Tests. Quizzes. Homework. Midterms. For many students, sports provide a welcome avenue to spend time with friends, compete and have fun. New Assistant Athletic Director Amanda Mortelette is committed to supporting student athletes and fostering team cohesion.
Since starting as Assistant Athletic Director, Mortelette has looked to improve athletic culture and connect with student athletes. She runs the captain’s council and helps with the logistics surrounding athletics.
Mortelette is not new to the world of sports. She played three sports in high school and basketball in college. She has a background in teaching and coaching and previously worked at Newton North High School as the Assistant Athletic Director.
Mortelette said she has seen sports’ impact on students, especially when teaching them important skills.
“I love being around kids, and I think athletics has a really important role in students’ lives. I’ve seen it firsthand as a player and a coach and now in this role. It really enhances students’ lives, especially at the high school level. I think you can see a lot of traits that we want to see in students. So perseverance, teamwork, the ability to adjust, all those things you get when you’re part of a team,” Mortelette said.
Athletic Director Kyle Williams said Mortelette’s experience makes her a vital part of the athletic department.
“What’s great about Amanda is she’s a jack of all trades. She can do all of these things and more. So she’s been able to bring new ideas and some better processes to Brookline because she’s got experience in Newton and Arlington,” Williams said.
One of the ways that Mortelette is improving athletics is by starting a captain’s council. She said the council helps captains feel more supported in their leadership role and connected to other sports.
“I think it improves the culture from the captain’s perspective; they’re all going through similar things, and sometimes you don’t notice that,” Mortelette said. “If you’re the captain of the hockey team, you don’t realize that the swim team is going through similar things, to be able to communicate with each other and support each other and hopefully support each other on and off the field or court or pool, wherever you are.”
Senior and varsity cross country captain Dasha LeFaivre said that the council has helped her meet other captains and learn more about other sports.
“I didn’t know about the other sports and who those captains were, how they led their team and everything, so that has definitely been an important part of it, just getting to know those people,” LeFaivre said. “And also just learning about other teams because I feel like a lot of time it’s easy to get caught up in your sport and what your team is doing, the problems you guys are having, so just hearing about other team’s experiences with their coaches, freshmen and all that stuff, has been important and definitely united the sports as well.”
Mortelette said that the spread-out nature of facilities and fields makes it difficult for her to form close relationships with student athletes. Mortelette said she hopes to continue getting to know the student athletes personally as she becomes more comfortable in her role.
“Being a teacher and a coach before, I had a more intimate setting to get to know kids, like in a smaller group, so you’d only get to know 10 or 15 kids that I had in my class or my team,” Mortelette said. “And so that’s my favorite part of the job, and that’s why I do this, is because I want student athletes to have a good experience in high school. I also love the department in Brookline. That’s been a very positive experience for me.”
