This year we welcome two new Assistant Directors of Athletics to our faculty at Choate: Mr. Andrew Dickson and Mr. Nolan M. Silbernagel.
Mr. Dickson:
New Assistant Director of Athletics, Varsity Baseball Head Coach, and Tenney adviser, Mr. Andrew Dickson arrived at Choate with his wife this fall. As he settles into the Choate community, Mr. Dickson shared, “One thing I really value is being able to help student-athletes or students reach their goals or potential.”
Mr. Dickson is very passionate about athletics and is excited to work with student-athletes to help them succeed beyond Choate. He believes that some aspects of athletics, such as “the ability to test your limits” and “to mentally push through things at times,” are valuable even beyond the field.
As a former college baseball coach, he looks forward to using his experience at the collegiate level to help student-athletes at Choate navigate the recruiting landscape. He also stated, “My main goal is just helping student-athletes in any way that they need and to just make sure that they feel supported.”
One of Mr. Dickson’s favorite parts about working as an Assistant Director of Athletics is interacting with different students at Choate. “There are so many different students that are interested in so many different things, and it’s really kind of broadening my horizons outside of being just baseball focused.” For instance, Mr. Dickson recently enjoyed attending Choate water polo and field hockey games.
Mr. Dickson and his wife are excited to be at Choate and to be integrated into the community. He is also looking forward to “getting settled in a little bit more and just continuing to meet many more people around campus.”
Mr. Silbernagel:
The new Assistant Director of Athletics and Boys’ and Girls’ Swimming Head Coach Mr. Nolan M. Silbernagel is very excited to be a part of the Choate community. He said, “I was very fortunate that both positions were open; Assistant Director of Athletics and Swimming Head Coach, which I’ve been incredibly interested in. Swim coach jobs are relatively rare on the high school level. They don’t always pop up, so for a swim coach job to come up here at Choate, along with an assistant director of athletics job, was like one in a million. I really felt like winning the lottery. I was fortunate to be chosen for it.”
Mr. Silbernagel mentioned that he knew Choate would be a “wonderful place to be,” even before arriving on campus. Mr. Silbernagel previously worked in Admissions at the Independent Day School in Middlefield, Connecticut. Mr. Silbernagel had the chance to meet several Choate families even before arriving on campus. He said, “They always spoke very highly of Choate; they were incredible people as well, so I knew going in as I was looking at Choate that it’s a great community full of really dedicated, strong professionals that are good-natured people as well.”
Mr. Silbernagel added: “I’m just honestly thrilled to be here. Everyone has been incredibly helpful and incredibly kind, so it’s definitely the right decision to be here. I just look forward to doing everything I can to just help keep on making this community as warm and welcoming and as impressive as possible.”
In addition to being the Assistant Director of Athletics and the Swimming Head Coach, Mr. Silbernagel will also be helping out in the Admission Department, managing Choate’s sports media, and working with an alumni group regarding athletics.
