AROUND THE QUADS | ATHLETICS | BY BOB HOWE ’80
Unsung Heroes
varsity sports as an assistant to varsity football, head coach of girls varsity basketball, and an assistant with the boys varsity track program.
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T Loomis Chaffee, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive community. We support and celebrate the various journeys and successes of our students, faculty, and staff. “Our Best Selves” has significance to everyone on the Island in many different ways. As athletics director, I don’t have to look far to see an extraordinary example of our best selves: Donald MacGillivray, Jean Sapula, and Adrian Stewart ’90. I often refer to these three as “unsung heroes” at Loomis Chaffee, people who make substantive yet unrecognized contributions to the community. Seven days a week, often for 12 or more hours a day, these three touch the lives of many students and faculty and serve a vital role in the daily operations of the Athletics Department. Don has worked at the school since 1989. He is the head trainer, a fitness and wellness instructor, dorm head of Kravis Hall, and a faculty advisor as well as having the longest tenure in the Athletics Department. Don has been instrumental in the implementation and success of the school’s Impact Concussion Program beginning in 2007. In addition, every spring Don teaches a course in water safety, CPR, and first aid to students, faculty, and staff, enabling them to earn lifeguarding certificates at the conclusion of the course. Jean became the school’s first female athletic trainer in the fall of 2006. From the moment
Together, these three individuals form what I consider to be the best sports health and safety team of any school in New England. We are fortunate to work at a school that makes health and wellness a high priority. Many of the schools we compete against don’t have the athletic training facilities or staffing that Loomis has. However, what makes this team so indispensable is not just their skill and knowledge of all things athletic, but also their professional attitude and their ability to put others first and meet the needs of a large program with varying levels of student participation. Jean Sapula and Adrian Stewart ’90 in the training room. Photo: Bob Howe ’80
I met Jean, I knew she would be a great fit here. Jean teaches fitness and wellness classes, lives in Ammidon Hall, advises students, and fills an important role every day as an athletic trainer. Adrian is the department’s physical therapist and the school’s strength coach. Like me, he is a graduate of Loomis Chaffee and knows student life from a firsthand perspective. Adrian teaches strength and conditioning classes as well as scheduling rehabilitation appointments throughout the day with injured athletes. Like Don and Jean, Adrian does dorm duty and advises students. He also coaches three
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We are fortunate to work at a school that makes health and wellness a high priority.
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These three are dedicated well beyond their job descriptions. A series of events this fall demonstrates my point: On the morning after Tropical Storm Irene, I called Don in Vermont, where he has a home. You may recall that this storm devastated Vermont. I asked Don if he thought he’d make it back in time for the first preseason football practice the next day. I was already getting an uneasy feeling thinking about all the things I’d have to do without Don here during preseason. There was silence on the other end of the line and then, shortly after, an answer of “Well, I’ll try.” I would find out a few days later what an outrageous request I had made and the incredible amount of effort Don put into getting back to campus in time to start the school year. What is normally a two-hour trip from Don’s house loomischaffee.org | 15