A Status Symbol
Three head coaching vacancies during one academic year would be a daunting task for any athletic department, but Springfield provides its own unique challenges.
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By Irene Rotondo
Photography by Joe Arruda and Springfield Athletics
he face of every Springfield College head coach has been drawn by hand and framed in glass on Craig Poisson’s office wall. They’re all done by the same caricature artist, who is given a picture of a newly-hired head coach, and a few facts or characteristics about the individual. He brings their images to life in a way only a human hand can do — a literal staring reminder of who Poisson, the Director of Athletics for the College, must support. These 21 head coaches are pillars to the Humanics philosophy — spirit, mind and body — and they implement that philosophy beyond their fields, courts, and mats as teachers in the classroom. A point of reference for Poisson, he looks to the wall to remind himself of his own mission: to grow these coaches personally and professionally. “Coach” is a status symbol on campus, and Poisson says it comes from their immediate link to not just student-athletes, but the like-minded body of learners that is the school community. The coaches themselves
are what makes the title so special, and it’s because of the unique experience of being a Springfield College head coach that makes it so valued. *****
Bidding farewell after their seasons this year are three head coaches who have deeply impacted their respective programs. Melissa Sharpe, Charlie Brock and John Gibson are drastically different people, but each has been an invaluable asset to Springfield athletics. Sharpe, head field hockey coach, came to the College as an undergraduate student, and has bled maroon for almost two decades since. After playing the sport for four years, Sharpe became a field hockey GA at Springfield and continued to support legendary head coach Dottie Zenaty, right up until Zenaty announced her retirement midway through Sharpe’s second year in graduate school. Sharpe applied for the job immediately, and after an arduous process, she was told the job was hers the day before she graduated with her Master’s. “I think those of us that have been here a long time, you live your life here, you’re going to go through some life experiences, losses in your family,” Sharpe said. “And then you see your colleagues around you, just so supportive, and people make meals for each other, and they bring things to each other’s house… that family feeling is probably the biggest thing that stands out to me being a coach here.” But being committed as a Springfield College head coach engulfs all other priorities in one’s life — and as a mother to a 9 and 7-year-old, Sharpe says she can no longer bring the same kind of attentive energy required. “Both of my kids are very athletic and involved, and I was missing so much of their activities. And then to stay at the level of success that I had earlier in my career … the volume of recruiting has grown, so the last couple of years I’ve really struggled,” Sharpe said. “It was not an easy decision, but it
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