Involvement in intercollegiate athletics is a significant part of the student experience for many at Trinity College, with more than 700 student-athletes participating on 30 varsity teams, supported by 70 coaches and staff. Bantam squads have reached the highest levels of athletic competition, with generations of student-athletes experiencing the thrill of vying for a national title.<\/p>\nWilliam Streit Cunningham \u201977, Franklin \u201cTed\u201d Judson \u201977, and former Head Men\u2019s Ice Hockey Coach John Dunham. Photo courtesy of the Trinity College Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
In March 2025, two Trinity teams were victorious in achieving such championships: women\u2019s squash captured the College Squash Association\u2019s (CSA) Women\u2019s Team National Championship, the Howe Cup, for a second consecutive year, while men\u2019s basketball won its first-ever National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III National Championship. These titles sparked the idea to contemplate the impact of Trinity coaches, who spend long hours guiding student-athletes, including in ways that extend beyond practices and competitions, offering life lessons that transcend athletics. We asked current student-athletes and alumni about the influence of their coaches and also checked in with the latest championship-winning teams\u2019 head coaches.<\/p>\n
TRUST, RESPECT, AND MORE<\/h3>\n
Instructor in Physical Education and Head Women\u2019s Squash Coach Lauren Patrizio began her first Trinity season in summer 2024. Six months later, she and her team headed to the nationals in Philadelphia\u2014a \u201cfull-circle moment\u201d for Patrizio as she returned to her alma mater\u2019s campus where she clinched a national championship 25 years ago as captain of the University of Pennsylvania squash team. On the trip down with Trinity\u2019s team, Patrizio made a call to seek words of wisdom from her former UPenn coach, who told her, essentially, \u201cYou\u2019ve got this.\u201d Says Patrizio, \u201cI feel lucky to have a mentor like her to support me and continue being a voice in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to principal themes Patrizio focuses on with her squash players, \u201cTrust, respect, commitment, and communication are all critical,\u201d she says. \u201cWe also talk a lot about being prepared with the right equipment, making sure you can control what you can control. We regularly do a check-in, asking, \u2018What\u2019s your thermometer, from zero to 100?\u2019 \u201d Patrizio notes. \u201cA player might say they\u2019re not 100 percent but then surprise themselves with a great practice. It\u2019s important to check in with themselves and listen to their bodies.\u201d<\/p>\nHead Women\u2019s Squash Coach Lauren Patrizio and Malak Moustafa \u201925 at the team\u2019s Senior Day Ceremony. Photo courtesy of Bantam Sports.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Women\u2019s squash team member Kara Lincou \u201926 says, \u201cCoach Lauren did an incredible job keeping us calm and focused during the national championship, but what truly stood out was the compassion and trust she showed all season. She consistently supported us\u2014whether we were dealing with injuries, mental health challenges, or nerves before a big match\u2014always with empathy and generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincou, a psychology major from R\u00e9union Island, a territory of France located in the Indian Ocean, adds, \u201cOur team is made up almost entirely of international players, which means our coaches do far more than coach. They are our guides\u2014our support system when urgent matters arise, when we\u2019re worried about academics or even broader political contexts. In many ways, they\u2019ve become our family away from home, and I believe that\u2019s our greatest strength as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE<\/h3>\n
Entering his 16th Trinity season, James Cosgrove, associate professor of physical education and Marlynn V. and William P. Scully Head Men\u2019s Basketball Coach, says that when recruiting players, he first looks for attitude, work ethic, and mental toughness. \u201cFinally, we look for talent\u2014it\u2019s fourth on the list,\u201d says Cosgrove. \u201cI\u2019d much rather have a team of guys with a great attitude and work ethic, who are mentally strong, even if they don\u2019t have the most talent, as opposed to guys with a bad attitude, bad work ethic, who aren\u2019t mentally strong and have all the talent in the world. I\u2019d rather have that first team any day because they\u2019ll beat the crud out of that second team nine times out of 10.\u201d<\/p>\nAssociate Professor of Physical Education and Marlynn V. and William P. Scully Head Men\u2019s Basketball Coach James Cosgrove. Photo courtesy of Bantam Sports.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Men\u2019s basketball team member Alex Douglas \u201925 says he learned from Cosgrove that \u201chow you do anything is how you do everything. Having a standard of excellence, almost a perfectionist attitude\u2014that\u2019s Coach Cos\u2019s expectation,\u201d says Douglas. \u201cHe wants us to strive for perfection in every aspect of how we contribute to the community, whether in the classroom, on the court, in everything we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Douglas, who graduated in May with a B.S. in psychology, appreciates what he calls Cosgrove\u2019s never-say-no attitude. \u201cI think we could play an NBA team and he\u2019d actually go into it trying to win the game. No matter the situation, no matter how much you\u2019re down, having someone who\u2019s an authority figure who believes in you and believes you\u2019re going to win is very important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflecting on his team\u2019s first NCAA Division III National Championship, Cosgrove is quick to credit former Trinity Head Coach Stan Ogrodnik, describing him as the \u201carchitect\u201d of the men\u2019s basketball program. \u201cStan was one of the reasons I came to Trinity, and he has remained a mentor to me. This championship is all of ours\u2014former players, coaches, everybody who helped build this tradition,\u201d says Cosgrove. \u201cStudent-athletes came here because of the strong reputation of Trinity basketball and Trinity academics. Without previous players and coaches, we don\u2019t win this.\u201d<\/p>\n
LIFE LESSONS<\/h3>\n
Alumni who were inspired by Bantam coaches and now find themselves in the same profession include Renee Olsen Dowd \u201915, head women\u2019s lacrosse coach at Franklin & Marshall College. Dowd says she aims to share with her athletes what she learned from her lacrosse coaches at Trinity, Katy Dissinger Szymanski M\u201913, associate professor of physical education and head women\u2019s lacrosse coach, and Kate Livesay M\u201907, now head women\u2019s lacrosse coach at Middlebury College.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey knew pushing through the hard moments made us better,\u201d says Dowd, who majored in economics at Trinity. \u201cThat\u2019s how I learned the value of hard work, perseverance, and teamwork. With some of the toughest workouts, my teammates and I would push each other, cheer for each other, and pick each other up when we needed it most. That stemmed from our coaches and the culture they were building.\u201d<\/p>\nAssociate Professor of Physical Education and Head Women\u2019s Lacrosse Coach Katy Szymanski M\u201913 on the sidelines during a game. Photo courtesy of Sabrina Codrington \u201925.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Dowd says Szymanski and Livesay made the team feel like a family. \u201cIt\u2019s what made practice and bus rides and games so much fun. We had dinner at our coaches\u2019 homes, and that connection is important on the field,\u201d says Dowd. \u201cWhen you\u2019re battling for a ground ball in practice against your best friend, you know that competition is for the betterment of the team. When your coach is pushing you to run faster, holding you accountable, you know it\u2019s because they see that potential in you. When you have that trust, that\u2019s when teams succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeff Devanney \u201993, professor of physical education and head football coach, points to lessons he learned as a Trinity athlete that he and his staff work on with players today, skills he sees Trinity football alumni exemplify in their postgraduation careers, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI recently spoke to the Trinity Club of Hartford about sustaining success and how doing so as a college athlete correlates to success in business,\u201d says Devanney. \u201cFirst, you learn time-management skills. Juggling the demands of playing football at this level with the challenges of being successful in the classroom teaches you to become a good time manager.<\/p>\nProfessor of Physical Education and Head Football Coach Jeff Devanney \u201903, right, with Kiel McGee \u201925 on the way out to Jessee\/Miller Field at Tansill Muldoon Stadium for a fall 2024 matchup against Colby College. Photo courtesy of Bantam Sports.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u201cSecond, you develop a strong work ethic. I learned more about working hard by playing sports in college than anything else I had done to that point. Finding a work ethic is paramount to succeeding here and beyond.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd a third example is grit,\u201d says Devanney, who majored in history. \u201cThe real world after college is full of adversity. Those who can handle the adversity are those who have grit. Anyone who makes it through four years of college-level football must have grit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matt Greason \u201903, M\u201910, associate professor of physical education and head men\u2019s ice hockey coach, also cites lasting takeaways from his time as a Bantam student-athlete. \u201cI was fortunate enough to have two great coaches here, John Dunham for hockey and Bill Detrick for golf,\u201d says Greason, a Trinity history major who earned an M.A. in American studies.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Coach Dunham, I learned the value of not letting your emotions dictate decisions or letting them overwhelm the situation. He was always very level-headed and deliberate; he saw the big picture through what is generally a very emotional game,\u201d says Greason.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoach Detrick showed me the importance of passion in everything you do. I can still hear him saying, \u2018You gotta have fire in your belly\u2019 when we were getting ready to play golf,\u201d says Greason. \u201cI am lucky I found Trinity and that my coaching mentors shared lessons valuable in life, not just in coaching. I\u2019m also fortunate I can take the passion I discovered as a student-athlete and pass it on to my Trinity hockey players.\u201d<\/p>\n
LASTING CONNECTION<\/h3>\n
\u201cBeing a student-athlete was one of the best parts of my experience at Trinity,\u201d says Michael Lenihan \u201907, who majored in public policy and law and was on the men\u2019s swimming team. Founder and CEO of the community engagement nonprofit Public Sentiment, Lenihan says, \u201cThe refrain, \u2018If you\u2019re not early, you\u2019re late,\u2019 is one I admit I heard more often than I should have\u2014always cutting it too close to team meetings\u2014but it sank in. I\u2019m never late to work meetings!<\/p>\n
\u201cCoach Kristen Noone was both a coach and mentor in and out of the water,\u201d recalls Lenihan. \u201cDuring summer breaks, she encouraged us to volunteer in an open-water fundraiser for cancer research, Swim Across America, keeping our team spirit alive and building meaningful and collaborative connections with our NESCAC competitors. The tight-knit friends I made on the swim team, the mental toughness built up through countless laps swum, and the sense of contributing to something bigger than myself are all things I carry proudly with me today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Likewise, Betsy Jones \u201987, executive vice president at EBSCO Clinical Decisions, considers her time on the field hockey and lacrosse teams under Coach Robin Sheppard M\u201976, professor of physical education, emerita, and former associate director of athletics, still impactful.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a student-athlete demands a high level of commitment\u2014balancing academic responsibilities with athletic excellence,\u201d says Jones, who majored in history at Trinity. \u201cCoach Sheppard consistently fostered dependability, a deep team-first mentality, and a strong understanding of each player\u2019s strengths and roles. Our shared commitment acted as an unspoken agreement, and our focus on both winning and learning from losses made us better,\u201d says Jones.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe I\u2019ve been successful in business by carrying these same principles forward\u2014leading and participating in teams built on trust, shared purpose, and accountability,\u201d adds Jones. \u201cIn both sports and business, the foundation of great teams is the same: commitment, clarity, connection, and a relentless focus on outcomes. My experience at Trinity continues to shape how I lead and collaborate today.\u201d<\/p>\n
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