Coaching for Life

At the time, Stanley was very early into his tenure as head boys varsity lacrosse coach and availed himself of every opportunity he had to learn from the experience and absorb the wisdom of McFall, who then served as co-AD and football coach.

 

From 2003-2006, the Cougars won an unprecedented four consecutive VISAA football championships. No Collegiate teams could match that level of success or the volume of almost daily publicity that it generated. Neither were they expected to.

 

That was a message Stanley, now Collegiate’s Director of Athletics, needed to hear from his mentor. It’s a message that he conveys regularly to the current generation of coaches.

 

“The great gift of coaching here is that coaches have permission to coach in a way that’s best for kids,” he said. “You are not asked to win first.”

 

Does that mean that winning isn’t important? Of course not.

 

“When Charlie was winning a lot of football games and other people weren’t winning as much, he said, ‘I know you all are feeling a lot of pressure to succeed,’” Stanley said. “’Let me get it straight for you. You’re not going to get a raise if you win. You’re not going to get fired if you lose. You’re expected to take care of the kids and teach them what they need to learn to get their next step right.’”

 

By “next step,” McFall didn’t necessarily mean college sports. Hackneyed as it might sound, he meant life.

 

During the 2023-2024 athletic year, Collegiate teams won nine Prep League or League of Independent Schools championships and five VISAA titles. They also earned five sport-specific sportsmanship awards as well as the overall Prep League sportsmanship honor for the ninth time in the past 10 years.

 

“The LIS doesn’t designate a sportsmanship award for the year,” Stanley said, “but earning that for the Prep League speaks to the fact that program-wide we’re keeping our eyes on what matters most in educationally based athletics.

 

“Sometimes, sportsmanship awards get a bad rap as runner-up awards. Pairing that with the fact that in the last three years, we’ve won more state championships than in any other three-year period in school history is a statement about how things should be done. The consistency in both categories shows that we’re on the right track with the way we’re doing things.”

 

Every season Collegiate athletes deliver what might be considered magical moments in the form of performances that they, their teammates, and those in attendance will remember long after the cheering has ended and the uniforms are packed away.

 

“A 3-0 win in the [girls] soccer state championship game over a very good Trinity Christian team was a big deal,” said Stanley when asked to name a few that came immediately to mind. “[Senior] Giles Ferrell cutting 45 seconds off her 3200 time in the state meet and being a member of the 4x800 team that won a state championship and broke a 29-year-old school record was a big deal.

 

“[Senior] Mason Quigley’s no-hitter [against St. Anne’s-Belfield] in his final home [baseball] game. Beating [traditional powerhouse] St. Stephen’s-St. Agnes in girls lacrosse was a big deal.

 

“The run [14 wins in 15 games] the boys lacrosse team went on was something we don’t often see. For most of the season, those kids played with a level of poise and confidence that’s significant. We had big moments in golf [with a very young team]. Winning the Prep League in tennis.”

 

There’re many more, of course, and Stanley attributes both the accomplishment at the state level and the small, sometimes beneath-the-radar victories not just to the participation of elite athletes but to those who test their limits in their second or even third sport and find joy and meaning in the team experience.

 

“The reality of our success proves that our system works,” he said. “It proves that what we do in the weight room matters deeply. It proves that encouraging kids to be active in multiple sports matters deeply. We thrive with our multi-sport athletes who are just out there competing for their school and their friends and getting after it.

 

“It’s a cliché, but kids have to be comfortable being uncomfortable to be successful in life. Everybody’s journey is a little different. I’m really proud of the opportunities our program provides for kids to start the process and grow at their speed.”

 

Two years ago, Collegiate’s athletic administrators and program leaders crafted a statement of purpose both for their specific sports and for the total program that fits within the school’s core values.

 

“There’re four pillars: growth, teamwork, character, and confidence,” Stanley said. “We strive to develop athletes through competition with a team-first mentality that emphasizes character and fosters confidence.”

 

So as this year comes to an end, it’s on to the next with the challenge ahead of making necessary refinements in approach yet perpetuating the culture articulated in the mission statement.

 

“We have more success here when we focus on the next step versus the last step,” Stanley said. “I’m really appreciative of the effort our coaches have made to take each next step the right way. Progress isn’t fast, but if you’re intentional about it, it does last.”

~Weldon Bradshaw