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10/19/2017 12:00 AMIt’s always a nice thing when a team sees one of its former players come back in order to give back to the program. This year, the Hand girls’ soccer squad welcomes back one of its best players in recent memory in Kendra Lena, who wants to help the Tigers take the final steps toward becoming a championship club.
Kendra, who graduated from Hand in 2013, was a forward who netted 50 goals during her time with the Tigers, including 21 in her senior season en route to her third selection to the All-SCC Hammonasset Division Team, as well as All-State honors. Kendra then played for four seasons at Trinity College in Hartford, where she majored in environmental science. Looking to pursue environmental law, Kendra has interned as far away as Sydney, Australia and is currently working with special needs students at Hand.
Prior to this season, Kendra was asked by her former youth coach and current Tigers’ Head Coach David Dikranian to join the soccer team’s staff, and she’s now the freshman head coach and a varsity assistant for Hand, which has won 11 straight games after losing its season opener.
“David coached me in South Central Premier soccer for five years, and he told me he was looking for a freshman coach,” says Lena. “It’s great to be back, and it was fun to meet the girls. It’s also great that I can relate to them.”
One of Kendra’s top priorities as a coach is that there’s a two-way street of respect between she and her athletes. Kendra also believes in always accentuating the positive, even in those moments when something needs to be corrected.
“My main principle is that I require respect. If I respect them, then they’ll respect me. It was similar to how I acted as a player here,” Kendra says. “I am all about constructive criticism, and how I hand advice to them will always be beneficial to them. I believe in positive chemistry, too. I want everyone to have fun, and it’s nice to offer them this knowledge.”
Kendra feels happy to once again be part of the Hand soccer family. While it’s a little strange for Kendra to be on the sidelines instead of the field, she says the energy on the team hasn’t skipped a beat from when she played.
“It’s awesome to be coaching this fall. It’s the first fall I am not playing soccer since I was five. It’s nice to be included in the team and see the impact coaching can have on someone’s abilities and confidence,” says Kendra. “The team chemistry is still there at Hand from what I remember. I met the girls first at tryouts, and it was interesting to be in the presence of 50 girls that didn’t even know me. Everyone is capable and extremely athletic, and I hope they value my advice and opinion in soccer.”
Coach Dikranian says that Kendra brings a deep pool of knowledge to the Tigers’ coaching staff and can also relate to their players, because she’s been through the grind of life as a high school student-athlete.
“Kendra has been an absolute blessing to our coaching staff here at Hand. It’s great having a former Hand standout player who excelled both on and off the field. Kendra has been a tremendous role model to all of our players. She can relate to what each player is going through as a high school soccer player,” says Dikranian. “Kendra has also done a very good job with developing our younger players. I can remember working with her when she was just nine years old. She was so enthusiastic and eager to learn. It was a joy to see Kendra develop as a soccer player on all levels from Premier, high school, and college. And now she’s becoming quite a coach. I hope we can keep her around for a long time.”
Kendra appreciates how important playing high school sports was to her. In her new role as a coach, Kendra wants to help the new generation of Tigers make the most of their experience on the field.
“When I was here, it was a privilege to play. It was a great experience I had, and I hope the girls have the same experience now,” says Kendra. “Sports has such a huge impact on young girls and boys, so I won’t take this coaching stuff lightly.”