SEALS INDUCTED INTO NEW AGENDA: NORTHEAST HALL OF FAME

NEWTON, Mass. – Emmanuel College women's volleyball Head Coach Denitra Seals has been inducted into the New Agenda: Northeast Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony took place on Sunday, November 5 at the Woodland Golf Club honoring a class of 11 inductees in 2016. Fellow GNAC Head Coach Mary Tom of Lasell College was also a member of this year's induction class. To date, 443 members have been inducted into the New Agenda Northeast HOF.

The New Agenda: Northeast was founded in the spring of 1986 by Mary Lydon, Mary Pratt, and Mark Colon and was based on the National New Agenda. The National New Agenda was established in 1983 through the efforts and leadership of the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS), an Association of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, and The Women's Sport Foundation.

In 1988 New Agenda: Northeast began its Hall of Fame to honor those women who have helped advance the role of women in sports in the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Criteria for induction states that nominees must have made a significant contribution to the advancement of girls and women in sport within the six New England states through coaching, officiating, mentoring, or advocating.  Nominees must have at least 15 years of experience and personal athletic achievements are not applicable.

 "The Emmanuel College Athletic Department is very proud to have such a great role model serving as the head of our Women's Volleyball program," said Alexis Mastronardi, Director of Athletics and Recreation at Emmanuel. "Denitra is very passionate about the sport and even more committed to making sure her student-athletes get the most out of their experience at Emmanuel, both on and off the court."

Since graduating from Fairleigh Dickson University in 1997, Seals has been a longtime advocate for girls and women's volleyball. She began her coaching career at the Junior Olympic level for a local volleyball club, Smash Juniors and later accepted a position as Head Varsity Volleyball Coach at Somerville High School. In four years at Somerville, she led her volleyball program to two consecutive state tournament appearances, for the first time in the school's history. In 2002, she began coaching at Emmanuel as an Assistant Coach before being promoted to Head Coach in 2007.

(Seals, GNAC Commissioner Joe Walsh, Lasell College Head Coach Mary Tom)

For more information on the New Agenda: Northeast Hall of Fame visit http://newagenda-northeast.org/index.html