Feature: Stephanie Stanley

Stephanie Stanley is a math teacher at Mccallum High School, but on the side she assists Coach Honeycutt in coaching girls soccer. “Being a coach is awesome” says Stephanie Stanley. She says that the relationship she has with the athletes is different with the one she has with her students because “you get to mentor them, build their character, and challenge them to be better student athletes.” Stanley played soccer in high school and remembers how good it felt to do well and is glad to see she is helping others do the same.

The hardest part of the coaching is balancing being a coach and a teacher. Stanley has to balance getting lessons plans and papers copied with being at practices and games while still sleeping! To do all this she must keep up with her players grades as well as remembering to grade her students work. Stanley was asked by Coach Honeycutt to be the assistant coach this year, although she had been wanting to help out with soccer before, but with her busy schedule it just hadn’t worked. This year however she made it work. “I would go and watch the girls play last year and got to know most of the players then.” says Stanley.

As a coach Stanley runs practices and helps Coach Honeycutt come up with drills. In high school Honeycutt played on defense while Stanley played offense, so the two divide the team and work with a smaller group of girls to teach them individual skills for the role they play on the team. Stanley also supports the athletes by going to the games.

“Closer relationships with students on a different level from teaching in the classroom.” Is one of the perks of coaching. Not only is the relationship with the students closer, but being a coach allows Stanley to get to know the athletics department of Mccallum. “The closer you are to your coworkers, the more enjoyable your job.” The only disadvantages of being a coach are the time commitments that Stanley has to make because she does have to juggle the work of being a coach with the work of being a teacher.

Stanley’s favorite thing about being a coach is the athletes she gets to work with. “They’re so much fun, hard working, challenging, and really close-knit. It’s great to lead them!” She is very proud of how far the team has come just this year. They had a game recently and according the Stanley it was the best they have played yet. This year the team has had to overcome some serious injuries but they worked hard and some girls even played positions they wouldn’t normally. Stanley says “it’s awesome to see them do whatever it takes for their team.”

Next year Stanley would love to continue assisting coach Honeycutt with soccer and watch the underclassmen get better as the team gets closer and plays for longer.