First and Ten

In the 2001-2002 winter issue of The Thacher News, Head of School Michael Mulligan discussed the “seismic shift of boys’ athletics” in the Condor League. “In one fell swoop, The Villanova and Laguna Blanca schools have abandoned their fall soccer programs, started eight-person football programs, and switched their boys’ soccer season to the winter term,” he wrote. Suddenly, Thacher found itself competing in a much reduced fall schedule, which “is not a particularly fulfilling investment for coaches and players—nor is it all that healthy for Thacher to overshadow our honorable but much smaller brethren in the League.” 

Mr. Mulligan’s open letter to the Thacher community revealed much about the internal dialogue going on at the school at the time.  A committee was formed—what sport to play? Football? Water polo?  Ultimate Frisbee? The pros and cons of each sport were considered, with much emphasis placed on how a given sport might affect the unique culture that is Thacher. This is a school, after all, that celebrates UnProm rather than prom; requires students to carry a pocket knife; and encourages you to bake cookies at your Head of School’s home on a Saturday night. How to add a sport and preserve this at the same time?

 

Ultimately, the faculty and students settled on football—eight-person, of course, to allow for girls who might want to play (as Mariah Gill-Erhardt CdeP 2009 did). While there would not be cheerleaders or a marching band, students were excited nonetheless.  “I remember walking out of that meeting after we learned we’d have a team, and we all talked about what that first game might feel like,” says Brenton Sullivan CdeP 2003, who quarterbacked the very first team. “I remember Tyler [Caldwell CdeP 2003] joking about what it would be like if he ran back the very first kickoff.”

 

In August, the boys arrived for their first pre-season, a week of practice necessitated by Thacher’s camping program—every football team must complete a requisite number of practices before their first game, which is impossible to do without pre-season, given our camping schedule.  There were 11 seniors on the team, and 28 boys total. Charlie Munzig CdeP 2003, a co-captain on that first squad, recalls, “The day we got our brand-new equipment felt like Christmas—new helmets, pads, socks, everything. The helmets were so clean and shiny that we felt that need to go hit somebody to scuff them up.” Richard Smith CdeP 2003, adds, “I'll admit, after the first practice I thought we were going to be in for a long season.” Blessed with a large cohort of strong senior athletes, the team came together and finished the regular season 8-2, continuing on to the CIF playoffs, beating Viewpoint on the road in a 36-34 thriller before falling in the second round to Avalon. But the moment everyone seems to remember most clearly is the first play of the very first game—when Tyler Caldwell fulfilled his own wish and ran back the kickoff for a touchdown: “I remember thinking what a good omen that was for the program,” says Munzig.

 

Much of the character of Thacher football was formed in those early days. When asked about that first season, former players recall learning to hit hard and play physically, as well as “McCarrenization and Rexercise”—so named for the various strength and fitness drills designed by two of the assistant coaches, Eric McCarren and Bill Rexford. “Given there was no weight-room, our workout days were geared towards our surroundings.  It felt like Thacher, and the lower field in general, were well-tailored to a bunch of kids trying to get stronger,” notes Charlie Munzig. Rexford muses, “The boys were able to compete so quickly due to their ability to take lessons from the classroom, horse program, and all the other sports and apply them to this new endeavor. If there is a memory that sticks, it is Coach McCarren working the boys out on the hill—it could be any evening in the fall—crawling, leap- frogging, running forward, backward, and Coach trying to get one more repetition of whatever exercise we were doing before the boys absolutely had to be let go so they could get ready for Formal Dinner.” Conner Schryver CdeP 2005, says: “For a bunch of skinny prep kids we hit hard and never quit regardless of the score. I think the same is still true ten years later. We may not always have the size or speed of other teams, but our determination, effort, and passion will beat theirs every time.”

 

Over the years there have been many games that have defined seasons and ultimately the program; the 17-14 win over Santa Clarita Christian in 2003, when Santa Clarita arrived undefeated, and the 20-14 victory over them the next year on the road. The mammoth, come from behind 34-28 win over Faith Baptist in the 2^nd round of the CIF playoffs at home, on the last day of classes in 2006, which sent the team to the semi-finals for the first time ever. The 42-34 win over Cate on the road in 2009, when the team was down 28-0 at half time. In all of these games, a glimpse of the team’s make-up shines through. “The thing I loved the most about playing football—more than the fun of the games or the rivalries or the fact that I got to play on successful teams with my best friends—was our identity,” notes Max Barbakow CdeP 2006. “Even as the make-up of the teams shifted, we always had an expectation to live up to: we had to play the right way. Playing the right way meant hard work, passion, perspective, integrity, loyalty to one another, and pursuing excellence. No shortcuts. That was my favorite part: the process of building something.”

 

On paper, the results are clear: over this ten year span, Thacher has reached the semi-finals three times, and won the Condor League title five times since its inception in 2005. But, more important, is the way that the sport has melded into the fabric of Thacher life. It is common to see horses on the sidelines of a game, as mounted riders watch. The bumpy, somewhat lopsided lower field is lined each fall for games—no stadium needed. Perhaps it is Conner Schryver who says it best: “There is nothing quite like a Thacher sideline on Saturday. Nowhere else in the school apart from say Assembly or lunch does the entire Thacher spectrum intermingle. There are pets, faculty children, students, students on horses, siblings, parents, teachers, alumni, staff, and board members, and everyone is right there with the players standing in the sun, cheering for victory.”