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04/27/2017 12:00 AMWith Rich Biondi stepping down at the helm of the Branford boys’ outdoor track team, Katherine Reynolds has earned the nod to lead the Hornets into the future as their new head coach this spring. Katherine, a Guilford resident, becomes the first female head coach in program history, and Athletic Director Jake Palluzzi has the utmost faith that she’s going to keep the program progressing in the right direction.
“When you research her background in track, she hasn’t been coaching for a long time, but she has good experience and is a young, talented track person,” says Palluzzi. “She’s great to have because she’s on top of things and we’re happy she stepped up. We’re very excited to have her...We know she’ll do a great job.”
Katherine has been involved in track and field since 1998, when she joined the team at Hamden Middle School in the 7th grade. Katherine was always a thrower and made an impact on the squad at Southern Connecticut State University. She was even a hopeful for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
“I think especially starting young, it got me outside. It got me keeping active, not going home and doing nothing,” Katherine says. “It instilled a passion for sports and being active. Being on a team and with others, it got me competing and really getting the drive to do better.”
Katherine excelled in the shot put throughout her career and then took a liking to the hammer throw during her sophomore year at Southern Connecticut. Katherine’s personal-best distance in the shot put at Southern was 43 feet and her top throw in the hammer was 183 feet. However, even though she was exclusively a thrower, Katherine learned a lot about all the other events throughout her collegiate career—something that can only help her and the Hornets as she begins her next chapter.
“The nice thing about college meets is that we were always on the road. Our coach was smart and didn’t have us stick with just the throwers. We always rotated rooms with different kids, so we were able to bond and learn the different events, their routines, and how they go through the process of training,” says Katherine. “I feel I have a general idea of how certain things work and it’s nice knowing I have the assistants that know the specifics. I’m still learning and I’m always looking for more information to get what it takes to get further.”
While in college, Katherine got some coaching experience under her belt by going back to Hamden High School. Now, she steps into a head coaching role for the first time at Branford.
“I went back to Hamden and coached their throwers. Our coach wanted us to be a student of the sport, so we helped coach the freshman and sophomores to get them in the same educational background of the specifics of our sport,” she says. “I really appreciate what I’ve learned over the years, especially from [Southern Head Coach Bill Sutherland]. He really taught me so much.”
As Katherine takes over for Biondi as Branford’s head coach, she’s pleased that he’s sticking around as an assistant with the team. Katherine views that was a huge plus in her first year, and she equally appreciates the support she’s receiving from her other assistant coaches.
“He’s been so supportive helping me through entries and walking me through my first meet. He lets me make the mistakes that I should be making, but he’s gentle and fatherly, guiding me through the first-season process. He makes suggestions and really is helping mold me into a head coach,” says Katherine. “My other assistants are the world’s best. We really make a great team and it’s nice, especially being a new head coach. You want to be there for everybody, so it’s nice knowing I have assistants that know exactly what they’re doing.”
One of the biggest things that Katherine is focusing on in her first season is the recruitment of new athletes to the program. Historically, the Hornets have had a relatively large squad, and that’s something Katherine wants to continue in her new job as head coach.
“We graduated a lot of seniors last year, so my personal goal was to restock. We went from a 30-team in February and now we have 52 members,” Katherine says. “Even for next year, I still have kids saying, ‘Can I come out for the team?’ We’re still early in our season and I’m never going to say no for a kid to come out and try.”