More from The Q&A: Stanford White
Douglass High School named its football field after legendary coach Stanford White on Friday night.
The man spent almost three decades as the head coach of one of the state’s most revered programs. There were dozens of wins, a bunch of playoff appearances and even one state championship. But that isn’t what makes White proudest.
Jenni Carlson: I suspect you probably see many of your former players around town, but with homecoming and the field naming, there are even more around. When you think about those men, what makes you most proud?
Stanford White: What they’ve gone on to become many of them. But when you’re coaching those kids, you’re so focused on pushing them as players and getting them to be their best in that respect, you just don’t realize. You can’t see what’s ahead for those kids. Some of the ones that you thought would never go to anybody’s college or anything like that … have gone on to become successes.
JC: I suspect there are lot of good fathers and husbands in the bunch, too.
SW: Absolutely. There’s one guy in particular that was one of the best football players that we had. He was an aggressive kid in high school. A good kid, but just had a mean streak in him. Long story short, he spent a short time in prison, but now, he is the model father. He is at every parent-teacher conference. He is the strictest parent with his kids. But again, you would’ve never thought that when he was a kid.
JC: That is great. You never know what impact you’ll have on kids, do you?
SW: That’s why you have to treat every kid, every child who plays for it — it doesn’t matter what his athletic ability is, whether he’s a kid on the bench who doesn’t get to play a whole lot or whether he’s your superstar — they’re all equals. And one day, they’ll all be adults. You have to treat them that way, and they appreciate it.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
I’m a retired OKCY Public Schools Building Administrator. I met Stan thru his wife Raphael (a principal who I worked several years for). Stan was one quiet guy but he could say a lot in a few words. I never went to one of his games but he was quality on/off the field. I’ve enjoyed your article on him and really think it appropriate for the field naming experience. No question, he’ll continue to be an impact on Douglas sports (football, etc) now and for years to come. Just one of those happenings that give an old guy like me a reason to smile. WAY TO GO,STAN. STAY HEALTHY, from a proud FAMILY FRIEND, Jon Rumsey.