an exciting job opportunity. UW-La Crosse needed a new head women's basketball coach.
This wasn't just any job opening.
It was an opportunity for Lonning, who had just finished her first season as head coach at Central, to continue her collegiate coaching career in the same gym where her father Greg won WIAC chanpionships. It was an opportunity to draw the Lonning family closer together as they grieve Greg's passing last year. And it was an opportunity to come home.
"La Crosse is allowing all of us to be back together with aunts and uncles and my grandma. It's just right. It's right where we're supposed to be."
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Our conversation touches on Lonning's journey from La Crosse and back again, the coaches who shaped her along the way, and how she plans to build the Eagles' program in the tough-and-tumble WIAC.
Topics:
1:30 "Growing up in my Dad's arms"
2:45 Early UW-Lax athletic memories
4:15 Applying for the job
5:45 Bringing the family back together
8:00 From D1 to D3
8:50 Following in her father's footsteps
12:00 Second-most famous Lonning?
13:10 Comparing the ARC to the WIAC
14:45 WIAC recruiting advantages
16:30 "Embracing the grind" at UWL
18:15 First year as a head coach
20:40 Coaching influences
23:45 Coaching her first game at UWL
25:30 Selling grittiness to Gen Z
28:30 Key to good social media content