Girls Soccer Showdown: Her team vs. her school

Q&A with social studies teacher and Nashoba girls varsity soccer coach Renee Moulton

Annie Campbell, Editorial Board

Social studies teacher and former assistant varsity girls soccer coach Renee Moulton will be walking a fine line this weekend as her Nashoba Chieftains take on Algonquin at the CMASS District Finals.

Moulton was an assistant coach at Algonquin for seven seasons, but she is now the head coach at Nashoba Regional High School. After a 15-3-2 season, Moulton’s 3rd ranked Chieftains are set to match up against 4th ranked Algonquin this Saturday. It should be a close battle because this season the two teams tied one game, and Nashoba won one.

Q: How does it feel to be working at a school different than where you coach?

A: “There are positives and negatives. I have done it before when I worked here and coached at Wayland. It is just different.”

Q: Did you think you would ever be in this position, playing against your old team and colleagues?

A: “I hadn’t really thought about it. For me it’s been about taking each game one at a time and not looking ahead of where we were.”

Q: Do you feel like you have an advantage from previously coaching the girls you are going up against?

A: “Not really. There are a lot of new girls on the team and much has changed since last fall.”

Q: How do you think the game is going to go?

A: “I expect a hard fought game from both teams. Both teams posses offensive threats and defensive talent. Algonquin is a great team led by strong senior leadership.”

Q: What’s different for you being a head coach instead of an assistant?

A: “The main difference is the time expected. Kim and Scott (Kim Miller previous varsity girls coach and Scott Taggart current varsity girls coach) made it look so easy. But to be honest it is a decision I am happy with. I felt it was time to branch out and challenge myself.”

Q: What did you learn from coaching at Algonquin that you have taken to Nashoba?

A: “I worked with two great head coaches at Algonquin (Miller and Taggart) who taught me about the importance of patience, organization, and communication.”

Go support the T-Hawks tomorrow (Nov. 15) at 1pm at Nashoba!