Sacred Heart Greenwich welcomes Mr. Ed Metzendorf to the Athletic Department this spring as the new head coach of the varsity tennis team.  In his new position, Mr. Metzendorf hopes to use his previous coaching and teaching experiences to cooperate with team captains Megan Farrell and Grace Coale and encourage improvement and community building amongst team members.

Mr. Metzendorf was a two-time student captain of the varsity tennis team at Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut.  He also served as the Head Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach at Hunter College and earned recognition as Coach of the Year in 2017.  Mr. Metzendorf worked as a head tennis coach at the Ursuline School in New Rochelle, New York this past fall and was the Tennis Chair of the Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale, New York from 2010 to 2017, according to shgreenwich.org.

Mr. Metzendorf is also the founder and director of Next Level Camps.  The network of camps has locations in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey and offers elective-based programs that allow students ages four to 12 to explore different activities related to sports, arts, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), according to nextleveldaycamps.com.

Mr. Metzendorf believes that he can make significant contributions to Sacred Heart’s tennis teams this year.

“I think the combination of my tennis experience and owning a summer camp business will allow me to share a variety of ideas and philosophies with the Athletic Department that will allow all of us to learn from each other,” Mr. Metzendorf said.

Mr. Metzendorf hopes to collaborate with assistant coaches and student-athletes to continue the progress and success of the tennis program.  Under his leadership, the team will strive to build off of previous successes in the Fairfield Athletics Association (FAA) and New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) tournaments.  In the 2019 season, the team finished third overall in the FAA tournament and earned a slot in the NEPSAC Class A tournament.

Mr. Metzendorf will be working with varsity tennis student captains senior Megan Farrell and junior Grace Coale for the spring season.  Megan shared the team’s aspirations for the season, which center around establishing a supportive and welcoming environment.

“Our goals for this season are to strengthen our team’s bond and create a productive atmosphere that will allow the girls to succeed on and off the court,” Megan said.  “Additionally, it is important that we acclimate our new members and make them feel welcomed [and a] part of the team.”

Mr. Metzendorf echoed this statement when discussing his own goals for the team.  He wants to encourage the players to work hard and support one another in order to succeed.

“I will stress that this is a team sport and I hope the girls will be there to support their teammates on and off the court,” Mr. Metzendorf said.  “I hope by pushing each other to play at our highest possible level, and by bringing maximum positive energy levels in every match that we will have a successful season no matter what the win [or] loss record is.”

Featured Image Courtesy of Mr. Christopher Pope