A new sailing team is making waves in the Athletic Department this March. For the first time, Sacred Heart Greenwich offers sailing as a spring sport. The team will host practices at Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, Connecticut, alongside local schools such as Greenwich Country Day School, Greenwich Academy, and Brunswick School. The addition of this aquatic sport expands athletic opportunities for students to pursue their interests and discover new passions.
Ms. Devin Hart, a former collegiate sailor at Tufts University, will coach the new sailing program and guide the student-athletes through the upcoming season. Ms. Sloane Kratzman ’18 will join Ms. Hart as an assistant sailing coach. Ms. Kratzman graduated from Sacred Heart in 2018 before attending Brown University. The team will helm C420 and Z420 boats, which are two-person sailboats with two sails each.
Mrs. Laurie Rousseau, Director of Athletics, expressed excitement for the upcoming season and commented on how the sailing program will benefit Sacred Heart. She explained how the program will broaden students’ ability to pursue new interests and grow the athletics program’s participation rates.
“I think that just providing more opportunities for girls to try new things is key,” Mrs. Rousseau said. “Not everybody is going to be a lacrosse player, and not everybody is going to run track, so to be able to provide opportunities that appeal to a different set of student-athletes is important. We hope that by offering additional sports, we will be able to draw more girls into participating in Sacred Heart athletics, which is definitely the goal.”
Sophomore Caitlin Dean is among the school’s first student sailors. She feels enthusiastic about joining the sailing team and is most excited to collaborate and build community in the new sport. She remarked on the team atmosphere that she hopes the sailors will bring to the docks every day.
“I am very excited to be a part of the new Sacred Heart sailing team,” Caitlin said. “Sailing is something that I have done for most of my life but have never had the opportunity to be a part of at school. Bringing sailing to Sacred Heart poses a unique, exciting opportunity for experienced and inexperienced sailors alike. I am really looking forward to joining the team environment and learning new things with my teammates.”
As well as offering a new experience, the sailing program propels the future of Sacred Heart sports toward expansion. Twelve students from the Upper School will participate in sailing during this inaugural season. Mrs. Rousseau discussed the effect that the expansion of athletic opportunities will have on the school.
“By adding a new sailing program, we hope this means that more girls are going to participate,” Mrs. Rousseau said. “If we can provide opportunities in sports that girls love, I think we’re going to get a great return on that. Our athletic department has many goals in mind, such as having as many students involved in athletics as possible. I think that the new sailing program really embodies this mission to have as much participation as possible, to expand opportunities, and for our students to explore their passions outside of the classroom setting.”
Featured Image by Avery Quake ’26
