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11/30/2016 11:00 PMBerkeley Cecchini-Bond always dreamed of the day that she would become the head coach of a soccer squad. In only her first season as a head coach this fall, Berkeley guided Old Saybrook girls’ soccer on a State Tournament surge that saw that Rams play all the way to the final game of the season.
Berkeley grew up in Montville, where she gained experience as a youth coach and later as an assistant at the high school. This year, Berkeley took the job as head coach of the Rams and turned things around after they had won just four games and missed states in 2015. Old Saybrook claimed eight victories in the recent regular season and then won four more in the Class S State Tournament to reach the final, where the Rams took a 1-0 loss to Old Lyme.
“I was always looking to be a head coach. I found out about the opening here and was ecstatic. I applied and it was a long process before I found out I got the job,” says Berkeley, who currently lives in Norwich. “I set goals for them at the beginning of the year. I told them that with hard work, they could achieve them. We put making states as a goal, then making the quarterfinals, and then the final. We just kept checking them off as the year went on and it was an awesome feeling.”
Berkeley puts a heavy emphasis on her players being well-rounded student-athletes. That’s why she creates an atmosphere where they can always study the game, while learning more about both soccer and life in general outside of the field.
“It’s important to me for them to know they are student-athletes. When I coach, I like to coach in a learning environment,” Berkeley says. “Everyone can always learn something and it’s important to keep your mind open to learn new things.”
Berkeley has always enjoyed watching players of all ages progress and feels great pride when they grasp something they’ve been working at.
“When you’ve been working with them for a long time and then when you have that moment when the light goes off and it clicks, that’s great. Sometimes it even happens in failures,” says Berkeley. “I coached the same group of girls in youth soccer the past six years and they came so far from not knowing what to do with a soccer ball. It’s the little moments that make coaching worth it.”
Even though he’s only worked with Berkeley for a short amount of time, Old Saybrook Athletic Director Mike Cunningham is pleased that she’s leading the Rams after watching her unite the team’s athletes this season.
“Berkeley had a great first year coming into a program that seemed to need a positive, new leader. She has a great rapport with our student-athletes and continually worked to develop their cohesion as a team. Berkeley was thorough in her preparation and held her girls to high expectations, both of which the team was able to step up and meet,” says Cunningham. “The program has definitely moved to the next level with Berkeley leading the team and I am thrilled that she was able to achieve success early in her tenure. Old Saybrook should be a great Shoreline program for years to come and I am thankful Berkeley is our leader.”
Berkeley admits that she couldn’t have imagined such a successful season in her first year on the Old Saybrook sidelines, but adds that there was a crucial intangible among her Rams that made it all possible.
“It’s been a whirlwind of a first year. I can’t say I’ve ever seen success happen that quickly. They kept their composure and were confident,” she says. “I told my fiancée that I think this team is capable of going to states and competing. I wanted to turn the program around and it happened with their hard work and commitment.”