TORRINGTON – Sara Brewer, Torrington’s new athletic director, played three sports while attending the MacDuffie School in Massachusetts, but her No. 1 athletic love was always equestrian.
She took her first horse-riding lesson at age 6, got her first horse at 12 and competed in horse shows along the Eastern Seaboard from New England down to Virginia until she left for college. The then Suffield resident won her circuit championship several times and was even high-point champion in Massachusetts and reserve high-point champion in Connecticut.
Advertisement
“I was successful,” Brewer said, “but it wasn’t about the ribbons, though I do love blue. It was about the camaraderie. It was about working with this 2,000-pound animal and trying to convince him that he wanted to do what I wanted him to do. It was a lot of fun.”
She will bring the lessons learned in the horse ring, along with plenty of others gleaned from years in sports, to the new position she took over July 1 from retired Torrington athletic director Mike McKenna. Certainly, she has already shown a knack for adaptability in 15 years at the high school.
After graduating from MacDuffie, Brewer earned a degree in athletic training from Endicott College in Massachusetts and a teaching certificate from Central Connecticut (and later advanced degrees online from Canisius and the University of New England). Like McKenna before her, she was originally an athletic trainer for Torrington before joining the faculty as an allied health and sports medicine teacher.
Five years ago, a colleague, Maggie Magillicuddy, suggested that they take over the girls tennis team, which was down to 10 players and without a coach. Even though she had never swung a racquet, Brewer agreed. She couldn’t have imagined what awaited.
Advertisement
The pair rekindled interest in the program – there were 35 in the program last spring – and did it under trying circumstances. For three seasons, while Torrington built a new high school, middle school and athletic fields, the tennis teams were left without a court – vagabonds who didn’t play a home match. Practices were held at two municipal courts at Pleasant View Park on Durand Street.
Brewer never griped. She watched YouTube videos and read books to learn tennis. She and Magillicuddy attended coaching clinics to understand the ins and outs of the sport and collect tips on how to deal with their situation.
“Forty kids on two courts for an hour and a half, it was not always pretty,” Brewer recalled. “But that’s when Maggie and I started going to USTA (clinics). We explained our situation to coaches from around New England. They gave us great ideas and were so supportive, and we made it work.”
Last spring, the Raiders debuted six new on-campus tennis courts that are the envy of the Naugatuck Valley League.
Advertisement
When McKenna announced his intent to retire, Brewer, 42, who lives in Enfield with her husband, Jack, and 12-year-old son, Jacob, decided to apply for the AD job. The position, which was expanded to oversee all high school and middle school sports, will also put her in charge of improving fitness scores among the district’s children.
“It seemed like a logical next step for me,” Brewer said.
She has already made her first coaching hires. Juan Moreno and Erin Sullivan will take over the girls swim team this fall.
Among her goals for Torrington sports is to get the student body and the entire city excited about the Raiders.
Advertisement
“I want to get the rest of our school involved more,” Brewer said. “I want to pack the gym for volleyball, pack the gym for basketball, pack the stands for soccer and football, and get them out for baseball and softball. We have this phenomenal new facility. Let’s get more people here to see it.”
This article originally published at New Torrington AD Sara Brewer hopes to build school spirit around Raiders athletics.
Comments
Advertisement