Shannon Bucci, Reporter
@SBCourant
The girls’ indoor track team has already started to lace up their running shoes and bundle up in layers of fleece as the start of their season approaches. But this year, the team will be guided by a new coach as Art Brown steps down from his prior role as head coach and Jeffrey Brentson takes this position. Coach Brentson looks to motivate the runners as well as bring a competitive edge to winter track, ensuring that they will stay on their toes.
Coach Brown has been the head coach of indoor and outdoor track at NCHS for over six years, and is now stepping down from his role and becoming the assistant coach. “At the end of last season, I realized it was time for me to step down.” Coach Brown said. “I really just wanted to coach, and it was getting hard to have to do all of the noncoaching requirements of being head coach of winter and outdoor track. I realized I’d rather turn this over to someone else and just do plain coaching, which is really what I love the most.”
Coach Brown has guided many NCHS track and field athletes throughout their high school careers, including senior co-captain Abi Farley. “Coach Brown really looks to motivate and encourage us to try new events and step out of our comfort zone, and is always there to help
calm our nerves before a race,” Abi said. “Even though the winter track team is big, Brown knows almost every girl individually, and I know that even as assistant coach, Brown will still have a really positive influence on the team throughout the season.”
Coach Brentson has already been introduced to girls’ track and field athletes at NCHS from his experience as head coach of the girls’ cross
country team, and looks to further his relationships with NCHS student athletes as the year progresses. “I came here because I knew that New Canaan is a great community with a lot of great students and athletes,” he said. “It’s definitely an exciting prospect to be able to work with high caliber students and a high caliber staff who are all very dedicated.”
The girls’ indoor track team has high hopes for their upcoming season, including attending more meets at a higher level of competition. “We definitely want to have girls qualify in the events that we’re running in FCIACs and States this season, and we also want to try to go to some more competitive meets that we have to qualify for.” Abi said. “Competing in these meets will definitely push our team to be the best we can be, and will really pay off at the end of the season.”
Invitational meets in particular showcase individual runners’ abilities rather than the team as a whole. These meets are typically large and take place in areas outside of Fairfield County. “I’ve added more invitationals than have been done in the past, which I’m hoping will give a good idea of what’s out there beyond our state, because the competition is so fierce at some of these meets,” Coach Brentson said.
Lindsay Miller, senior co-captain of girls cross country, has already worked with coach Brentson, and understands the importance of collaboration between captains and coaches. “It’s really important for the captains and coaches to communicate well so that the team can be unified, and Coach Brentson has already shown that he can help the captains be the best leaders they can,” she said. “He has had a lot of experience coaching other teams and working with captains, and I think he can bring these same principles into New Canaan’s track teams.”
Abi also looks forward to being able to reach the team’s goals this season with Coach Brentson as head coach. “I think it’s really important for the captains to be able to work with their coaches, and with Coach Brenton’s style of coaching I know we’ll be able to work together and make the team even better than it was before,” she said.
Above all, Coach Brentson looks to inspire NCHS’s track athletes during the cold months of winter, and is prepared to start a new season of improvement as he gets to know the team and the program. “I just really want everybody to get better every single day, and as long as that’s happening that means we’re doing something right and we’re improving,” he said.
