Hutchison Alumnae Inspire Next Generation of Sting Athletes

The best coaches teach you lessons that last long after the final buzzer. Ten alumnae hope to impart what they learned through Hutchison athletics by coaching girls in sports such as soccer, basketball, lacrosse, and volleyball.
Ever since she left the court her senior year, Greer Bryant ’14 knew she would return to Hutchison as a volleyball coach. She went to law school and now works as an attorney at Butler Snow LLP, but the pull never faded. Now she’s back working with seventh and eighth graders, teaching them what she calls the mental aspects of the game. For Bryant, it’s important to give back to what was such a meaningful part of her time as a student.

This year, 10 Hutchison alumnae have returned to the courts and fields where they once played, clipboards replacing jerseys, but the connection runs deeper than ever. From third and fourth grade lacrosse to upper school basketball and volleyball, they’re teaching the next generation of Sting athletes. While our alumnae coaches earned state championships and national awards when they competed as students, what matters most now is something else entirely: helping girls build the character traits that have carried them through life so far—confidence, resilience, independence, and sportsmanship.

Reconnecting with Our Alma Mater Dear

When Rachel Kimery ’18 was asked to return to Hutchison as head JV volleyball coach and assistant varsity coach, her answer was immediate: “1,000 percent yes.”

“My memories from volleyball are special to me, and I hold them close to my heart. It’s something that I want my girls to be able to experience,” Kimery said. “I hope they learn a lot of life lessons along the way, and that volleyball truly is more than a sport.”

For Shelton Wittenberg ’14, Hutchison athletics was her “safe haven.” She was incredibly shy as a little girl, but when she put on a jersey and stepped onto the field or court, she felt like she was the biggest person out there, even though she was always one of the smallest. Known as “Coach Witt” to her middle school soccer and lacrosse players, she’s an associate attorney at Baker Donelson’s Memphis office. But several afternoons a week, she’s back at Hutchison, watching that same transformation happen in younger girls.

“Nothing makes me happier than seeing confidence grow throughout a season,” Wittenberg said. “It is important to recognize and nurture the strengths of each girl because I know that so much growth in life can be achieved through athletics.”

For Hallie Robison ’16, she hopes to continue a multigenerational impact. An associate attorney at Lewis Thomason, she is the daughter of alumna and lower school teacher Beth Halliburton Robison ’82. Several years ago, Hallie returned to Hutchison to help coach middle school lacrosse. “Hutchison has given our family so much. Coming back, coaching, and being involved is just natural,” Hallie said. “It has been great to be able to be connected—getting to know the girls and see what has changed, but also see what has stayed the same.”

It’s not just about the girls; it’s also about honoring those who helped these alumnae become who they are today. Nora Tillmanns ’19 wrapped up her first season coaching a fifth and sixth grade soccer team with Frances Cates ’21. “I was always grateful to the coaches that I had, and the people who work at Hutchison, like [Assistant Athletics Director] Jill Allen, motivated me to come back,” Tillmanns said.

Pictured above, the following alumnae are coaching different sports teams at Hutchison this year:
  • Ainsley Ayres Beasley ’07: middle school lacrosse
  • Greer Bryant ’14: 7th/8th grade volleyball
  • Frances Cates ’21: 5th/6th grade soccer
  • Bridget Boyer Crenshaw ’13: 5th/6th grade lacrosse
  • Jayla Dorsey ’24: upper school basketball
  • Malaney Cross George ’06: 3rd/4th grade lacrosse
  • Rachel Kimery ’18: upper school volleyball
  • Hallie Robison ’16: 5th/6th grade lacrosse
  • Nora Tillmanns ’19: 5th/6th grade soccer
  • Shelton Wittenberg ’14: middle school soccer and lacrosse
Building Confidence through Competition

One of the first things Kimery tells parents is that she wants her volleyball players to end the season with more self-esteem than they had when they started. It’s something that sparked her confidence when she was at Hutchison. “Being recognized in high school as a leader of my team helped me see that I am capable. It gave me the confidence to go for what I want in life because I know that I have the skills,” she said.

Robison also sees a wide range of confidence levels in her fifth and sixth grade girls at the beginning of the season, but by the end, they all feel more assured. “At the start of the season, they’re shy, they’re nervous, and they haven’t really played lacrosse games,” she said.

“By the end of the season, they’ve been in competitive situations where they’re tied with a minute left, and they step up and win. In those tight situations, I feel comfortable looking at a player and saying, ‘It’s all you. You’ve got it,’ and then they’ll go out there and they succeed, and it’s the most rewarding thing.”

Wittenberg said her coaches challenged her and pushed her farther than she thought she could go. Now, that’s what she hopes to do for her teams. “It is amazing to see them not only grow individually as players, teammates, and persons through the experiences on the field and at practice, but also grow together as a team,” she said.

“Whether it was through wins or through losses, I learned how to be the best version of myself in every scenario possible. You represent who you are on and off the field, and you represent Hutchison as a community.” – Nora Tillmanns ’19

Becoming Resilient and Bouncing Back

Although our coaches do like to win (who doesn’t?), the reality is that our girls aren’t going to win every game. With help from our alumnae, Hutchison athletes have to figure out how to recover from setbacks and challenges. “I try to make sure that my team always knows that whatever happens on a Tuesday doesn’t matter on a Wednesday,” Robison said. “We’re always looking forward to the next practice to talk about what we learned and what’s next.”

Greer Bryant said resilience is crucial in volleyball. She describes the sport as similar to a game of chess, calling it a mental game. “You might mess up a play or miss your serve. You have to bounce back,” she said. “It was resilience and being able to learn from failure that taught me so much when I was playing.”

Nora Tillmanns played soccer and ran on the cross country and track teams, and through Hutchison athletics, she learned how to carry herself in a variety of situations and be a good teammate. “Even if I gave it my best on the field and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted, it’s always important to turn around and make sure that your teammates and your opponents, whether you win or lose, are doing ok,” she said. 

“Whether it was through wins or through losses, I learned how to be the best version of myself in every scenario possible. You represent who you are on and off the field, and you represent Hutchison as a community.”

Robison learned and saw firsthand that hard work pays off. “If you build the team, bond, and work hard together, you will see results and can achieve some awesome goals,” she said. This has happened for her both as a Hutchison athlete and as a coach. When she was a student, Hutchison’s varsity lacrosse team won the state championship during all four years she was in upper school. One of her favorite memories as a coach was seeing her middle school lacrosse team win the city championship several years ago.

Giving It Your All... In and Out of the Game

The lessons these coaches learned at Hutchison have carried them far beyond the playing field.

Bryant credits Hutchison with giving her a head start in the legal field. “When you get to law school, it’s a lot of analysis. So many students get to law school, but they’ve never been taught how to think, analyze, and apply rules to a problem. I learned that at Hutchison,” she said. “This benefited me all through college, and especially when I got to law school, I attributed my success more to that than I did even my college experience.”

In representing Hutchison and themselves, what matters most is that our girls leave everything out on the field or on the court. “If you don’t try at all, there’s a 100% chance you’re not going to get it. But if you give any effort or any hustle, there’s always a chance you will,” Kimery said.

Kimery, who serves as Director of Marketing and Communications at Kimery Wealth Management and was recognized by Women We Admire as a top woman leader in Memphis for 2025, credits Hutchison with teaching her how to navigate the world around her. “Hutchison helped me learn my own brain and how to push through my learning disabilities. Being able to have the resources at school, like my learning specialist, Mrs. Gretchen Gintz, helped me understand how I can be my most successful self,” she said.

An aspiring healthcare professional, Tillmanns said Hutchison prepared her for the real world and gave her an edge. “I don’t want to be the smartest person in the room. I want to learn as much as I can in every situation, and I want to walk away knowing that I did my best and gave my all physically, mentally, and emotionally,” she said.

For Robison, she can’t pinpoint one exact way that Hutchison shaped who she is. She is grateful for the entirety of her Hutchison experience in helping her realize her path. “Hutchison is in every part of who I am. I am a product of Hutchison, and it helped me in every aspect,” she said.

“It helped me develop my personality, academically and socially. It helped me become all of these things that have come together to make me an attorney and to make me a lacrosse coach. Hutchison made me into who I am today by being present every day and learning.”

Watch the video below to see how our alumnae are guiding our girls to grow not only as athletes but also as leaders.



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Hutchison is the leading private girls school in Memphis for ages 2 years old through twelfth grade.