John Mackay to retire

John Mackay, veteran faculty member and football coach who arrived at St. George’s in 1997 and who passionately mentored hundreds of students on the gridiron and in the classroom, has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2022–2023 school year.

During his 26-year tenure at St. George’s, John has served in many roles. He was director of athletics from 1997 to 2016 and currently serves as associate dean, and humanities teacher. He holds the Prince Chair in History, established in 1981 with a gift from the Prince Charitable Trust, to recognize a senior member of the faculty for excellence in teaching and for unusual commitment to St. George’s.

Through and through, however, John Mackay since 1997 has been the leader and heart of the SG football program. Simply “Coach” to legions of players learning the game, John has shared his passion for football and instilled in them the merit of sacrifice and hard work, including in the classroom.

Prior to St. George’s, John was on the faculty at The Peddie School, Avon Old Farms, Albuquerque Academy, and The Winchendon School. He has taught advanced European history for the past 20 years, and has taught Western Civilizations and U.S. History, along with several history electives. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College.

Among Coach Mackay’s football career highlights was being named Boston Herald Indepen- dent School League Football Coach of the Year in 2015 when the Dragons completed a historic 9-0 league record, clinched the New England Championship, and captured the Kevin Fleming Bowl. It was the first undefeated season for the SG football team since the 1950s, and close to 1,000 Dragon fans near and far tuned in to listen to a live audio broadcast of the victorious Bowl game on Nov. 20, 2015. The 2021 team, which ended the season with an impressive 6-2 record, competed in the New England Prep School Athletic Council Ken Hollingsworth Bowl game on Nov. 19, winning 21-20 in dramatic fashion by stopping a two-point conversion against Tilton. For many years, John served on the board of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council and as president from 2013 to 2015. During that time, he was instrumental in codifying the NEPSAC tournament-seeding and site-selection policies, defining full-time and associate membership, creating a director of championships position, and further defining the tournament eligibility standards. For 20 years, he also served as the athletic director liaison and secretary-treasurer for the New England Preparatory School Football Coaches Association. Most recently, he initiated the NEPSFCA DEI Group, designed to raise issues regarding diversity and inclusion among the football coaches’ association. The group hosted a student-athletes of color symposium about the transition to prep school and prep school football, and has promoted increased hiring and retention of coaches of color.

With many fans and former players in attendance, St. George’s celebrated Coach Mackay’s career following the Middlesex game on Nov. 12, 2022, which the team won 42-6. Assistant football coach Mike Hansel, who has coached alongside John for 32 years, both at Pingree and St. George’s, praised his longtime colleague for his mentorship, care of his players, and strong work ethic. He said he calculated that he coached 226 games with Mackay. “It would have been 227, but I missed the bus once,” he quipped. Everyone knows that “when Coach Mackay is ready to go to the game, the bus is leaving.”

“I have so much appreciation for the dedication and time he put in, just preparing for games and practices,” Hansel added. “And John was conscious of what was going on in kids’ lives, well beyond the fields.”

Former Dragon standout and team captain Isaac McCray ’17 also addressed the crowd, saying he couldn’t thank Coach Mackay enough for the counsel and support Coach had given him. The team ended the season with a 2-7 record in

McCray’s third-form year and eventually staged an undefeated 9-0 season his senior year.

“I’ve had a long journey with Coach Mackay, a lot of highs and lows. We couldn’t have [been so successful] without your support and optimistic spirit.”

And the 2022 team captains — Diego McCray ’24, Jake Athanasoulas ’23, Louis-David Pouliot ’23, and Bryce Ferrell ’23 — presented Coach Mackay with a gift from the players and their families: a captain’s chair with the SG shield and motto.

Pouliot called Coach Mackay “the most dedicated man I know, devoted to making us better football players, but most importantly, better people.”

On Nov. 18, 2022, at NEPSAC’s annual meeting in Boxboro, Massachusetts, Coach Mackay was honored with the 2022 Distinguished Service Award, which annually recognizes “an individual who has contributed significantly to New England independent school athletics and physical education through enthusiasm, dedication, leadership, and vision.”

Pondering his retirement, Coach Mackay said he had been “blessed to work with many amazing colleagues” both at St. George’s and in the Independent School League and NEPSAC. “Mostly I’m grateful to my family.”

“It’s not about wins and losses,” he added. He is proud of the bonds he’s forged with legions of players and their families, fellow coaches, and teachers.

“And I am most grateful for my family: my wife, Marybeth; our three children, Craig, Lauren, and Chelsea; and three grandchildren, Jack, Marin, and George.”

Upon the retirement of John Mackay this June, Joe Lang, who completed his ninth season as assistant coach last fall, will become head football coach in the 2023–24 school year.

Lang takes over a program that he says Mackay has left “on very firm footing.”

“I’ve just been so pleased to be part of what has been a really successful almost decade of football at St. George’s,” Lang said. “Whether it’s ISL titles, New England titles, bowl game appearances. Those things are real, and they prove to our community at large that football can thrive here.”

He says he’ll never forget a Friday Night Lights game against Roxbury Latin in 2015 when the team went down 14 points quickly in the first quarter — and then went on to score 36 unanswered points and win the game. “That was the moment I witnessed belief occur,” he said. That team, which went on to an undefeated season and bowl game victory, “was just not going to be denied,” Lang said.

Lang has pretty much been around the game of football his whole life. Joe’s dad, Joe Sr., coached high school football for 51 years, retiring in 2021 from