Brittany Harris might never have been affiliated with an Ivy League gymnastics program before she was hired as the head coach at Brown University in August 2022, but after four years coaching in the MIC and competing with Brown at meets like the USAG national championships, she had some idea of what kind of team she was joining.
“Just watching them from the outside I could just feel their hunger and fight and energy,” she said. “The whole crowd was like, oh my gosh, do you guys see Brown?”
Harris, who describes her coaching style as “quirky and silly” yet “very competitive,” was an easy culture match for the ambitious, high-energy Bears, according to senior captain Lauren Lazaro, who was among the first to interact with Harris to facilitate the coaching transition.
“Over the summer we had some Zoom calls with Brittany, and right from those first calls, I could tell she was such a good fit for our team,” Lazaro said. “Since then, it’s just been the most fun time. This has been the best senior season I could have asked for. Every practice is so much fun. We have music going, and we’re always dancing with Brittany and cracking jokes. At meets, too, she’s right there with us.”
This immediate synergy, in addition to what Harris…
