Hamden's Bruce Rich Named New Basketball Coach at Sacred Heart Academy

After spending the last four years sitting in the stands watching his daughter play basketball at college, former Hamden Hall girls’ basketball coach Bruce Rich got the itch to get back on the sidelines and will do so again this winter after being hired as the new coach at Sacred Heart Academy.

Rich, a Hamden resident, last coached with Hamden Hall in 2010, when the team won the New England Prep School Athletic Conference Class D Championship. He then “retired” when his daughter Ellen graduated from Hamden Hall and went off to play at college.

“My wife and I have spent the last few years traveling to watch her play,” Rich said. “While sitting in the stands, I realized how much I missed coaching and, when I became aware of the open Sacred Heart position, I felt that the time was right to jump back in.

“I am extremely pleased to have been named the varsity coach. Sacred Heart is a tremendous program — outstanding players who are willing to work hard and who want to succeed at the highest levels, a great mix for any coach.”

Rich has coached girls’ basketball for 25 seasons. In addition to his stint at Hamden Hall, he has coached at Westbrook High School (1973 to 1978), East Hampton High School (1979 to 1983), and Mercy High School (1987 to 1993).

Rich also coached a total of 12 seasons of girls’ soccer at East Hampton High School and Mercy High School, and a total of seven seasons of softball at Westbrook, East Hampton and Hamden Hall. He also coached boys’ basketball under David Beckerman at Hamden Hall for several years.

Rich said he is looking forward to coaching in the Southern Connecticut Conference, which was formed in 1994, the year after his last season with Mercy.

“In the old days, Mercy was a member of the ACC (All Connecticut Conference) which joined with the District League, the larger Shoreline Conference teams, and the Housatonic to form the SCC,” Rich said. “So I am familiar with almost all of the teams on our schedule. It’s a league with great competition and I am hoping that, with hard work and a little luck, we will be right in the thick things when it comes down to the end of the season league tournament and the CIAC tournament.”

Rich said his goal for every season is “to work hard on all aspects of the game, strive to improve, play together as a team, have some fun, and let the chips fall where they may.”

Rich lives in Hamden with his wife Claire (an alumna of Sacred Heart Academy) and they are the parents of Ellen and Nolan.

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