As the last bell rings, most teachers wrap up their class and prepare to go home after a long day at school. However, some stay until the sky darkens outside, not as a teacher but as a sports coach. 

Nate Frese, an English teacher and girls basketball coach at West, has played basketball since he was young. Surrounded by basketball, he realized that the players on the court were only a fraction of the game. 

“I was a bench warmer, which allowed me to sit and watch a lot of basketball,” Nate Frese said. “It was a big part of my life, and then I realized, ‘Okay, you’re not going to be a Division I athlete or NBA player.’ I [liked] playing basketball, but I [knew] I wasn’t very good at it, but I [enjoyed] the tactical side.”

With his new passion for coaching, Nate Frese devoted his time to learn and appreciate the competition beside the court. 

“Coaching has to do with being competitive [for me]. My favorite part of coaching is skill breakdown, looking at opponents’ tendencies and trying to figure out the best way to give our team an advantage and overcome the opponent’s strengths. Those two things are related [to] the competitive nature,” Nate Frese said. 

Growing up attending her dad’s practices, Ava Frese ’26 credits her dad for sparking her interest in basketball. Ava Frese began playing basketball in early elementary school and has been coached by her dad since she was in third grade. Since then, she has learned to adapt to him as her head coach. 

“I used to have a really hard time with [having my dad as my head coach], and I would take everything he said really personally because he’s my dad. But now I separate that; I don’t think of him as my dad when we’re playing — he’s my coach, and that’s it. As soon as I’m off [the] court, then he’s my dad again,” Ava Frese said.  

Former cross country and track athlete Brittany McConnell ’00 is now a guidance secretary and assistant coach for the girls cross country and track teams. McConnell was drawn to the cross country team’s bright and energetic spirit, a familiar environment that she experienced in high school.

“[Cross country is] a sport that you spend so much time together, and you feel the pain together. You have goals together, you’re all striving for the same thing,” McConnell said. “[Coaching] gave me the nostalgic feeling of these girls forming their family and their friendships, and to even be a part of that was insanely heartwarming.”

Running has always been a big part of McConnell’s life, both physically and mentally. After running for current Head Coach Mike Parker from 1996-2000 and helping West win its first girls state title in 1997, she continued her running career at the University of Hawai’i.

“[Running has] been my outlet, just to have fun. It turned out I was kind of good at it, and it built up my confidence. I’m big in[to] working hard for something, feeling that pain and then getting a reward for the hard work I’ve done,” McConnell said. “The second year I was [at West], the assistant coaching position opened up, and who wouldn’t want to work for the coach that coached them in high school and be a part of the program, at this capacity now, helping teach other women how to be athletes and grow and develop.”

After college, McConnell worked in retail for almost 20 years before returning to work at West. As McConnell endeavors through a new chapter in her life, it is comforting to be in a familiar environment. 

“I had a good high school experience [at West], and it’s always been like a home to me. I have two little kids, and working for the district is nice, mimicking their schedule to help take care of them,” McConnell said. “I felt I needed something [where] I was giving to my community, and this was a perfect fit. Once I got here, it felt right. I love my job so much.” 

Cross country and track athlete Annie Dickens ’25 experiences McConnell’s warmth and coaching passion. While Dickens has been training under McConnell for two years, Dickens believes that their relationship extends beyond athletics. 

“When I’m around her, I feel more positive. She’s really supportive, empathetic and caring about other people. I feel like she’s been someone that I can turn to if I’m having issues with anything — [whether] it’s with running or in my personal life, I know I can go to her, and she’ll know the right thing to say,” Dickens said. “She also emails to check up on me, and she’ll come support my basketball games. Whenever I see her, I give her a hug, and she always looks excited to see me. It’s nice to have someone in the building who I have that relationship with.”

Bonds with coaches are crucial to success. The girls basketball team, like Dickens, has a close relationship with their coach. Some of Ava Frese’s favorite moments with her dad as her coach are his reactions to wins. 

“He gets so hyped for [wins]. [When we win] rivalry games, he is always so energetic, and I love that. Little moments at practice are always the best. It’s the small things like when we can’t stop laughing,” Ava Frese said.

As basketball is a team sport, Nate Frese puts in lots of effort to keep the team bonded, including team bonding activities that ensure the team stays connected outside of basketball. Through his efforts, the basketball players are connected both on and off the court. 

“We do a lot of team bonding, and we do it all the time. We have team dinners at least once a week, sometimes twice. He makes sure that those happen, and then he plans stuff for us to do. Last week we went bowling as a team, and [he] makes sure that we all hang out outside of basketball,” Ava Frese said.

Although Nate Frese gets paid to win, his extra care and attention to his players are not unnoticed. 

“He has done a good job of making sure we’re super drama-free. Any little thing that happens, he shuts it down right away because we’re high school girls, and that happens sometimes,” Ava Frese said.

With all of the work the entire team puts in together through hard work and dedication to the sport, deep connections are formed between teammates.

“I can’t name a friend that I didn’t play sports with, and to build those bonds… through some hardships and the practices that were a grind and the long road trips coalesces into building character,” Nate Frese said. “We’re at a school where the expectation is that you’re not just competitive, but that you win. So there’s some expectation there, whether it’s unspoken or not. That’s going to come when you see the growth of the players — that they buy in [to their training] — and watch them develop relationships like I did.” 

As the players play and learn together, their coach witnesses a long, flourishing journey built by sweat, tears and determination. 

“[I love] watching [the girls basketball team], some of them from the time they were in youth camp, in the fourth grade. Then they get to high school sports — the mountain top,” Nate Frese said.

McConnell agrees with Nate Frese about the joy of watching athletes grow and improve. Throughout her coaching career, McConnell cherishes the everyday moments, like bonding, with her team. 

“[When] we were doing a recovery run, I ran with all the girls, and they like to play this game called [roses and thorns]… It was just a really fun run of getting to know each other,” McConnell said. “One of my favorite things about running, particularly in cross country, [is that] it is such a family.”

With the many responsibilities of coaching sports, Nate Frese describes his favorite aspects of coaching — watching his players grow.

“It’s watching them blossom and step into a role that, maybe a year ago or two years ago, they didn’t think they could do. We do a lot of off-season work, so watching that progression is the most rewarding thing to me, more than wins and losses,” Nate Frese said.