Experienced coaches, new responsibilities
Mr. Brendan Heller New Athletic Operations Manager and Ms. Carolina Herrera New Athletics Coordinator
After coaching Convent of the Sacred Heart sports teams, Mr. Brendan Heller and Ms. Carolina Herrera will be more active this year in their new roles in the athletics department.
Courtesy of cshgreenwich.org
Varsity swimming coach Mr. Heller dives into new responsibilities as Athletics Operations Manager this year. After a successful 2015-2016 season, Mr. Heller wanted to become more involved in the Sacred Heart athletic program.
“I noticed and appreciated the girls’ maturity and their overall motivation to improve and be successful during the swim season. Their motivation even inspired me in my own personal pursuits,” Mr. Heller said.
As the new Athletic Operations Manager, Mr. Heller is in charge of the day-to-day responsibilities of the athletic department. He arranges transportation for away games, schedules, and equipment for 55 Middle and Upper School sports teams.
“From coaching multiple swim teams last year, I had to keep organized. [Director of Athletics] Ms. [Kelly] Stone was impressed with my organizational skills and when the position became available, she believed my attention to detail would be helpful in the athletic department,” Mr. Heller said.
Mr. Heller plans on making improvements to the efficiency of the athletic program and expanding the leadership training. After completing the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program at Bryant University and becoming an Army National Guard Lieutenant, Mr. Heller greatly believes in the importance of leadership. To express the great responsibility of the captains and their significant impact on their teammates, he attends Upper School sports gatherings in the Lennie de Csepel Theater to give short speeches about leadership.
Also joining the athletic department is head varsity volleyball coach Ms. Herrera. After her third year of coaching at Sacred Heart, Ms. Herrera was eager to accept the newly opened position of Athletics Coordinator. She specifically values the close-knit relationships between girls on the varsity volleyball team.
“Coming from a large, public high school, I admired the special relationship that exists between all different grades on the volleyball team. The bond is like no other, especially during Senior Day, my favorite event,” Ms. Herrera said.
Although Ms. Herrera has a wide variety of responsibilities, including coordinating events, meet and greets, inviting special speakers, overnight trips, team attendance, job listings, and communicating with other coaches, she also plans on using her position to bolster the Sacred Heart athletic program.
“My main goal would be to help better enhance each sports program. I want to ensure that the athletic department brings in the most experienced coaches, to make our athletic program more diversified, more experienced and more well known throughout the community while also keeping a fun atmosphere for all of our athletes,” Ms. Herrera said.
– Grace Mather, Sports and Health Editor
