After Stephanie Nykaza, who served as New Trier High field hockey head coach for 35 years, decided to retire at the end of the 2023-2024 school year, there was little mystery of who her successor would be. 

Just a few days after Nykaza’s coaching tenure ended in a state championship loss to Glenbrook North High School, Brittany Romano, who had been an assistant coach under Nykaza for a decade, was awarded her “dream coaching job.” 

“I am extremely grateful to New Trier, the athletic department, and the administration,” Romano said.

Romano, who grew up in Wilmette, Illinois, played field hockey at New Trier under Nykaza until her graduation in 2009. After that, she went on to play college field hockey at Denison University. There, Romano was an all-conference standout and was awarded defensive player of the year. After graduation from Denison in 2013, Romano, who taught youth field hockey camps throughout her college career, decided to return to her roots and work as an assistant coach under her former coach at New Trier. 

It was at New Trier where Romano realized that her passion was coaching. 

“It wasn’t until I graduated from college school and I started coaching at [New Trier] that I learned that there is a lot more to coaching besides being competitive and loving the game,” Romano said. “It becomes about the athlete and helping younger individuals grow in love and that is what I fell in love with.”

Flash forward one decade, Romano has taken over the reins at her alma mater. When speaking to Romano, one thing was crystal clear: although Nykaza is no longer head coach, the culture and work ethic she implemented through her tenure stays.

“The culture that she created was embedded with me. Everything that she believes, I bought into that message too. Anything from discipline, to working hard, to being determined, to being a great teammate,” Romano said. “All of those things that she built the culture on, those are the messages that I loved and the reason why I came back to New Trier.”

To make matters even more special for the first year head coach, the Romano family welcomed their second child. 

“Luckily, I have a really supportive husband. I have my mom and my dad who help out. We have a small village who helps out. I am very lucky that I have the support for my family,” Romano said. “Even more, working at a place like New Trier allows you to do everything you want to do. It allows you to have a career. It allows you to have a family. I am super blessed.”

In Romano’s first season as head coach, the Treviens cruised past conference play with only 1 regular season loss and claimed their 17th state championship on Nov. 2.