Julie Plank is an American basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 head coach

Head coach

A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

, most recently of the Washington Mystics

Washington Mystics

The Washington Mystics is a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1998 season. The team is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment , who also owns the Mystics'...

 of the Women's National Basketball Association

Women's National Basketball Association

The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...

 (WNBA).

Career

Julie Plank was named the head coach of the Washington Mystics

Washington Mystics

The Washington Mystics is a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1998 season. The team is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment , who also owns the Mystics'...

 on November 6, 2008. Plank joined the Mystics following a season with the Minnesota Lynx

Minnesota Lynx

The Minnesota Lynx are a professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1999 season...

, assistant coaching Olympian Seimone Augustus

Seimone Augustus

Seimone Augustus is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the Minnesota Lynx, WBC Spartak Moscow Region and the US national team...

 and 2008 Sixth Player/Woman of the Year, Candice Wiggins

Candice Wiggins

Candice Dana Wiggins is American basketball guard for the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA. She previously played for the Stanford University women's basketball team where she is the all-time leading scorer in Stanford women's basketball history and in the Pac-10 Conference women's basketball history....

. Prior to joining the Lynx coaching staff, Plank spent eight years with the Indiana Fever

Indiana Fever

The Indiana Fever is a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began...

 as an assistant coach and director of scouting. There she helped lead the team to four playoff appearances including the 2005 and 2007 Eastern Conference

Eastern Conference (WNBA)

The Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association is made up of six teams.The Eastern Conference playoffs is divided into two playoff rounds, The Conference Semi-Finals and The Conference Finals with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Western Conference...

 Finals.

Plank served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team from 1999 through the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia and helped lead the U.S. to gold medal victories in the 1999 U.S. Olympic Cup and the 2000 Olympics.

Plank began her coaching career in 1984 at Capital University

Capital University

Capital University is a private liberal arts university of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Bexley, Ohio, founded in 1830. In addition to its rigorous liberal arts program, the university also offers a reputable adult degree program in Columbus, Ohio. It is one of the oldest...

 in Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. She spent two years as an assistant coach, helping Capital to a 39-8 record (.809). Overall, she has helped three different NCAA women’s basketball programs to a 343-104 record (.767)

Plank’s coaching career includes spending 10 years (1986–95) alongside Tara VanDerveer

Tara Vanderveer

Tara VanDerveer has been the Stanford University women's basketball coach since 1985. She led the Stanford Cardinal to two NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championships: in 1990 and 1992. She stepped away from the Stanford program for a year to serve as the U.S. national team head coach at the...

 at Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

 where she assisted the Cardinal to eight consecutive NCAA Tournaments (1988–1995), four Final Four appearances (1990–92, 1995) and two NCAA championships (1990, 1992). Plank also served as the lead assistant coach at Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...

from 1997–99 and oversaw the school’s recruiting and scouting efforts. In 1998, she was ranked the fifth-best NCAA Division 1 assistant coach in the nation by Women’s Basketball Journal.