HVRHS makes history with first female football coach in Connecticut

FALLS VILLAGE — Jennifer Stango Garzone is making coaching history here in the Northwest Corner.

Garzone is two games into her first season as the head coach of MCW United, becoming the first female head coach in Connecticut high school football history. 

Before becoming head coach for the co-op team of Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS), Oliver Wolcott and Wamogo, she was assistant coach for seven years under Jaime Coty with Oliver Wolcott and then for the first three years of the current co-op program. Garzone succeeded him in February after he stepped down. 

“It’s a humbling experience,” Garzone said. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity and to be able to continue to work with my team and my coaching staff.” 

Despite the position change from assistant to head coach, her approach has remained the same. 

“It’s about life lessons, it’s about becoming a better person, a better individual,” she said, for herself and for her players. 

Garzone has seen a positive response from her players and coaches in the Connecticut Technical Conference and coaches outside of the conference. 

“The reception has been great,” said HVRHS Athletic Director Anne MacNeil. “The coaches know her from her days as an assistant. It’s awesome to see a female coach in a male dominant sport handle it the way she has.” 

MacNeil added that her commitment to the players is undeniable, and that gives her players confidence while she receives their full respect. 

The first two games of the season were tough for MCW United, losing to Platt Tech and Cheney Tech without recording a touchdown. Garzone said penalties and execution have been the biggest issues the team has faced offensively in its first two games. On defense, she said the team needs to “make that first tackle” and prevent yards after contact. 

Garzone’s football experience is not just as a coach. She also played professional football for years for the Connecticut Wreckers and the New England NightMare, among other teams. She gave birth to her first child earlier this year, but said she would absolutely like to try and get back to playing professional football if she finds the time and if her “body holds up.”

Garzone also coaches basketball and softball at Oliver Wolcott and said there is one major difference between coaching boys and girls. 

“I would say girls are a little bit more hygienic, of course. Kids who wear mouth guards in softball take care of them, they’re not just throwing them on the floor or eating them. But kids are kids.” 

MCW United was hoping for its first win of the season in the match against Thames River at the Pop Warner field in Torrington on Saturday, Oct. 5.