15 minute read
Karen Doxey’s Lasting Record
Karen Doxey, Director of Athletics, will retire after 35 years of service. She leaves behind a record of excellence.
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By Weldon Bradshaw
She’d slip out the back door quietly and without fanfare if she could.
Karen Doxey, you see, has never sought the spotlight. She’s always been much more comfortable giving credit than receiving it. As successful as she’s been as a coach and administrator, her reward has always been more the process than the results, although the results have been nonpareil.
In her way of thinking, she’s simply upholding her end of the contract she was hired to fulfill as well as honoring the sacred covenant of trust and respect between her and the communities which she has served with all her heart.
So, no, when Collegiate’s Director of Athletics and Varsity Field Hockey Coach retires in June after 43 years in education, the last 35 on North Mooreland and Blair Roads, she won’t step away unnoticed because icons simply don’t have that luxury.
Settle back, then, Dox, and allow your legion of admirers to celebrate you and your legacy of competitive spirit, loyalty, humility, collegiality, equanimity and, in all that you do, integrity.
“Karen’s dedication to and advocacy for students, coaches and volunteers, building on Collegiate’s longstanding emphasis on sportsmanship and character, is palpable,” says Penny Evins, Head of School. “Karen has long understood that success is measured more by the quality of each athlete’s experience than by simply tallying wins in a record book. She serves as an invaluable guide to her colleagues, embodying the teacher-coach-mentor model and designing systems with excellence and intelligence.”
A native of Ridley Park, Pa., Karen Shisler was a hockey and lacrosse standout at Ridley High School. She would have run indoor track too, she said, but girls, to her amazement, weren’t allowed to compete.
She went on to West Chester State College where she played both sports for the Golden Rams and also (finally) ran indoor track, mostly as a miler and the two-miler. Karen has been a constant. She’s always fought for the cause of our students to get out on that field and compete at the highest level. She’s also been a driving force behind holding them to a standard that meets our School’s mission, values and expectations. That commitment has never wavered.”
– Mark Palyo, Head Varsity
Football Coach
Though teaching and coaching were always in her plan, she worked as a waitress after graduation, first in Wildwood, N.J. and later in Virginia Beach.
The move south (following a brief stint subbing at her old high school) would prove serendipitous. In the spring of 1979, John Tucker, the head of Norfolk Academy, called her out of the blue to gauge her interest in coaching the Bulldogs’ JV lacrosse team.
She jumped at the opportunity, and so began her long, productive and meaningful career.
She joined the NA faculty full time the following fall, coached field hockey and lacrosse, and taught physical education. Four years later, she became the girls athletic director and worked closely with Dave Trickler, who oversaw the boys program.
Along the way she met Jeff Doxey, who was in the commercial real estate business. As their relationship was developing, he accepted a position in Richmond in 1987. In a planets-are-aligning-perfectly sequence of events, Collegiate was seeking a varsity field hockey and lacrosse coach and health and PE teacher at the same time, Karen interviewed and was hired, and she and Jeff married Dec. 18, 1988.
In 1990, Karen resumed her journey as an athletic administrator, this time partnering with Charlie McFall, first as assistant AD, later associate AD, and beginning in 1999 co-AD. When McFall retired in 2013, she assumed the mantle of leadership of the athletic department.
“Karen is a great coach and a great athletic director,” says McFall, who coached varsity football and baseball for long stints during his 43 years at Collegiate. “She knows field hockey and lacrosse as well as anybody. I definitely learned a lot about coaching from “Karen, for me, has been a confidant. She’s been a great friend. Not only has she impacted Collegiate and the game of field hockey and the VPL, but Karen has impacted a lot of people’s lives: students, players, coaches and beyond. I’m just lucky that I’m one of those who’s been along her journey with her. She’s such a professional. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like without her in AD’s meetings. I love the word culture, because culture is over time. Karen has impacted the VPL, the LIS, field hockey and lacrosse. She’s also impacted life in general.”
– Mary Blake, Associate Director of Athletics and Head Lacrosse Coach, St. Anne’s-Belfield
“Because we coached at the same time in the same season, I didn’t get a chance to see her teams play. Once we were out at Robins and had the turf field, a few times we ended up sharing that field because of weather. It was remarkable the thoroughness that she demonstrated as a coach. I knew she thought things out and planned meticulously and had specific things she wanted to address, but actually watching her go through a practice was really something.
“I was so impressed with how exacting she was and what she got out of those girls over the course of a practice. I learned a lot watching her: her thoughtfulness and thoroughness and the way she asked of her players to give a little bit more.
To me, she honored the sport of field hockey. It was not an ego thing. Not about her being in charge. It was about teaching this sport that she loved. There was something honorable and sacred in the conveying of how to work hard and learn and be a good teammate. All those things were expected from her. It was about the kids and the team and the sport…not about Karen Doxey being in charge or winning.
– Charlie Blair, Head Varsity Boys Soccer Coach, 1981-2018
“When an official is assigned a Collegiate field hockey game, we know it will be well played and well coached due to Karen Doxey. While she may not always agree with our whistles, there has been mutual respect on the field. Karen’s teams reflect her love and regard for field hockey and sportsmanship. Her teams never run up a score on an underdog opponent. I have always been impressed by players on the sideline engaged with the game and vocalizing their support with coordinated cheering, Under Karen, sideline players are just as important as those on the field, she presents a total team package. Karen, the epitome of coaching standards, has taught her many players well over the years, and our officials’ association will miss her.”
– Donna Davis, Vice Commissioner/Secretary, Central Virginia Field Hockey
Officials Association
her. I was so fortunate to work with her (in administration) for 20plus years. Any time I had issues to deal with or questions, I could ask her, and she’d give me the right answer. She always did things the right way. She never cut corners. She always put the kids first.”
Doxey’s coaching achievements are extraordinary. Her field hockey and lacrosse teams at Norfolk Academy and Collegiate amassed a record of 882-239-40.
Her 43-year field hockey record stands at 641-179-38, including 544-137-24 at Collegiate. Her victory total is third on the National Federation of State High School Associations all-time list. During her tenure, the Cougars won 19 League of Independent Schools and eight Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association championships. Her 19 lacrosse teams compiled a 241-60-2 ledger including 161-53-2 and three LIS titles from 1988-1999 and in 2007 at Collegiate. She was voted LIS coach of the year multiple times and in 2018 earned induction into the VISAA Hall of Fame.
So how does one achieve such success? Talented athletes, she’ll humbly tell you, but there’s more. Much more.
Karen is the consummate teacher. She’s an excellent manager of both time and people. Her preparation is meticulous. Her practice plans, all kept in notebooks organized by years, are detailed almost to the minute.
She stresses fundamental skills and cohesive team play. She was never afraid to schedule the best teams in the state to challenge her athletes to be the best they could be. She’s an intuitive motivator whose goal is to make each player, starter or backup, feel valued and empowered.
She conveys life lessons, not the least of which is to win with humility and accept defeat with grace. As she expects players, coaches and the Collegiate community to conduct themselves with poise and sportsmanship, she models those noble attributes without exception.
Times and methods change, of course, but sports as a revealer of character and a means to an end, not the end in itself, is a
“Anybody who’s worked with Karen understands that she mixes drive and compassion in a way that’s unique. She’s incredibly competitive, incredibly organized and incredibly driven, but she also cares as deeply about the least experienced cub basketball team as she does about the varsity football team. That is really unique and a testament to what we’ve all grown up here understanding to be the purpose of athletics at Collegiate.”
– Andrew Stanley, Associate Director of Athletics Varsity Boys
Lacrosse Coach
concept that endures. Indeed, Doxey, through her leadership and mentorship, has perpetuated a culture of excellence and humility that has been, from the beginning, the bedrock of Collegiate Athletics.
“I always had a safe harbor at Collegiate in the environment Coach Doxey created,” says Jamie Whitten Montgomery ’03, who went on to play at Wake Forest and later for the US National team and now coaches field hockey at the University of Richmond. “It was always competitive but always fun. She set the tone, and she did it with such ease. I’m so glad to have been witness to it.”
Doxey’s close friend M.H. Bartzen served as her assistant and sounding board for 25 years.
“Karen had this mission with every kid she coached,” Bartzen says. “They came out on the field and started at a certain level. At the end of their experience with her, she had made them better players. No matter what their role, they felt a connection and grew and accomplished things they never thought they could. She pushed kids to the brink to get better. All of them learned something about life from that experience. That’s probably the greatest gift she gave to the team every day.”
Through her level-headed, thoughtful demeanor, Doxey has commanded the respect of the people with whom she matched wits on playing fields around the state. Truly, she views them not just as opponents but as friends. The feeling is mutual.
“Karen has always been the mentor to every coach who’s played against her,” says Mary Werkheiser, field hockey coach at Norfolk Academy. “She’s always the coach you want to beat, but you know when you don’t win, you’ve lost to a team with class. Sportsmanship is her first and foremost priority. Class is the one word I use to describe Karen.”
As Collegiate’s program evolved, Doxey played a pivotal role in the expansion of the on-field offerings at the Robins Campus. She assisted in facilities planning both on North Mooreland and Blair Roads. She championed continuing education for coaches. She created a master plan that allowed athletes to remain engaged during the spring 2020 COVID-19 shutdown, then return in person the following fall and flourish despite strict protocols.
And perhaps as a result of her high school indoor track revelation or simply because it was the right thing to do, she has unwaveringly advocated for equality among the boys and girls athletic programs both at Collegiate and throughout the Commonwealth.
“I never had the sense growing up that there was ever an inequity between women’s and men’s sports,” says Ellen Ashton Smith Jackson ’95, head field hockey coach at Towson University. “Once I hit the real world, I realized how much of a difference there is in other spaces between how women’s and men’s programs are treated. Coach Doxey had
“I’m just honored to call her my friend of 30 years. She’s very respected by all the Athletic Directors in the state and region. I was very impressed with how well she and her compadre, Charlie McFall, worked together and complemented each other. I can honestly say that Collegiate is the envy of all athletic programs in the state of Virginia. Karen was always someone I could call to seek advice. She would always give me very good counsel. She cared so much about the children. I sat in so many meetings with her, and it was always about the children. She always stuck up for the underdog. She worked hard for equality for female athletes. She’s one of the most professional Athletic Directors I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. It was never about her. It was always about the kids. She was a very humble leader, an extraordinary leader.”
– Chad Byler, Director of Athletics, Norfolk Academy
“I have always admired Karen’s willingness to lead. Being the AD is not easy, but Karen has consistently put the needs of the kids and a successful program in the forefront, and she has always encouraged us to be the best we can be. She is not afraid to have the hard conversation because she is doing what is best for the kids and the program. As a parent, I have loved the experience my three girls had playing for Dox. She has pushed them to be the best they could be and has cared for them as individuals. What a wonderful experience they have had playing for Dox, and what a great experience to help them prepare for the life they will be leading.”
– Rives Fleming ’83, Head Varsity Girls Basketball Coach
“Karen had a voice I always liked to hear from because she had an opinion and if it was different from mine, she voiced it, and in most cases she was right and we made the right decision and did the right thing for our student-athletes. She always stood up for her principles and values and was compassionate with others. She did everything in a manner that she was out there to do what was best for students. She didn’t do it to be recognized. She did it because it was a passion and a desire to being the best out of the people under her charge. As a coach, she takes individuals and coaches them to become better people. She cared so much for the individual, not so much for being a member of her team but as a person.”
– Dick Kemper, Executive Director, Virginia Independent Schools
Athletic Association
“I am going to miss Karen. We are all going to miss Karen. When asked, she gave great advice (and I asked for it often), and she always did things the right way. She spoke with the studentathlete’s best interest at heart, and she never dodged a problem. She faced issues head on and never hesitated to tell you the truth, whether it was what you wanted to hear or not. I love her passion for athletics, Collegiate School, and all the girls she coached. An amazing career for an amazing person! I hope she knows how much she means to so many.”
– Ren O’Ferrall, Director of Athletics, St. Christophers
this tremendous capacity for letting everyone feel and know that they were equally supported regardless of what sport they played or what gender they were. Coach Doxey is a very special person.”
Diplomatic and self-disciplined, Doxey has served on numerous league and state committees and, among many initiatives, advocated in the organization’s early years for an expanded slate of championship competitions in girls sports. Among her peers, she’s viewed as a voice of reason, moral compass and transformational thinker. Simply put, when Karen Doxey speaks, people listen.
“Karen is a very principled leader,” says Julie Dayton, Athletic Director at St. Catherine’s. “What does Karen think? is almost a requirement for every important decision in athletic administration around the state. Her influence is far and wide and respected. She couldn’t be nicer or more humble or more ready to help. What an incredible legacy she leaves!”
“The landscape of the LIS will immediately change because Karen has been such a force. Her presence is impactful. People respect her opinion because of her experience, because of her level-headedness and because of how rational she is. When she has the floor, we all listen. She’s been a mentor to me. She was never too busy to lend an ear or lend advice. It was always very, very professional. In the Mount Rushmore of Virginia female athletic administrators, Karen is at the top.”
– Anna Prillman, Director of Athletics, Trinity Episcopal
During her career at Collegiate, Doxey coached six athletes honored by the Richmond Times-Dispatch as the Central Virginia field hockey player of the year: Jamie Whitten (2001), Blair Northen (2003), Kate Hanley (2004), Tori O’Shea (2006, 2007), Hillary Zell (2008, 2009), and Brooks Doxey, her daughter, in 2013.
“I loved having my mom as my coach,” says Brooks, who went on to play at Wake Forest and now works as an ICU nurse at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital. “Not everyone gets to experience that. She cares so much about Collegiate and every single player and every single team.
“When she told me about her retirement, she said, ‘I’m just really going to miss all the amazing people that I work with day in and day out.’ For her, it’s not really about wins and losses. It’s about all the lasting relationships she’s created during the years she’s been at Collegiate. I’m so proud of her.”
Editor’s Note: As of our press deadline for this magazine a national search for a new Director of Athletics was under way. A full list of our retirees will be celebrated in the next issue.
