Logo: Wesleyan Athletics

2011-12 Coaching Staff

Shona Kerr - Head Women's Squash Coach

(860) 685-2444 - skerr@wesleyan.edu

Sona Kerr, head coach         Shona Kerr will be in her seventh year as head coach of both men's and women's squash at Wesleyan.  Coming to Wesleyan in 2005-06 after serving as the head squash coach at Wellesley College, Shona holds the rank of adjunct assistant professor of physical education at Wesleyan.  In 2010-11, Shona was honored by the NESCAC as its men's squash Coach of the Year.
        Shona completed her fourth year as head squash coach at Wellesley College in 2004-05 with a cumulative record of 44-40. Her 2002-03 squad posted 15 victories, the most at the College since 1984.
        Shona came to Wellesley from the University of Wales Institutes Cardiff (UWIC), where she coached for one year.  Prior to UWIC, she coached the Cardiff University Squash club, where she tutored players of all ages and abilities from 1996-98.  In addition, she served as an assistant coach for the Sussex Under-19 girls' squad.
        As a player, Shona was a four-year member of the Welsh Universities team from 1996-99. More recently, she was a member of the UWIC team which won the Women's Welsh Premiere League. She also represented Wales at the 2000 European Club Championships, held in Amsterdam.  In the United States, Shona was a national squash age-group champion for under-35 and at the 5.0 skill level in both 2004 and 2005 and also played for the Boston Ladies "A" Team which won the Howe Cup. 
        In addition to her playing and coaching experience, Shona holds Level III advanced coaching certification from the England Squash Association. In the summer 2003, Shona traveled to Cairo, Egypt as a presenter at the World Squash Federation Development and Coaching Conference.  She also has been active in several camps as a coach including Squashbusters summer camp for which she served as director.  Shona served a two-year term as vice-president of the College Squash Association (CSA) from 2005-07, of which she has been a member since 2001, and completed a three-year term as CSA president in 2011.  She will remain on the CSA Executive Committee for two more years.  Shona also was integral in the creation of the CSA website.
        Shona earned a bachelors degree in music from Cardiff University in 1998 and received her Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Wesleyan in 2008, receving a handshake from soon-to-be President Barack Obama at graduation.
      In October, 2006, Shona acted as local coordinator for the College Squash Association's Coaches Conference held at Wesleyan.  Shona also organizes activities around Wesleyan's Rosenbaum Squash Center to foster greater interest in the sport in the area.  In her spare time, Shona still enjoys competing and will play in squash tournaments if and when they can fit outside the college schedule. She is also an avid "Racketlon" competitor, a cousin of triathlon, Racketlon combines the four racket sports of table-tennis, badminton, squash and tennis. Shona has been ranked as highly as 11 in the world and will be competing at this year's World Championships in Vienna.
 
Patti Klecha-Porter - Assistant Coach

(860) 685-2899 - pklechaporte@wesleyan.edu

Patti Klecha-Porter, assistant coach

     Patti Klecha-Porter is completing her 27th year as head coach of the Wesleyan field hockey team during the fall of 2011. Patti served as head women's squash coach for 15 seasons (1986-2001) as well but became the team's assistant coach in 2001-02 and has been in that position since. Joining the Wesleyan staff in 1985, Patti is an adjunct professor of physical education at the University. In 1999, she was honored as NESCAC field hockey coach of the year and was inducted into the Connecticut Field Hockey Hall of Fame in September, 2007.
     A 1981 graduate of Ithaca College where she was a team captain and MVP in both field hockey and lacrosse, Patti was inducted into her alma mater's Sports Hall of Fame in 1986. In 1989, Patti also was named to a New York State sectional sports hall of fame. Patti earned her M.S. degree from Springfield College while serving as head coach of lacrosse and a field hockey assistant. Before enrolling at Springfield, Patti spent two years teaching and coaching in the Phelps-Clifton Springs, N.Y., school system.
     A veteran of the Olympic Sports Festival, competing in field hockey, Patti also has played internationally. She formerly played in the Hampshire Field Hockey Association and helped her club team, Stars & Stripes, attain renown as a perennial power.
     Always active at summer field hockey camps, Patti directs the Cardinal Field Hockey Camp at Wesleyan. In women's lacrosse, she holds an International Umpiring rating, the highest level for umpires in the game, and has done numerous NCAA tournament games including national championship games at all levels.  She also umpired at the 2001 IWLA World Cup in Wycombe, England and well as the 2005 edition in Annapolis, Md. and the 2009 games in Prague, Czech Republic.
 
Joe Bruno - Faculty Mentor

Joe Bruno     Joseph Bruno is the faculty team mentor for the men's and women's squash teams and is entering his seventh season in this role. Joe is a chemistry professor and former vice-president of academic affairs at Wesleyan. He has been instrumental to the squash program in a behind-the-scenes way that most people would not see. He is the squash program's voice to the faculty, where he proudly boasts the teams' achievements as a group and as individuals. He works very closely with the coaching staff to mentor individual team members in the academic arena and is a great resource in helping students stay on track to achieve excellence in the classroom. He works side-by-side with the coaching staff in helping to provide academic information to recruited and current students and will often connect prospective and current students with professors who can help in this way. Although he will not boast this fact too loudly, Joe does indeed play squash and is spotted on occasion sparing with different faculty and staff members during his lunch hour. These skills were proudly displayed when Joe joined the team for their annual training trip in Arizona where he drilled on court with the team and jumped into match play and coaching roles when asked - he also drives a mean van with the coolest tunes - or so it is rumored! The squash program is very fortunate to have an individual so committed to the success of each team member. Joe is an integral part of the varsity squash program at Wesleyan.