Page 24 - fall2011

22 FALL 2011 . S T. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
L A U R E N T I A N P O R T R A I T
In other words, an education similar to the
one she received at St. Lawrence.
“Being part of the women’s basketball
team at SLU was the experience of a life-
time, and gave me lifelong lessons, memo-
ries and, most important, friendships that
continue to mold me as a person,” Gaetano
says. She hopes her players’ experiences at
Drew will mold them in their professional
endeavors as well as their personal lives,
and adds that she wants her players to
leave Drew with memories like those she
has of St. Lawrence.
She says that the similarities between
Drew and St. Lawrence helped smooth
her transition into the head coaching
realm. “Te minute I stepped onto the St.
Lawrence campus, I had a feeling—this
was a community I had to be a part of,” she
explains. “Te sense of community and
welcome that I experienced at Drew gave
me that familiar feeling and confrmed for
me that this was where I was supposed to
be next.”
No longer a Saint, she’s now a Ranger.
But this new chapter in Gaetano’s life does
not mean she is leaving St. Lawrence be-
hind. As she puts it, “Laurentians became
family to me, and for that I will forever
bleed scarlet and brown.”
Beth Spadaccini is a graduate student at
Canisius College, working toward a master’s
degree in sport administration.
Brittany Gaetano ’07:
Still Bleeding Scarlet
and Brown
Te Class of ’07 has produced its share
of coaches. In addition to Gaetano,
◆ Christie Herbst is assistant women’s
basketball coach at Connecticut
College.
◆ Matt Blue is assistant men’s bas-
ketball coach at the University of
Hartford.
same for me as I worked next to him on
the sidelines,” Gaetano says of Gromacki,
who recruited her from New Hartford,
N.Y., and coached her during her freshman
season. She hopes to have the same efect
on her players during her tenure at Drew.
“When I coach, I’m constantly drawing
upon my own experiences as a player,” she
says. “It helps me relate to the triumphs
and struggles that my players experience.
Tis allows me to have a constant appre-
ciation for what they do.”
As a former student-athlete, Gaetano
also understands the importance of
growth and success both on and of the
court. In an interview with the Utica,
N.Y., Observer-Dispatch, she equated
coaching to teaching, something she’s pas-
sionate about.
“Te core of my coaching philosophy
lies in striving to create a culture that max-
imizes the opportunity for each player’s
success,” she explains. “I hope to provide
every member of the program what bas-
ketball has provided me: an education that
extends far beyond the basketball court.”
“Being part of the women’s
basketball team at SLU gave
me lifelong lessons, memories
and, most important,
fiendships.” A
By Beth Spadaccini ’11
ge really is just a number.
At 24, Brittany Gaetano ’07 is the
second youngest head coach in NCAA
Division III afer taking over the women’s
basketball team at Drew University in
Madison, N.J., last fall. Her credentials
and experience trump any doubt about
her age.
A standout student-athlete for the Lady
Saints, Gaetano was a four-year starter and
captained the team her fnal two seasons.
“[At St. Lawrence] I was granted the
opportunity to discover myself alongside
teammates and coaches who challenged
and guided me,” she says.
It was one of those coaches, G.P. Gro-
macki, who eventually gave Brittany the
chance to do what she’d dreamed of since
she began playing basketball: coach. She
was an assistant to Gromacki at Amherst
College, where the duo compiled an
88-8 record and led the Lady Jefs to the
Division III NCAA semifnals in two of
Brittany’s three years there.
“He brought the best out in my team-
mates and me as players, and he did the