By JERRY LARSON An Interview with Two Legendary Coaches: Dick "Lefty" Marr and Dick Flood, the latter known to his friends as Floodo, have been good friends and lifelong coaching rivals. In the I950s, the two had been roommates at Williams College, and, prior to that, had competed against each other as high school students - Flood at Noble and Greenough School (Massachusetts), Marr at Governor Dummer Academy (now The Governor's Academy, Massachusetts). Upon graduating from Williams in I957, both entered the teaching/coaching profession in independent schools and spent two decades at rival schools - Marr at Milton Academy (Massachusetts), Flood at Noble and Greenough. After building their respective coaching careers and establishing the highly regarded Flood-Marr Tournament in hockey, Flood went on to serve as headmaster at Salisbury School (Connecticut) for I6 years. Marr went on to serve as head at Aspen Country Day School (Colorado) for four years and then as dean, teacher, and coach at Tabor Academy (Massachusetts) for I9 years. Dick Flood is now retired from independent schools, and working as an educational consultant with schools on master planning, college counseling, faculty, and leader- ship development. Dick Marr is also retired from inde- pendent schools, and is a practicing lawyer, mediator, and educational consultant. As an athletic trainer at Tabor in I985, I first met Dick Marr, then the dean of students and coach of the newly formed girls' ice hockey program at the school. Later that winter, I met Dick Flood, who was watching a lower-level hockey game at Noble, cheering on the players by name. Over the years, I'd get to know and admire both coaches, and, when I went on to become head of Cheshire Academy 50 I N 0 E pEN 0 E N T 5 C H 0 0 L
Transcript
By JERRY LARSON
An Interview with Two Legendary Coaches:
Dick "Lefty" Marr and Dick Flood, the latter known to his friends as Floodo, have been good friends and lifelong coaching rivals. In the I950s, the two had been roommates at Williams College, and, prior to that, had competed against each other as high school students - Flood at Noble and Greenough School (Massachusetts), Marr at Governor Dummer Academy (now The Governor's Academy, Massachusetts). Upon graduating from Williams in I957, both entered the teaching/coaching profession in independent schools and spent two decades at rival schools - Marr at Milton Academy (Massachusetts), Flood at Noble and Greenough. After building their respective coaching careers and establishing the highly regarded Flood-Marr Tournament in hockey, Flood went on to serve as headmaster at Salisbury School (Connecticut) for I6 years. Marr went on to serve as head at Aspen Country Day School (Colorado) for four years and then as dean, teacher, and coach at Tabor Academy (Massachusetts) for I9 years.
Dick Flood is now retired from independent schools, and working as an educational consultant with schools on master planning, college counseling, faculty, and leadership development. Dick Marr is also retired from independent schools, and is a practicing lawyer, mediator, and educational consultant.
As an athletic trainer at Tabor in I985, I first met Dick Marr, then the dean of students and coach of the newly formed girls' ice hockey program at the school. Later that winter, I met Dick Flood, who was watching a lower-level hockey game at Noble, cheering on the players by name. Over the years, I'd get to know and admire both coaches, and, when I went on to become head of Cheshire Academy
50 I N 0 E pEN 0 E N T 5 C H 0 0 L
(Connecticut) in 1999, they remained for me models of what good coaches should be: concerned about the individual first, team second; focused on character and skill development; and continually learning something new to share with their students, to name a few of their qualities.
The following conversation topk
place this past fall as these two independent school graduates, coaches, and school leaders reflected on athletics at independent schools over the last 50 years.
Larson: First of all, I understand that you had a college reunion recently. What was it like reconnecting with your classmates and teammates?
Flood: Lefty and I just had a minireunion at Williams and well over 50 percent of the guys who were there were our teammates from football, ice hockey, and baseball.
Marr: It was like it was yesterday, not 50 years ago; we picked up as if time hadn't passed. The connection was there. We share a common background, a lifelong experience.
Flood: It's not surprising when you think about it. You spend, on average, three hours a week together in a class.
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and learning
On a team, we had two hours ofpractice a day plus usually two games a week; we spent hours on the bus together. After practice, we'd often go to dinner together, or study together. There was a natural connection of both time and space that created the experience. You rarely, ifever, get that in a class. So, not only did we learn about the sport, we learned about life and each other.
Larson: You two have spent over 50 years involved in independent school education as teachers and administrators. Given your perspective, how has athletics evolved at independent schools?
Flood: My father was a schoolmaster at Noble and Greenough, where I began the seventh grade in 1947. Everyone played sports. New England independent schools were modeled after the British boarding schools. Athletics were just another part of the day; there wasn't a choice and you just didn't question it. There were very few options when we were in schooL but there were different levels, from club/
intramurals to the varsity interscholastic team. Schedules were uniform; math was every day at 8:00 am and you marched through the academic day to the afternoon when everyone - students, teachers, headmasters - went to the athletic fields.
Marr: Things have obviously changed. But I believe athletics at independent schools then and today share the same essential purpose: to promote excellence in the physical sense as a balance for the cognitive focus of the academic program.
As a former boarding school dean, I thinl< ofathletics as a way to keep young hands and minds busy. Idle hands and minds can lead to creative activities that aren't always legal at school! I also believe that athletics promote school spirit and morale. There is a lot oftruth to the saying, "as the football team goes, so does the school year." In my experience, ifthe football team had a great fall, inevitably, the school had a great year. When teams do well, there is a positive spirit and an excitement. I also think you gain more social relationships/friendships in the athletic arena than you do in other areas ofschool life.
When you specialize, it is not what you're gaining, it is more about what you are losing - the socialization with a slightly different peer group, a different coaching model, and seeing things in a different context than you would if you played a variety of sports each year.
Flood: There are few sports other than football where you can have such a large, diverse team. Players ofdiffering skill levels can play football because of the requirements ofthe many different positions. When they go their separate ways into the many areas of the schooL be it as a freshman or senior, their shared experiences on the field are carried forward into the total picture of school life.
Marr: More often than not, when we were in school and for the first decade or so of our playing careers, the teachers were on the field with the students, often coaching in the football program. Today, there seem to be more parttime coaches coming from outside the school. The "triple-threat" - teacher, coach, dormparent - is hard to come by today.
Flood: I still recall playing football and looking up during practice and seeing the headmaster and assistant headmaster on the field coaching. Of course, schools change; athletics change. Today, there are so many offerings, like lifetime sports, outdoor activities, arts, music, theater, dance, environmental projects, and community service.
Marr: Don't forget speech and debate! I believe students gain as many advantages from competing against other schools in debate as they do playing on an athletic team.
Flood: In looking at independent schools, athletics have expanded greatly over the years, while, for the most part, the academic programs, on the surface, have not. You may have more disciplines represented in the classroom, but look at the options in the afternoon athletic program.
There has been an explosion of afternoon offerings: schools have gone from having nine or ten sports to programs that have 20 or 30 different sports options during the year. On the all-school administrative/leadership side, we have also seen the expansion of titles and duties - deans of students, deans of faculty, residential life deans, class deans, community
service coordinators, learning resource specialists, technology coordinators, counselors, parent relations coordinators, and athletic trainers. There is just so much more going on today, both on and off the field.
larson: You've identified the expanding offerings and support systems within schools. How has the role of parents and others influenced independent schools, especially athletics?.. Marr: The role of parents in independent schools has changed too, as has specialization in sports, which has had a big effect on both athletics and school leadership. When we were in school, parents weren't directly involved. They supported the school and the teachers but they didn't ask a lot of questions. Today, for a variety of reasons, there is more of a sense of entitlement among parents. An independent school used to be an end in and of itself; you went to a school and you gained valuable experiences, friendships, knowledge - and that was the focus. You then went on to college, which was another "experience in and of itself." Today, we've become a means to an end, not the end. Schools are now passageways to college, and, as teachers, we're stewards of the kids on their way through our schools to college.
Flood: Parents have certainly upped the ante. In our early days, they never challenged or questioned schools, teachers, or coaches. Specialization entered our schools in the late 1970s, early 1980s. At Noble and Greenough, I recall vividly the parents of a young tennis player taking their child out ofschool to practice, play, and compete at outside clubs and tournaments throughout the year. From there, I recall ice hocl<ey being the next sport to draw students away from the school, followed by soccer, lacrosse, and basketball.
Marr: In New England, the success of Bobby Orr in the 1970S led to a hockey revolution at independent schools. This often involved summer hockey camps, requiring a strong financial commitment from parents. Naturally, this in
creased their expectation for some type of payback for their investment.
When I was in Aspen Country Day School in the 1980s, skiing was the dominant sport. I recall some of our skiers going off for seven to ten days to a competition. The expectation was that they would keep up with their studies. Interestingly, when the skiers returned to school, they often did better than their classmates on tests. My sense was that there was an appreciation on the part of the skiers, who felt obligated to give their all to their teachers and the school for the privilege of competing at a national level.
The media, driven by advertising and ratings, create the athletic role models for our youth, almost always stress
vt: negative. This puts even more pressure on the independent schools to fight back to impose a contrary value system.
Somewhere around the mid-1980s there seemed to be a switch; instead of the school influencing athletics, parents now were in control. That occurred in financial aid, too, as parents of gifted athletes played our schools against each other.
larson: This is when many more athletic options outside of school started to become available.
Flood: Yes. When I was head of an all-boys school, we had a three-season athletic commitment. Back when Lefty and I were students and even when we were starting out (as teachers), the only athletic options were the school's athletic offerings. Now you'll see students race to the waiting car after their game at school to head off to some outside team practice, game, or tournament. Schools used to manage the sports, now outside organizations (AA U, developmental programs, elite teams) manage our school sports in the form of preSSUIe to perform year round.
Marr: These outside programs are literally demanding year-round participation. At some tournaments and invitational camps, there is the promise that scouts and coaches will be there
to watch - and they are there. These events are great for coaches; they can go to one location and see athletes from around the country in one spot. In the past, they'd have to travel hundreds of miles to dozens of towns just to see half the talent they can now see in one weekend.
Flood: It's somewhat embarrassing to see all these outside influences, and the money involved today. This is a big part of how coaches' jobs have changed, and so has the role of the school. Just the other day, I spoke with a coaching friend who had lost two of his leading players, co-captains, to an outside program. They left a very prestigious independent school to attend a public high school and play on an elite team. This is happening more and more at our schools. So, instead of teaching life-lessons and building strong friendships, coaches and players now are focused on just keeping the group intact and handling the constant pressure to perform, to win. If a player or a parent isn't happy with the kid's playing time, there is some coach somewhere who will encourage the kids to come over to his or her team.
larson: For the most part, you've been
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talking about athletics in traditional independent schools. But there have been other schools that have come into existence primarily for athletics.
Marr: Yes. In the last 20 years, schools have been built around athletic programs. When you're talking about survival as an organization, sports can be a defining element for a school. Just last year, 60 Minutes on CB S profiled an independent boarding school that was using basketball to define itself. We've seen schools do it with ice hockey and, to a lesser degree, soccer. Of course, you have performing arts schools and schools that focus on environmental programs. So, as a way to survive and build a school program, there is a role for athletics as a signature program.
Flood: In the 1970s, there were changing socioeconomic forces that began this evolution, for the overall good of independent schools. Back when Lefty and I were students and just starting
out as teachers, our schools were strikingly homogeneous communities. It was during that period of time when independent schools began to diversifY socially, and rush to coeducation. The trend was wonderful!
Marr: At that time, with financial aid to diversifY our campuses, Floodo and I were able to provide kids an opportunity to attend our schools, so of course we recruited. "Recruiting," for us, was a word-of-mouth process, often through parents. Inevitably, parents of players and former students/players were on the lookout for a good student who could contribute on the field and in the classroom.
Flood: It is fair to say we probably contributed to the climate of independent school athletics today. For me, the change in so many traditions and attitudes could not be ignored or denied in the 1970s, and it was a turning point. I remember teaching a class on the "Wide-World - Sports and Society." I asked Kathy Delaney-Smith, who
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taught at Westwood High School and is now the women's basketball coach at Harvard, to come speak about Title IX and equity. Her passion caught my attention in so many ways and opened my eyes up to another world ofathletic possibilities.
I think we responded to the moment and tried to contribute to the changing times to diversifY our schools and our teams. Our teams played a significant part in opening doors and to making a difference in young people's lives.
Marr: I agree. I also believe our attitude was to bring these kids in and expose them to the variety of experiences independent schools have to offer. So, yes, we recruited, but we also did everything possible to see that kid play other sports, do other things. I was also very conscious that I needed to be a better classroom teacher, which took the pressure offme as a coach. It made me think about having kids who could do the work in school. What I see today is more part-time coaches who are using independent schools as a stepping stone to a college coaching job, not a lifelong avocation. With that change, you compound the mohnting pressure to perform and to win.
Flood: Surrounding and beneath all these exciting changes, I know that Lefty would agree that we continued to respect and honor the academic program as the essential building block for the school.
larson: Over the last two decades,
54 I N 0 E PEN 0 E N T 5 c H 0 0 L
there has been more emphasis on specialization. What are your thoughts on this trend?
Marr: Today's specialized athletes don't understand the transfer of skills. Essentially, all ball/net sports have the same concepts. I once spoke at an ice hockey coaching clinic in Madison, Wisconsin, and used most of the principles from a book on British soccer. I substituted puck for ball, stick for foot, check for marie It was a successful talk and generated a lot of discussion on coaching skills.
When you specialize, it is not what you're gaining; it is more about what you are losing - the socialization with a slightly different peer group, a different coaching model and seeing things in a different context than you would if you played a variety ofsports each year. Playing multiple sports is a lot like writing a research paper: you gather different resources, picking and choosing what makes sense and influences your thinking. You develop ideas that work for you.
Flood: Athletics, at its greatest level, allows a young person to discover and deal with both success and failure. Athletic competition is one of life's greatest teachers. Its lessons, along with the many relationships young people develop through athletics, are truly life-long gifts. I can state for certain that athletics prepared me to be a headmaster. When you announce major news to the school, or handle a crisis, there are so many similarities to facing a challenging moment or big game. You have been there if you've competed on a team.
Marr: I learned quite a bit later in my career when I started the first girls' teams in ice hockey and softball at Tabor. I learned not only about competitiveness, but also letting go and moving on from a game or a practice. I am still learning today as a member of a senior softball team.
Flood: I think, as we look ahead, it will be important for school heads to become more involved and join
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together, not just on the sidelines at games, or haphazardly throughout the year, but deliberately to meet and discuss athletics at independent schools. Athletics are unquestionably influencing enrollment; there is a consumer mentality.
Marr: I also think we need to realize that athletics is not a means to an end. It is about the experience and the fri'endships.
larson: When you look to the future of athletics in schools, what message would you like to share with independent school administrators, faculty, students, and parents?
Marr: This past November, I had asked members of the audience at a "Sportsmanship/Abuse in Athletics" panel discussion if they had heard of the golfer Paul McGinley. McGinley is the European Ryder Cup player who graciously conceded a 40-foot putt to the American rookie J.J. Henry on the r8th green to al-
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low Henry to halve a match that was no longer meaningful. Nobody had heard of him. Then I asked if they had heard of Terrell Owens, the troublesome wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys. Everyone knew of him. Therein lies our problem!! The media, driven by advertising and ratings, create the athletic role models for our youth, almost always stressing the negative. This puts even more pressure on independent schools to fight back to impose a contrary value system. Sportsmanship has to be preached over and over in our athletic programs and throughout all areas of school life. If we give in to the external value system, we will pay for it in the years to come.
Flood: As we look at the state ofathletics today in independent schools and contrast it to the experiences over the past 50 years, my parting message to the administrators, teachers, coaches, players, parents, and spectators is
one of both challenge and hope. The coaches and athletes of today certainly have brought competition and the skill level of independent school athletics to an exciting level of play. I am concerned that this high level of competition has come at the price of eroding our independent school communities and would like to issue a challenge to all schools, especially trustees and heads, to revisit the NAIS Principles of Good Practice for Athletics and recognize the intrinsic value of athletics as contributing to the development of the "whole" student within our school environment.
Marr: Amen to that. It's clear that there is something very special about athletics when done right. Obviously, things change in our culture and we make adjustments, but, when it comes to sports, we need to think always about how we connect athletics to the overall mission of the school. If we do this, we can help students develop skills and friendships that last a lifetime.
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Larson: It is also important that we remember that the athletic arena in independent schools has always been considered an extension of the classroom, and there should be a call for a national dialogue in independent schools to reclaim athletics for the student-athletes, the pursuit of excellence, and to be truly counterculture with our school athletics serving as the model for amateur athletics in the 21st century.
Jerry Larson, former head ofschool at Cheshire Acad· emy (Connecticut) and former director of athletics at Tabor Academy (Massachusetts), is an educational consultant, a trustee of The Forman School (Connecti· cut) and the spouse of an independent school teacher and parent ofan independent school student.
