Sky Announce 2011 Assistant Coaches

Jeff House and Christie Sides will fill out the Chicago Sky coaching staff under first-year General Manager and Head Coach Pokey Chatman, Chatman announced today.

House brings over 20 years of basketball coaching experience at the NBA, WNBA, College and high school levels to the Chicago Sky bench while Sides has coached for over eight years at the professional, international and college levels.

"I'm thrilled to have both Jeff and Christie join my staff,� Chatman said. �This definitely provides us with the momentum needed to accomplish our goals.�

From 1998-2004 House was a member of the New York Liberty staff under head coach Richie Adubato. Beginning as the video coordinator and advance scout, House quickly climbed the ladder eventually becoming an assistant coach and instrumental part of the 1999, 2000 and 2002 WNBA Eastern Conference Championship winning Liberty teams. House started in New York as a member of the Knicks game night video staff in 1998.

In 2005, House was a top assistant with the Washington Mystics before taking the recruiting coordinator/assistant coaching position at the University of Virginia. House helped propel the Virginia Women�s Basketball program to the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference by bringing in top-ranked recruiting classes in each of his years with the program.

Throughout House�s two decades coaching basketball, he�s had the opportunity to work with a plethora of top coaches. He got his start in 1985 under former Houston Rockets Head Coach Jeff Van Gundy at McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, NY. He later coached under current Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy at Lowell University and Bob Wenzel at Rutgers University.

Since 2008, Sides has been an assistant on Spartak Moscow Region in Russia, where she helped Chatman lead Sky center Sylvia Fowles and Spartak to consecutive FIBA Euroleague Championships in 2008 and 2009. Sides also served as an assistant on the Slovakian Women�s National Team coaching staff since 2008 helping the team qualify for the European Championships in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The Slovaks took 8th place in 2009, their highest finish of Sides� tenure.

At the collegiate level Sides spent the 2003-2004 season at Louisiana Tech as an assistant coach. From 2004-2007 Sides was an assistant on the Louisiana State University staff under Chatman.