PLAISTOW, N.H. – Helena Bird admits that she can’t cook. The Timberlane Regional High School girls’ lacrosse coach leaves that duty up to her husband, Alex Horgan.
But on Thursday, Horgan won’t have time to prepare dinner.
That’s because he will be coaching the Owls’ varsity baseball team in its first playoff game since 2018 over at Trinity High.
At the same time, Bird will be coaching her girls’ lacrosse team in their home playoff game against Hanover.
“We have a tradition when we both win on the same day, we go out and get ‘happy pizza’,” said Horgan.
“With Alex and I coaching at the same time, we have to be communicative with our scheduling, mostly regarding grocery shopping and dinner. He does all the cooking, or else I’d literally survive on air fryer friendly foods,” Helena said with a laugh.
The couple not only coach during the spring season but work together as physical education teachers at the high school. They first met in 2018, before dating two years later. In 2023 they got engaged and last June 21 got married.
“Planning a wedding, teaching and coaching has been something else,” said Bird.
Bird is also the Unified Basketball coach, and Alex, a former baseball and football player at Timberlane (2009), is a three-sport coach, including an assistant on the football (11 years) and basketball (9 years) programs. He is now in his fifth year as baseball coach after six as an assistant.
“I think we have a huge sense of empathy for each other, because we are literally in the same exact situation. “We both go through long days teaching and then coming back from an away game in North Conway are met with compassion and an interested listening ear to every detail of our games.”
Horgan said that there’s no trash talking between the two in terms of more wins or anything like that, but said the busy, hectic schedule can lead to a messy house.
“Our laundry pile is the biggest battle each week,” he said. “Coaching during the same season is fun but can be hard. A lot of long nights and dinner on the go.”
Like “Happy Pizza Night.”