Sports in RI: Central Lady Knights head coach, Karen Byrne, builds a team – John Cardullo

by John Cardullo, sportswriter

Photos: courtesy, Central AD Michelle Rawcliffe 

Central’s girls head basketball Coach Karen Byrne has the Lady Knight’s trending in the right direction.

The Central Lady Knights haven’t made a playoff appearance in over 5 years, and since that loss to the Woonsocket Villa Novans, the Lady Knights fortunes have fallen off the radar. Wins were nearly impossible to come by. The team suffered through 3 consecutive winless seasons, coaches came and went. That was up until the 2023-2024 season when Central High School’s athletic director, Michille Rawcliffe, announced the school hired Karen Byrne as the teams’ new head coach.

To say that she came in like a wrecking ball would be an understatement. Byrne knew that taking over the Lady Knights basketball program would be a challenge. Admittedly, she had little knowledge of what it was like at Central before her arrival. “All I knew was that I was the third coach in the last three seasons. I had no idea that the team hadn’t won a game in the three seasons before I arrived.” She went on to say, “I am not one to rehash the past, but I look forward and focus on the future.”

To understand Coach Byrne, you must go back to where it all began. Byrne grew up in Weathersfield, a small town outside of Hartford, Connecticut. “My parents immigrated to this country from Ireland, which makes me a first-generation child”. Extremely proud of her Irish heritage, Byrne attended a small Catholic high school. She credits her parents and family for instilling her with her love of both hard work and family.

Growing up, she excelled in basketball and softball. It was in her high school softball career where she was named to the All-State team. It was also where she caught the eye of Providence College who went on to recruit her as a basketball player, with Lynn Sheedy, who happened to be the assistant softball coach as well, and convinced her to play on the softball team.

Playing at Providence College during the infancy of the Big East was a special time. As a basketball player, she excelled in defense, often taking on the opposing teams best offensive player. “I was not a big scorer” she said, “but I could really play defense”. As a softball player she was an excellent outfielder. One thing for certain, like a true competitor she hates losing more than she loves winning.

After leaving Providence College she landed at UMass Amherst as a graduate assistant. While attending graduate school in 1985, is where she met Barbara Stevens who went on to become one of the top 5 winning-est coaches in the country at the time. “She was amazing! I learned so much from her.” Stevens left UMass Amherst to pursue another position, with Byrne made a full-time assistant coach for the new incoming coach, Jack Leaman. “Both Stevens and Leaman had become my mentors. I learned a lot from both.”  As it is typical with up-and-coming coaches when they begin their coaching journey, they tend to bounce around taking advantage of any step-up opportunity that may come their way. The downside of this coaching carousel is if a head coach is let go, usually the coaching staff is collateral damage. “It’s all part of the job. The incoming coach comes in with a staff that they know and trust.”

In 1987 she landed as an assistant coach at Seton Hall, but she reunited with Barbara Stevens who now was the head coach at Bentley College. Byrnes stayed at Bently College from 1987 to 1996. While there the team made the “The Division 2 Fab 4” (the smaller level of the Final four). The team had 5 consecutive 30-win seasons, the team appeared in five consecutive D2 Fab 4’s. She then coached at Stone Hill College from 1997-99, Quinnipiac College from 2000-04, Post University in 2005. Byrne took on coaching a high school team and for three seasons she coached Gilford High School winning three State championships in a row, and then New Britain from 2005-07. It was while at New Britain she coached Symone Roberts who scored over 2,000 points and was name the Gatorade Player of the Year, she ironically went onto play for the Providence Lady Friars.

Byrne returned to the college level when she took an assistant’s position at Roger Williams University 2009-10, after staying at Roger Williams for a single of season. In 2010 she took that position of head coach/Assistant Athletic Director of the United States Naval Academy Preparatory school (NAPS located on the Newport Naval base). Staying as their coach for 12 seasons, until it was decided by the Navy that the program was to be discontinued. She made the most of her time there making those important connections, setting up a schedule that would often challenge her team’s ability. She like the discipline of the military aspect but found that she could do what she did best, be not only a coach, but a teacher as well. Her classroom was the gym, the students were her players.

On to Central

In 2023 she was encouraged to throw her name into the ring for the newly opened position of girls’ head basketball coach at Providence’s Central High School, her goal was to improve the Central Lady Knights program in anyway she could.  “Attitude, Academics and Athletics – the three things that we focused on”. “She came in as a force of nature!” as one observer said, and like Frank Sinatra said, she was going to do things her way! Always coaching, but more importantly, she always turns mistakes into teaching moments.

Unaware that Central had not won a game in three seasons, her immediate focus was to get the team to improve on the court and become a team off it as well. As her first season progressed the first win came, then another and the team began to buy into what the coach was doing. By the end of her first season there was a new feeling around the team, they were starting to become a family! “I broke my lessons down so the team would understand, I believe in the 5 Ts – put in the Time, to work on your Talents, to get Tougher and do it all Together and you will come a TEAM.”

The Lady Knights began preparation for the upcoming 2024-25 as soon as the last season ended. In the past when the season ended, the players would often put down the basketball and not pick it up until November the following year. The team jumper into a post season routine and a preseason work out program under the approved guidelines of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League.

As the season approached, there was a buzz around the team, one of hope and expectations. Coach Karen Byrne and her assistant Carla Ricci and the team looked forward to the new season refreshed and encouraged. The team was enthusiastic and looking forward what the coach was going to teach them.

Hard work was the norm, instilling a sense of team and self-pride and confidence were lessons the team was taught. Being instructed and adjusted and corrected had become expected, but no one complained, as a matter of fact the players wanted the feedback. “The coach is tough, but we know that she cares for every one of us, we have become a family because of her and Coach Ricci.”  Being on the basketball team is one of pride, and it always hasn’t been that way. We come to play a game and there are people in the stands cheering for us! Cheerleaders are cheering for us! Having the starting lineup announced, the National Anthem played as the Central Jr ROTC presenting the National colors is amazing! I am going to hate to see the season end.” said one unnamed player.

Collectively the team believes that they are better players because of Coach Byrne, and they are a better team because of her. As the 2024-25 season began, the Lady Knights won their first two games and made the playoffs. This a position that the team hasn’t been in in a longtime, five years to be exact! Karen Byrne didn’t come to Central just to win a few games, she came to Central to build a girls basketball program!

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John Cardullo, sportswriter. John is a lifelong Rhode Islander. His sports experience is extensive, as a player, coach and sponsor of youth and high school sports. He has been the Public Address Announcer for the CCRI Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams. Both the Cranston East and Cranston West football, Cranston East Boys and Girls basketball for 12 years before moving onto the Central, Juanita Sanchez and Mt. Pleasant football teams. Also, Central HS Boys and Girls Basketball, Scituate High School Boys and Girls Basketball, Johnston High School Girls Basketball, Boys Volleyball, Girls Softball, Boys and Girls Soccer teams, and CLCF football.

John has been involved in Men’s softball for 61 years, starting as a batboy for his father’s team in 1964. He moved to the teams scorekeeper then became a player in 1975, and created the men’s team, Players Corner Pub, that went on to win 20 State Championships in their 35 year history. In the 1990’s he published the statewide softball magazine “The Fielders Choice” which was dedicated to all topics related to adult softball. As a feature writer, John and the publication won several media awards. In 2019 he was elected and inducted into the Rhode Island Slow Pitch Softball Hall of Fame which he also helped create. John is a softball umpire in Warwick, Rhode Island.

In his spare time John golfs with his life long friends in season. After retiring from the printing Industry after a 45-year career, he now writes specialty sports columns for RINewsToday.com, is still actively engaged in the high school sports scene, and will soon launch a radio show/podcast on high school sports.