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12/21/2016 11:00 PMSeveral members of East Haven High School’s indoor track teams will recognize a familiar face this season. Chelsea Harris is a new assistant coach in the program, although this isn’t the first time she’s worked with the Yellowjackets as Chelsea was also an assistant during the outdoor track season in the spring.
“It was great. I got my own group of kids—the 800 runners and up—and worked a little with some of the 400 kids, as well,” Chelsea says. “By the end of the season, I had an 800 girl who broke the school record and so did the girls’ 4x400 team.”
Chelsea is hoping to continue that trend of success as she joins the indoor coaching staff this year. Chelsea says that she’s looking forward to working with many of the same athletes who she helped train during the spring.
“I’m definitely looking forward to strengthening up the team to have a very strong season as far as strength and speed,” says Chelsea. “Indoor is more of a training season to continue success through outdoor season.”
Chelsea certainly brings a plethora of experience to the Yellowjackets. She grew up playing soccer and then began track in middle school in order to stay in shape.
“After one season of track, I fell in love and stuck with it,” she says. “Mostly, it was the fact that it was an individual sport within a team sport. You really get to do well on your own and then have that team aspect with different relays and in bigger meets when your team is scoring.”
Chelsea was a standout track athlete at Hamden High School who ran the 400 and 800. During her senior year, Chelsea traveled to North Carolina to compete in nationals. She ran on a 4x800 relay and experienced one of her career highlights during her leg of that race.
“I went back to the stands to cool down after the race and my coach told me I had broken the 10-year-old school record,” says Chelsea. “That was a big moment for me and got colleges to notice me.”
After she returned home, Chelsea visited La Salle University in Philadelphia and was offered a scholarship to compete in its track program. Chelsea studied health science at La Salle and is now taking her prerequisites to study occupational therapy in graduate school.
“I definitely didn’t think I’d go on to compete in college and I was very fortunate to compete with great athletes in high school who pushed me to work harder,” says Chelsea. “I was very appreciative of that opportunity.”
Chelsea not only made an impact as an athlete at La Salle, but as a leader, as well. She made such an impression on her coaches that they gave her “great recommendations” to get the coaching job at East Haven, according to Head Coach Rusty Dunne.
“We knew of her as a high school runner who went on to have a great career at La Salle. She’s been a great gift for us and the kids like her very much,” Dunne says. “She works the kids hard. She’s young and can relate to kids, but at the same time, she’s very demanding and very regimented. She is a great addition to our staff.”
Chelsea also gained experience as a head coach when she was at the helm of Career’s cross country program in 2015. Even though cross country wasn’t her area of expertise, Chelsea enjoyed the experience and learned a lot from it.
“I wanted a coaching position to see how I’d like the other side of the whole track and field arena and now I definitely love coaching more than running,” says Chelsea, who’s also a kickboxing instructor at iLoveKickboxing in Orange. “As an athlete, I had never realized how much planning and time really goes into coaching in general. It’s definitely a lot more time-consuming and preparation that goes into creating each workout for each athlete than I thought. It’s a lot more than showing up and blowing a whistle.”
As the Easties’ indoor track season is now off and running, Chelsea says that she’s excited to get going as their assistant coach and continue working with the athletes.
“I already started working with some of the kids and I’m definitely excited to see what they can do and bring to the table,” Chelsea says. “I know where they are from the spring season and looking forward to pushing them harder to get them to where I can see their potential.”