Coach Sabrina Norton, who joined Shalhevet this year as Head Coach of the Girls’ Varsity Basketball program, fell in love with the sport at age seven and began coaching 11 years ago. 

Before coming to Shalhevet, Coach Norton worked as assistant coach for girls’ basketball at Crossroads School in Santa Monica. Prior to that, she was the assistant girls varsity coach at Santa Monica High School for four years, and AAU coach for LA Sky.

Coach Norton works as a first-grade teacher at The Willows Community School alongside her Firehawks coaching. 

“Coaching and teaching overlap in so many ways,” she said in an interview in early November. “In both roles, you are guiding young people, building relationships, and helping them grow with confidence.

The roles also have their differences, she said. 

“Teaching happens at a steady pace, but coaching happens in real time with high emotion and pressure,” she said. “You have to make quick adjustments, motivate instantly, and manage personalities in the moment.

“But at the heart of both, you’re shaping character and helping them become the best version of themselves.”

This year, the Firehawk girls team reached the semifinals at the Steve Glouberman z”l Annual Basketball Tournament before losing to SAR High School. 

Coach Norton hopes to improve the team by building strong habits.

In an email with the Boiling Point on Dec. 6, Coach Norton wrote that this includes “showing up on time, staying focused in drills, communicating, [and] giving your best effort whether it’s practice or game day.”

Glouberman showed where the players needed improvement, she said. The tournament happened before the official basketball season started, so coaches only had two weeks to prepare the team. 

“Our biggest goals shifted toward building identity, chemistry and consistency,” Coach Norton wrote. “One of the biggest takeaways from the tournament was realizing how much potential this group has when they stay connected, communicate and trust each other under pressure.” 

Coach Norton said that she and two other assistant coaches, Coach Kristina Johnson and Coach Kelsey Abrejera, are being intentional about dividing responsibilities evenly. Coach KJ and Coach K, as the players call them, assist with player development and day-to-day skill work, while Coach Norton uses what she says is a more “aggressive” coaching style to help improve the girls’ skills. This includes building a competitive edge while also incorporating energy and intensity.

Coach Norton has been playing basketball from elementary school through college. She went to Santa Monica High School, and enjoyed playing basketball with a team that “felt like family.” 

A Los Angeles native, Coach Norton continued her athletic career playing college basketball at Mt. San Antonio College before transferring to the University of San Francisco. She said her family is filled with athletes that inspired her to pursue basketball from a young age. 

Now she brings that longtime passion to coaching the Firehawks.

“They understand that I will hold them to a high standard, but I will always support them, teach them, and build them up,” she said.