Steve Sullivan has spent nearly half a century coaching young soccer players across the Connecticut shoreline. After spending a good chunk of that time as the right-hand man in the Morgan girls’ soccer program, Steve is now at the helm of the Huskies as their head coach.

Steve, a Killingworth resident who grew up in Guilford, was a coach in the Soccer Club of Guilford for 35 years. After leaving the club in 2009, he got involved with Clinton’s Youth Soccer program. Now in his 44th year as a coach, Steve takes the helm at Morgan, where he’s a familiar face, having spent the previous 12 seasons as an assistant coach with Huskies’ girls’ squad.

“There are huge benefits to the familiarity they have with me,” says Steve. “I coached many of the girls when they were in 7th, 8th grade, so by the time they got to high school, I had a good handle on their abilities.”

Steve feels that comfort cultivates connections both on and off the field. He believes that if athletes feel comfortable in their environment, they will reach the goals that they’re striving toward.

“I’m a big believer that it has to be fun for them. It’s got to be fun, or else they turn away from it,” Steve says. “We had a lot of kids that came out for the team this year, and I expect them to work hard, but also have fun. When they’re in a nice, relaxed situation, they’ll work hard. I try to get them to relax and develop their own creativity.”

One of Steve’s favorite parts of coaching is when things click for his players, and they unlock a new layer of potential. For Steve, those instances reinforce his passion for what he does.

“There’s nothing better than to see young people succeed. It’s important to me, and it’s amazing how young you feel when you are around those kids,” Steve says. “To see some kid really excelling at something and achieving something above a level they didn’t think they could reach is a big reward to me. It’s also great teaching life lessons, like learning to win and lose.”

Morgan Athletic Director Kevin Rayel couldn’t think of anything but good things to say about the new hire to his girls’ soccer program.

“Coach Sullivan brings a high level of expertise to the game, and we’re excited about him joining the Morgan family,” says Rayel. “We’re excited that we were able to find a really qualified individual to lead the girls’ program. There is a lot of great tradition in the program, and I would expect that to continue under Coach Sullivan’s guidance.”

Steve feels optimistic that there are so many talented soccer players climbing the ranks in Clinton. As the Huskies claw their way into the heart of the regular season, Steve thinks they can join the pack of teams that will be contending for the Shoreline Conference crown.

“We have a big number of kids coming out this year, which is a credit to the town’s youth program. It’s amazing to see not only the quantity of kids, but the quality of them. The talent has risen each year,” says Steve. “In the past, we were happy with five or six freshmen on the team, but now it’s gotten to 12 or 13, which is a tremendous boost to the program. It also means the kids have to work and it comes down to athletic IQ and small intangibles. We have started slow this year, but we expect to grow. We are on the right path, and I expect big things out of them. There is great parity in the Shoreline Conference and no easy games. We believe we are still one of the top teams, and we just have to show that to our opponents.”