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Meet Coach Shinofield Aubrey Shinofield is Norfolk Academy’s new Athletic Director. Most recently, Coach Shinofield served as Director of Athletics and Physical Education at Hollins University and has also held administrative positions in student affairs and campus recreation at Washington and Lee University. She had a distinguished collegiate coaching career in women’s rowing at Princeton, Harvard, the University of New Hampshire and the University of Minnesota. Aubrey holds a bachelor’s degree in American history from Princeton University, where she was a national champion rower and captain of the women’s crew team. She garnered All-Ivy League honors while winning the Sportswoman of the Year Award her senior year. Aubrey also holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan. Aubrey and her husband, Joel, have three boys, Reed, Soren and Luke, who is a Bulldog first grader.
What do you think are the key benefits of involvement in athletics in Middle and Upper School years?
Involvement in athletics can teach things that students can’t learn in a classroom setting. On the personal side, young athletes start to gain confidence which can lead to success not only in the athletic arena but in other areas of their lives as well. I am a firm believer that success breeds success—it doesn’t matter where that success begins. Of course, there is the physical side, where athletes learn what they are capable of doing, how hard they can work and how to identify and maximize their potential. There is the social side of camaraderie with teammates, interaction with a coach or role model, and being engaged in a dynamic group setting. There are also the intense mental and emotional sides of sport,
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where athletes have to learn how to make quick decisions, control their temperament in tough situations, learn how to lead and how to support their teammates when things are moving quickly and they have fans cheering both for them and against them in a tight match. Competitive athletic events are a crucible like no other, where athletes are on their own and have to rely on what they have learned and how much they have prepared to get them through certain situations. There is no end to the benefits of organized athletics. When you were growing up, was there a particular coach who really influenced you?
Absolutely. My high school rowing coach, Andy Harris, had a major influence on me for a number of reasons. He teaches psychology at St. Mark’s and was also the Girls Varsity Crew coach up until he retired this year. I did not consider myself an athlete when I arrived at St. Mark’s. Having grown up in the Midwest, I had never heard of the sport of rowing. Despite all of these things seemingly working against me, Mr. Harris was quietly persuasive and encouraging throughout my entire first year. Because he was my psychology teacher and also served as a dorm supervisor, he had many opportunities to convince me to row. For me, this exemplifies the benefit of the teacher-coach model. Without Andy Harris’ influence during the day, I would not have had the courage nor the confidence to go out for the sport. I am extremely blessed to have had someone like Mr. Harris as my first major athletic coach. He managed to take a team with no previous rowing experience all the way to winning a national championship in three seasons. He literally changed the direction of my life.