Meet Sara Gerbereux! She was a Coach for her Heart & Sole team in Columbia, South Carolina, and joined our GOTRGC family as our Summer Intern. We’re thrilled to introduce her and share her Girls on the Run story with you!

We’d like to begin by sharing Sara’s Girls on the Run name. Girls on the Run names are our fun way of becoming a team, and sharing a bit about themselves in a fun, unique way. Sara’s Girls on the Run name is Spunky Sara, and we choose our names through our fun GOTR activity, by choosing an adjective that starts with the same letter as your first or last name, and describes you, and adding it to your name. 

Sara’s currently majoring in Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina, and she’s a rising junior. She was a Heart & Sole coach at E.L Wright Middle School in Columbia, South Carolina, during the Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 season. Heart & Sole is our middle-school aged GOTR program, and her goal for this internship with us is to be able to give back and help in any way possible. She explained, “These past two seasons of coaching brought me so much joy, and I just want to be able to contribute and help any way I can, so the next season is just as successful. I also would love to get more schools involved in this program.”

Sara’s a big advocate for getting outside and exercising, as it has helped her in the past to release any stress going on in her life. Being physically active has many benefits for mental health; as it’s associated with reduced symptoms in anxiety and psychological distress in youth. Girls on the Run’s afterschool programming addresses that need for physical activity, as girls’ physical activity levels decline at age 10, and continue to decrease throughout adolescence.

Sara also told us that she enjoys running, and she’s done track and field all throughout high school. She loved to see not only her progress, but others as they got faster as well! When asked what made her want to coach a Heart & Sole team, she stated, “I wanted to get more involved in my community with middle schoolers, while also being outside.” She explained that she was searching for opportunities, and found Girls on the Run, and she knew it was a perfect fit for her. She fell in love with the afterschool program and everything it stands for, and our mission in enhancing our participants' social, emotional and physical skills, to navigate life experiences.

Sara continued, “A lot of our lessons at Heart & Sole focussed on how to navigate and regulate different emotions. It also touched a lot on relationships with families and friends.” When asked about how these lessons affected the middle school girls, she told us, “Throughout the season, I saw the girls begin to open up and really connect with the lessons. They would come back to practice and have an example of how they used the last lesson at school or home.”

Her favorite memory with her Heart & Sole team was during the Fall 2025 5K, where they all wore superwomen capes, and everyone did their best at the event. She said it was a lot of fun and she truly enjoyed seeing how much everyone progressed throughout the season. We asked Sara what she loved most about being a coach, and she stated that there were many things she loved about coaching; but she especially loved, “seeing the girls open up and come out of their shell, and by the end of the season, they were all best friends.” She also loved seeing the girls become better at running during each practice, and by the time of the 5K, she said that the girls were awesome! “Seeing them be proud of themselves, and seeing how the hard work they put in paid off was the most rewarding part of coaching. Seeing their confidence build every practice just reminded me why I decided to coach, and why I will continue to.”

Hearing that her team created everlasting friendships with one another made us very happy and excited to share it with you. Our afterschool program plays a vital role in promoting connectedness among girls by teaching them how to develop positive social relationships; and coaches like Sara are transforming the lives of girls in our community. 

Thank you Sara for consistently showing up for your team and for empowering them to reach their limitless potential. If you’d like to make a difference and empower girls like Sara did, consider becoming a GOTRGC coach today. We’re accepting Fall 2026 coach applications now through Friday, June 12th. Learn more about coaching at gotrchesapeake.org/coach.