Naperville North girls basketball coach Erin Colletti resigns. The former Sandburg star cites work-life balance.

Naperville North girls basketball coach Erin Colletti treats her players like they’re members of her family.

“I love the girls, as well as the relationships that I’ve developed,” Colletti said. “Sometimes I’m like their mom, sometimes I’m like their sister, sometimes I’m like a teammate on the floor with them.

“I’ve really enjoyed that part of it.”

But Colletti, who led Sandburg to the Class AA state quarterfinals in 2005 and later played for Doug Bruno at DePaul, doesn’t enjoy the stress that comes from balancing teaching, coaching and being a mother.

That’s why Colletti tendered her resignation last week. The move left Naperville North athletic director Bob Quinn, who hired Colletti four years ago, stunned.

“I think that we as athletic administrators have the responsibility to put strong women in leadership roles in front of our girls,” Quinn said. “It was wonderful that we were able to do that with Erin.

“It’s wonderful for our student-athletes to see strong women in leadership roles and manage family and personal and professional life. Unfortunately, she’s not able to do that moving forward, but family comes first. You can’t argue that, and I understand that. But I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed for our girls.”

Colletti began her coaching career at Sandburg before she got a teaching job at Naperville North two years later. She spent eight years coaching at the lower levels before Quinn picked her to lead a program that had endured two decades of mediocrity.

The hire was widely praised at the time and proved to be a great move. The Huskies enjoyed one of the best four-year stretches in program history under Colletti, posting an 86-23 record, including a 36-4 mark in the DuPage Valley Conference, which they won three times during her tenure.

The 2021-22 season was the high-water mark as the Huskies went 30-5, won their second regional title since 2005 and reached the sectional championship game for the first time since 1996. They went 20-12 this season, which ended with a 50-45 loss to Waubonsie Valley in a Class 4A regional final.

Colletti, 36, has four children under the age of 7 with her husband, Tony, who is an assistant football coach at Naperville Central. Her oldest daughter already has begun playing basketball, and Colletti coaches her first grade team.

“The more kids came, the more busy we got,” Colletti said. “I’m constantly all over the place, and I just don’t feel like I can do it like I’m supposed to do it.

“During the season, Tony was amazing and a great partner and super supportive, but in preseason and postseason I couldn’t be around for everything because I had to pick my kids up from school.”

Colletti’s passion and commitment to the program was obvious. During the 2020-21 season, which was delayed and abbreviated due to the coronavirus pandemic, she coached using a stool while she was nearly nine months pregnant with her twin daughters, who were born 11 days after the season ended.

McKendree-bound senior guard Abby Drendel said Colletti and assistant Molly Murray, who also is stepping down, played a big part in her growth. Drendel was Naperville North’s floor leader this season after being an understudy to Greta Kampschroeder, a Michigan sophomore, and Kenzie Hare, a Marquette freshman.

“In the beginning, when you’re a little freshman, you don’t have any confidence,” Drendel said. “You’re just like, ‘All right, I’ll pass the ball to Greta or Kenzie.’

“(Colletti and Murray) were like, ‘Take that shot. Don’t just drive or pass it back to them.’ They forced me to be more confident and stronger.”

Colletti was a strong advocate for girls in sports. She engineered the Huskies’ participation in the Grow the Game Tournament, which highlights teams with female coaches.

Quinn plans to continue those efforts.

“That’s how you start to break some of those barriers down,” he said. “That’s what we will do with our next hire.”

Drendel said she will always be grateful to have played for Colletti.

“She’s just been a very great role model, and seeing her balance her life in general has been amazing,” Drendel said. “She’s an amazing person.”

Colletti speaks similarly about her players, especially the senior class that includes four-year varsity players Drendel, Peyton Fenner, Layla Henderson and Abby Homan.

“I felt really close to this group,” Colletti said. “I feel we’ve all made each other better. They’ve pushed me to be a better coach as well as me pushing them to be better players. I really enjoyed my time with them.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.