Sacred Heart Greenwich welcomes Ms. Isabelle Dumoulin as she takes on the role of assistant coach of the varsity team and the seventh and eighth grade soccer teams.  Along with coaching, Coach D will teach sixth grade history and English.  She hopes to incorporate important lessons of teamwork and pride in her players’ performance both on and off the field. 

At the age of four, Coach D began playing soccer and continued to play in high school, enjoying soccer as her release at the end of the long days.  She played varsity soccer during her high school career at Greenwich Academy and aspired to play in college.

“I was planning to play soccer in college but unfortunately got a bad concussion and needed staples in my head during an FAA semifinal game my senior year that knocked me out of school for a while,” Coach D said. 

Although she was not able to play at the varsity level in college, she was the captain of her club soccer team at Connecticut College. 

The inspiration to professionally coach came from Coach D’s freshman biology teacher, who also happened to be one of her soccer coaches.  Coach D learned from her mentor that she wanted to be someone who knew her students in the classroom, as well as outside of it.

“When I felt really behind and didn’t know how to study correctly and I was doing really poorly, he came up to me, and said ‘Chill out Isa, it’s going to be fine,'” Coach D said.  “It was nice that he knew me as a student, but also outside of school, and then as a soccer player. I want to be that kind of person for my students now, and be an advisor, and get to know them outside of the classroom.” 

Previously Coach D coached junior varsity (JV) levels, encountering a different atmosphere and type of competition.  Coaching at the JV level, Coach D had a great experience with the competitive and fun atmosphere.  She enjoys the role of being a coach, but specifically values her position as a mentor to her players.

Coach D hopes to cheer from the sidelines as the varsity team brings home the Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) title, and that the girls can grow and be proud of their performance on the field, individually and as a team.  Her goal is to place an emphasis on teamwork while her coaching .

“One thing specifically that Coach Stuart brought up the other day, that the girls are proud of themselves after every game, and that they’re proud of how they worked together as a team, and that they don’t leave the field wishing that they had given a little more effort, or they had given just 5 percent more,” Coach D said.  “Working with a group of people, and working together, and knowing that the way I performed not only affects myself but also the people around me, is something I have taken into my work.”

Along with coaching, Coach D teaches sixth grade English and history in the Middle School and is enthusiastic about starting as a teacher at Sacred Heart.

“I think that is what I’m most excited about this year, is having my own classroom, and my own students in a way, and kind of having control over everything in what they are learning, and doing both reading and writing,” Coach D said.

Other than coaching the varsity soccer team, Coach D will coach on the basketball courts during the upcoming winter season as the seventh and eighth grade basketball coach.  In the 2022 spring season, Coach D will also be coaching Middle School track and field.  Coach D looks forward to her first year at Sacred Heart, especially after feeling so warmly welcomed into the school community.

“Sacred Heart has been awesome, and I think that I am very grateful for not only the team and how welcoming they have been, but just the entire community at Sacred Heart, it has been such an awesome place to work at,” Coach D said.

Featured Image by Zara Black ’23