Eagles News

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

BY MARK JAFFEE

Copyright © 2008 Republican-American

WATERBURY, Conn.-Balancing two sports at the same time is a juggling act that Tracey Garofalo is trying to handle these days at Post University.

In the midst of the women's basketball season and with softball season soon to get under way, the Eagles' first-year head coach is spending much of the day and night in her office at the Drubner Center dealing with recruiting, scouting reports and practice schedules.

"Sleeping in overrated," joked Garofalo, 27. "I have a lot of energy for this job."

"My plate is definitely full, but I love that challenge," said Garofalo, who was a four-year two-sport standout at Post, where she graduated in 2002, and also holds the women's school record for points scored with 1,510.

Perhaps the biggest challenge in her young tenure was keeping the Eagles women's basketball team from buckling under the pressure after an 0-11 start to the season.

Since then, the Eagles have won three of their last four. They play at Caldwell (N.J.) today and return home Saturday for a game against Philadelphia University.

During this recent trend, Garofalo has used a simple philosophy.

"Hard work does pay off," she said.

As competitive as Garofalo was an athlete, she is perhaps even more as a coach. Losing was not an option when she signed up for the job.

But she is aware of the realities that come with the position, especially when Garofalo had limited coaching experience, five years as an assistant coach at Sacred Heart High in Waterbury and none at the college level.

"Miracles don't happen overnight," said Garofalo. "There's been a transition and with the losses comes frustration. But the players have started believing in the system. It just takes time to gain trust in one and another."

With 11 games left in the regular season, Garofalo expects the positive trend to continue.

"If we stay focused, the sky is the limit for us," said Garofalo. "The biggest thing is that we now have confidence. Before we could win or play with a lot of the teams in the league."

Perhaps Garofalo's greatest trait is her passion for the game and her desire to be a coach.

"This is where I want to be," said Garofalo. "This is my dream job. I am blessed with an opportunity of developing talent and hopefully getting them to play to the best of their abilities."

If she can find a few hours for sleep she can't wait for the alarm clock to ring.

"I look forward to waking up every single day and doing what I love to do," she said.