| VICTORY BELL |
A GOOD COACH CAN CHANGE A GAME. A GREAT COACH CAN CHANGE A LIFE. – John Wooden, long-time UCLA basketball coach
CAMARADERIE, SPIRIT AND DETERMINATION ARE THE NORM ON AND OFF THE FIELD AT CULVER-STOCKTON. RECENTLY, WOMEN’S SOCCER COACH TYLER TOMLINSON ’03 AND HEAD BASEBALL COACH BRAD GYORKOS ’15 HAVE IMPLEMENTED OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYERS TO SHOW GRATITUDE IN WAYS THAT GRABBED PUBLIC ATTENTION.
Athletic teams across America faced new challenges during 2020 as the pandemic altered practice schedules, eligibility, and meant that many teams did not play at all. At CulverStockton College, the women’s soccer team knew from the very first practice that this season would require focus, drive and sacrifice unlike anything they had experienced before. In true Culver-Stockton spirit, they rose to the occasion and inspired each other, the coaching staff and the community along the way. During the pre-season, the team wrote notes on scraps of paper expressing their appreciation for the chance to play and for each other. Senior Kendyl Pritchett collected the notes and stuffed them in a bag, unbeknownst to Coach Tomlinson. “We told the team our job as a coaching staff is to get (them) through the season, and some days, it’ll seem like we’re being harder on (them) than other days,” he said. “Their response was, ‘Well, we want to do that too.’” Mirroring the leadership of the coaching staff, the team reads one note from the ‘gratitude bag’ at each practice.
14 | Chronicle
