Former FGCU walk-on player now an assistant coach

Over the years, Sheahen Dowling has seen a downpour of threes inside Alico Arena.

“I grew up watching FGCU women’s basketball cause my grandma lives here,” Dowling explained. “So I’ve been coming to the game for forever.”

Dowling recalled, “I remember sitting in the stands and my dad showing me after the game the fans used to go on the court. So my dad showed me this is the three point line. This team shoots a lot of threes.”

Dowling was able to hit some threes of her own for the Florida Gulf Coast women’s basketball team, fulfilling a dream of playing for the Eagles as a walk-on. But when her playing days were done, it was time to figure out what’s next.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do fall after I graduated,” Dowling said. “I’d always thought of coaching. I think in high school I made a presentation like what do you want to be one day and I said I wanted to coach.”

After spending a season at Valparaiso as a grad assistant, Dowling returned to FGCU as the director of video operations for two seasons.

“Video is part time so that it wasn’t really part time. It was full time because you’re always breaking down stuff, helping with whatever needs to be done,” Dowling said.

She added, “In the film room after games, you’re in the film room for like three hours breaking down the game you just played. So we’re in there a lot but it was fun. You learn a lot.”

This summer, Dowling was promoted by head coach Karl Smesko to be an assistant coach.

Smesko said, “she’s very reliable. She does excellent work and she’s somebody everybody really enjoys being around. And it’s nice to see her make that next step up.”

“I remember I went to my aunt and uncles house for dinner that night,” Dowling said. “And I told my parents and my parents told my whole family. So they’re like what’s up coach like when I walked in.”

When reflecting on her journey, Dowling said, “little Sheahen would be proud of where I am today.”