Clarion Athletics

Laurel Heilman, an experienced PSAC coach, is in her second season as the the interim women’s basketball assistant coach at Clarion University.
 
“To be able to be have an assistant coach with Laurel’s experience, especially in the PSAC, is fantastic,” Clarion’s 25^th year head coach Gie Parsons said. “I have known Laurel for years, and she is outstanding person and coach. She has integrity, honesty and accountability. All of the things we look for in a coach at Clarion. She is very respected by our colleagues in the business and is held in high esteem. It is like brining on a second head coach, not just an assistant. We are very lucky to have her.”  
 
Heilman comes to Clarion with a wealth of experience as a head coach including 10 years at PSAC West rival Slippery Rock and eight years at NCAA Division III Allegheny compiling 219 wins during her combined tenure at the two schools.
  
“The opportunity to coach with Coach Parsons is great,” Heilman said. “I have known her for 20 years and coached against her for 10 years when I was at Slippery Rock. She is well known in the basketball community on a national level, and I’m sure I can learn a lot from her. It’s a great opportunity to learn from one of the best.”
 
A 1986 graduate of Slippery Rock with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education/health, Heilman was a standout on Slippery Rock’s women’s basketball team leading SRU to the school’s only PSAC Championship as senior. A two-year captain for Slippery Rock, Heilman earned first-team all-conference academic and athletic honors and was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.  
 
After graduation, Heilman started her coaching career as an assistant coach for Slippery Rock while working on her Master of Education degree in athletic administration, which she earned in 1988. In 1988, she left Slippery Rock to become assistant coach at her high school alma mater, Bethel Park, for one season. She was then named the assistant coach at Rochester before accepting the head coaching position at Allegheny in 1992.
 
At Allegheny, Heilman guided the Gators to three 15-win seasons including an 18-8 mark in 1995 while compiling an eight-year record of 109-95 including 68-60 in conference play.
 
Coming back to her alma mater as head coach for the 2000-01 season, Heilman spent 10 years at the helm of The Rock leading Slippery Rock to three PSAC playoff berths and 110 wins (110-149) including a 17-10 mark in 2001 and a 15-12 mark in 2002. While at Slippery Rock, she tutored four players who attained All-America and first-team All-PSAC West honors.  
 
Active in the basketball community, during her career Heilman has served on the Division II East Region advisory committee as well as the WBCA Jostens-Berenson selection committee.
 
A native of Bethel Park, Heilman graduated from Bethel Park in 1981 and was inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame in 2010.