With head, heart, and guts, Allison Guth is coaching the Ramblers to success

Now in her third season as head coach of the Loyola women’s basketball team, Allison Guth brings a tough-minded grit to her coaching style. “I believe you are capable of holding people accountable and still holding them up,” she says. “Our connectivity comes from loving each other enough to tell each other the hard truth.”

That raw, heartfelt approach grew out of her experience. After being a standout on the Buffalo Grove High School team that won a Class 2A state title in 2000, Guth walked onto a talented University of Illinois team that reached the 2003 NCAA Tournament under head coach Theresa Grentz. Though Guth spent much of her time on the bench, it didn’t hold her back.

“That’s where my love of coaching came from—sitting on the sideline. I fell in love with the strategies, the X’s and O’s,” she says. “Being a player who doesn’t play much, that’s the origin story.”

We spoke to Guth about her coaching philosophy and its lasting influence on her players.

What makes the game of basketball so special to you?

The ability to push yourself to the limit, to see the world outside of yourself, and to serve, that’s what the game of basketball is. It’s about celebrating the stat that doesn’t show up. It’s the charge take, the gut play. It’s our entire culture at Loyola.

When you get a call from a former player who’s now a doctor at Rush University Medical Center, and after her first surgery, she says, “Coach Guth, you won’t believe what happened. My back was against the wall, and I didn’t think I could get through this, but I pushed through,” you don’t forget it. Basketball is a microcosm for life.

How do you foster resilience in your players?

Growing up in the golden era of Chicago Bulls basketball, I admired Phil Jackson’s leadership style. He found a way to manage those egos, to put on the court the most impressive basketball unit he could and win six NBA championships.

We have a similar philosophy at Loyola. Every day, we ask our kids, “What does this team need of you?” All these women would love to play 40 minutes, drop 30 points, and grab 12 boards each game, but that’s not what’s going to work. It’s the understanding of what is needed. How do I roll up my sleeves?

You’ve described failure as “an event, not a destination.” How does that come through on the court?

I’ll give you an example. We go to play the University of Iowa, with point guard Caitlin Clark. (Clark now plays for the Indiana Fever of the Women’s National Basketball Association). The goal of that game was to take our program to a national level. We knew we could compete if we executed our game plan. So, when we go in the locker room at halftime, down by five to the Hawkeyes, that’s a step in Loyola women’s basketball history. Now don’t ask me about the third quarter, and what Clark did to us after that. But there was this moment of understanding: here’s where we are, here’s where we’re going. You have to have those growing pains to push forward.

How has women’s collegiate basketball evolved during your lifetime?

Coach Grentz, my former coach, taught us the importance of being torch bearers. She helped us understand the role of Title IX, the federal civil rights law, in opening doors for women in collegiate sports. We’ve come a long way, but we’re not where we need to be.

I played for a coach who didn’t get to play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There wasn’t women’s basketball in the NCAA yet. When you look at the national championship last year, the record number of people tuning in to watch, the transformation is outstanding. But if we don’t honor the work of those who came before us by continuing to carry it forward, we won’t progress.