Graduate student Peanut Tuitele just wrapped up a five-year playing career this past season with the California women's basketball team and is in the process of completing her master's in education from the UC Berkeley School of Education. Perhaps that is why Tuitele is perfectly suited for the next stage of her basketball career – calling plays instead of executing them on the court.

As part of her entry into the coaching realm, she applied and was accepted into the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) "So You Want To Be A Coach" program. The program assists female collegiate basketball players who are interested in pursuing a career in coaching women's basketball by providing them with professional development and career advancement through education, skills enhancement, networking and exposure opportunities.  The program also increases awareness regarding the availability of talented female basketball players who want to coach.

The application process started before last season even tipped off and involved Tuitele submitting her resume, a personal letter, a video explaining why she wanted to get into coaching and a letter of recommendation from Cal head coach Charmin Smith. Out of the hundreds of applications the WBCA receives, only about 60 are accepted into the program every year.

"When Peanut stepped onto campus this past summer, her natural ability to lead was undeniable," Smith said. "She is a passionate young woman who is not only dedicated to learning and getting better on the court but also knows the importance of being a well-rounded student-athlete. She is dedicated to community service, supporting mental health initiatives, and wants to help the Samoan community break barriers in traditions that are not inclusive to everyone."

Being around coaching is not new to Tuitele as her father, Moeletoa Tuitele, was a football coach at Butte College in California while she was growing up.

"I was like that little tomboy girl that hung around all the football players as a kid, and just listened to my dad and I was fortunate enough to be in meetings with him," Tuitele said. "He was a player when I was growing up and then became a coach, so I got to see both sides from a football player and football coach."

Given her upbringing, it's not a surprise that Tuitele developed a passion for coaching early on.

"I've always wanted to be a coach," she said. "I've always been in an environment where I had a coach involved in my life ever since I was five. The teaching that coaching did for me and the life lessons I've learned, I really wanted to dive deep into it. I have so much to give back to basketball because of what it's done for me, but I've known I wanted to be a coach since I was a kid."

For Tuitele, the desire to become a coach goes beyond helping young women get better on the court. It's about the opportunity to influence them at a crucial time in their lives.

"I'm definitely intrigued by the X's and O's, but one of the biggest things is being a guiding hand to help young women become women and just to help them with their life experience," she said. "To help with their mental health journey because there's a lack of resources and education with the mental health crisis that just came out of COVID. Player development off the court is what I really enjoy."

While Tuitele has had a lot of influences from a number of coaches that have impacted her life, she has a clear vision for how she would like to approach coaching.

"During my time here in the master's education program, I've learned that one of the best and most efficient ways to learn is in a group social setting, so I would want to foster a collaborative environment," she said. "I'm definitely someone that will be open to learning from my players and other coaches. I don't know it all. I am very open to learning from everybody."

The next time you see Tuitele at a basketball game, she may be the one calling the shots instead of taking them.