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Q&A with new W-H gymnastics coach Alison Vance

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The Whitman-Hanson Regional High gymnastics team has a new coach. Alison Vance will take over the reins of the team this winter.

The Express caught up with Vance to get her outlook on the state of the program and find out how she aims to build it up.

Q: For those who don’t know, what’s your connection to the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District?

A: “I have been a seventh grade math teacher for 16 years at Whitman Middle School.”

Q: What’s your background in gymnastics?

A: “I was a former competitive and high school gymnast. I coached recreational gymnastics for six years, and I was the coach of the Excel competition teams at Mass Gymnastics Center in Pembroke for the previous 13 years.”

Q: What makes this new role a good fit for you?

A: “I am finally at a place in my life where I can dedicate the amount of time needed to coach this program. I stepped down from coaching the Excel teams last June. My twin daughters are 10 and can understand why I might be out of the house several nights a week. My husband is super supportive and able to help bring our daughters to their various activities while I am coaching. I am ready to take on this new challenge.”

Q: What do you feel like you bring to this program?

A: “I bring a lot of gymnastics coaching experience to this program. I also bring a lot of experience with building strong and supportive relationships with my students/gymnasts.”

Q: Participation is obviously a concern in gymnastics. How do you hope to grow the sport at W-H?

A: “This is a relatively new program for W-H and we have struggled to get students to participate. We have sent emails, posted on social media, made announcements at school, etc. One of the challenges is that there are not any gymnastics studios in the two towns to recruit kids from. We have to spread the word to the several different gyms in the South Shore area. Also, not all gymnastics studios are supportive of their gymnasts participating in high school gymnastics, which is a real shame. We are hoping that more students will get involved now that I am able to spread the word at Whitman Middle School.

“I have several close colleagues at Hanson Middle School that I am hoping to spread the word for us as well. I am hopeful that girls with gymnastics, cheerleading, tumbling or dancing experience will see how our team is improving each year and want to join us next year.”

Q: What are your short-term goals for the program?

A: “With such a small and young team, I am hoping that this is a year for us to spread the word about the program and encourage other girls with gymnastics experience to get involved going forward. I am hopeful that they will see the progress we are making in our league and want to join us in the future. For this year, I am hoping the veteran girls improve upon their scores from last year. For the freshmen, I want to see them become familiar with the very different rules of high school gymnastics and get as much competition experience as possible.”

Q: Five years from now, where do you want this program to be?

A: “Five years from now I would like to see this team have as many members as some of the other south shore teams. I would like us to be competitive in our league and be able to bring some gymnasts to the state individuals. I plan on sticking around as the coach for a long time, so I am hoping that will help make a difference, too.”

A visit with W-H’s new cheer coach Alyssa Hayes

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Alyssa Hayes, a Whitman-Hanson Regional High alum, has been named the school’s head cheerleading coach.

Alyssa Hayes, recently appointed head coach of Whitman-Hanson Regional High’s cheerleading team, shared her opinion on what makes the program so special and how she aims to continue its legacy.

After the resignation of the previous head coach in February, Hayes was one of three coaches who stepped in and helped guide the program to its 13th state title.

Hayes, a 2012 graduate of W-H, is in her first year as an English teacher and head coach of the boys’ tennis team at the school.

Q: When did you first get involved in cheerleading?

A: “I’ve been in the world of cheerleading probably since I was about 4 years old as a mascot cheering on my little sister, they actually made me my own uniform. This was right in Hanson Youth Cheer.”

Q: What do you find most fascinating about cheerleading?

A: “The ability to have so much skill within one sport. All sports are difficult and I think cheerleading is such an individual sport and such a team sport all at once, which I think is really impressive. You need every single person on that team in order to make that routine successful.”

Q: When somebody says “cheerleading”, what are the first three words that come into your mind?

A: “Perseverance, team- work and motivation.”

Q: When did you begin coaching cheerleading?

A: “I’ve cheered my whole life, and then when I moved up to the high school I started coaching at the youth level, along with cheering at Whitman-Hanson. Then my senior year of high school I added the role of choreographer to my coaching and started actually helping to create the routines for Hanson Youth, and then I never stopped coaching all through college.”

Q: Being an English teacher, do you see any parallels between that role and coaching?

A: “Absolutely, there are so many. I think coaching is actually what got me into teaching because you have to show up for the kids and you have to be consistent and give them a sense of a routine. Otherwise, they don’t know what to expect. Kids need consistency. If you don’t have that you’re not going to have a successful classroom, you’re not going to have a successful sports team.”

Q: What, if anything, did you change with the program when you came on board?

A: “I think last year my biggest thing was teamwork and positivity. Looking at the future, I’d love to build the numbers back up, I’d love to have another JV team and maybe even a freshman team if we can get the numbers that high. When I was here, we had upwards of 40 kids, so I think building numbers is always a great thing.”

Q: What was so special about that roughly month-and-a-half experience you had coaching this team in the winter?

A: “Coming back to Whitman-Hanson was a blessing in itself. But, then just all the adversity I saw those girls face first hand, and just handle with grace and motivation and never take a step backwards. They just continued to push forward and continued to get better and work together and I think that’s really special.”

Q: Is there anything specific you learned from your cheerleaders last winter that helped you develop as a coach?

A: “I think you learn from every team you coach, every team is different. One thing that was special about last season was some of the flexibilitythat I gave the girls because I was coming in mid-season so a lot of it was learning through them, learning what their typical day was like. I think that was the first time in my coaching that I had to step back a little bit and see what they already had at hand, what they were already used to. Then, we kind of made a new consistency together, which for me was a really unique experience as a coach.”

Q: What is it that makes this Whitman-Hanson cheerleading program so special?

A: “A lot of people ask me that and I often ask myself that. It’s been such a strong and successful and special program for so long and I think it’s just the heart. We’ve got a great program and we’ve got kids that just consistently care about the program.”

Q: What are your goals for the program?

A: “I absolutely want to build numbers. Like I said, I’d love to have a JV and a varsity team. Not only two teams, but two decent size teams where we can get as many girls on there as we can and maybe even the potential for co-ed, you never know. And I also want to continue to build that legacy, continue to build the Whitman-Hanson cheerleading name while also giving these kids a special experience. There’s absolutely nothing like your four years of high school sports.”

Q: Finally, is it safe to say this is your dream job?

A: “Without a doubt.”

Catching up with Brenndan Rogers

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A Q&A with Whitman-Hanson Regional High alum Brenndan Rogers.

Brenndan Rogers had an illustrious career as a two-sport athlete at Whitman-Hanson Regional High.

On the hardwood, the shooting guard netted 774 points over his career and played a pivotal role on the Panthers’ school-record 22-win campaign last season that ended at the TD Garden in the Eastern Mass. final — averaging 15.8 points per game in the postseason.

On the diamond, Rogers was eerily as dominant — posting a 7-1 record, one more win than the team had the prior season, and 0.80 earned run average over 52 1/3 innings during his final go-around. In the Panthers’ opening playoff game, Rogers hurled five innings of two-hit ball to power W-H past Somerset Berkley 11-0.

Last March, Rogers committed to play basketball at New England College, where he majors in business. In nine games for NEC, the Hanson native is averaging 10.1 points per game and is shooting 42.1 percent from the field for a Pilgrims squad (7-2) that is off to its best start since 2010-11.

The Express caught up with Rogers to reflect on his time at W-H and to see how he is adapting to college thus far.

Q: What did you learn on the hardwood at W-H?

A: “The importance of teamwork and working with a good group of guys towards a common goal. Also, the value of hard work and doing everything in life with your best effort.”

Q: How has the transition to college been on the court?

A: “The transition into college sports is just the beginning of a new process. You’re now at a level where you’re competing against the best of the best high school athletes. Also, you’re going up against guys that are grown men at 23 or 24 years old. Everything in your game has to be taken up a notch and your body needs to be at top shape. But most importantly, trusting the process with your teammates and coaches to become a successful athlete at a higher level.”

Q: How has the transition to college been in the classroom?

A: “Moving from high school to college classes was a big jump for me. I wasn’t the best high school student so it was important for me to bear down and get good grades. The work is a lot more challenging, but the professors prepare you well enough so that you can deal with the assignments. You also have a lot more time to complete assignments so time can be helpful.”

Q: What is one valuable lesson you acquired at W-H that you have taken to the collegiate ranks?

A: “A valuable lesson learned in high school was that everything happens for a reason. And no matter how hard life can be sometimes, you should never let it affect who you are.”

Q: What’s your fondest memory from W-H?

A: “My fondest memory at W-H would definitely be bringing the entire school and community to TD Garden during my senior basketball season. We had an amazing run and were one of the best teams in school history. On the other side during baseball, pitching and winning the first tournament game in eight years for W-H was a great moment for me.”

Q: Who is your favorite professional athlete and how has s/he inspired you?

A: “My favorite professional athlete would defiantly have to be Paul Pierce. He was a big inspiration growing up, watching him lead the Celtics for so many successful seasons. He inspired me to push through any hard times and difficulties as he went through some rough years in Boston but always stuck through it with the team.”

Q: What goes into your offseason preparation?

A: “The offseason was full of a lot of running and weight lifting. Going from high school to college sports calls for a lot of preparation going into the season. Running helped with staying in shape and getting faster for a fast pace college game. Weight lifting was important to get stronger to play with older and experienced competition.”

Q: What day of the week do you most look forward to?

A: “My favorite day of the week is either Friday, or Saturday. Both days are usually when I have games so it’s the highlight of the week.”

Q: What’s your favorite food?

A: “My favorite food is either chicken or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Both have been my top favorite foods since I was a kid.”

Q: What’s been your biggest accomplishment at college thus far?

A: “My biggest accomplishment so far in college would either be my team’s success, or my personal success in the classroom. Our team ended first semester at 7-2, and is heading into next semester with a lot of momentum. In the classroom, I finished the semester with a 3.4 GPA.”