26 August 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
Sports
LION LEADER: FLAHERTY TAKES OVER ON SIDELINES FOR ST. MARK’S Football coach’s Dallas ties include Cowboys connections in family said. “It’s a school with a lot of history, tradition, and pride. With our football program, I definitely want to continue to build on that commitment to excellence.”
Fundamentally, I view the purpose of a coach as teaching life lessons through the avenue of athletics. Harry Flaherty Harry Flaherty will be the new football coach at St. Mark’s after spending the previous six seasons at a private school in New Jersey. (PHOTO: CHRIS MCGATHEY)
By Todd Jorgenson People Newspapers
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arry Flaherty has traveled across the country during his playing and coaching career. Now, he’s the new varsity football coach at St. Mark’s Schools of Texas.
Flaherty, 32, returns to Texas after spending six years as the head coach at Lawrenceville School in western New Jersey. Before that, he was a graduate assistant coach at the University of Tennessee, where he earned a law degree. He takes over for Hayward Lee, a longtime coach for the football and lacrosse programs
at St. Mark’s. Lee recently took a job at All Saints Episcopal in Fort Worth. Flaherty began overseeing offseason workouts for the Lions this summer. St. Mark’s will open the 2021 season on Aug. 27 against Fort Worth Country Day. “When the job opened up, I was excited to explore it,” Flaherty
Flaherty is a nephew of former Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett. His father, Harry Flaherty Sr., played linebacker for the Cowboys in 1987. The younger Flaherty was a tight end at Princeton. After graduation, he was signed briefly by the New Orleans Saints and the Cowboys but never played an NFL game. “Fundamentally, I view the purpose of a coach as teaching life lessons through the avenue of athletics,” Flaherty said. “Be a
team, be on time, be a gentleman, be your best regardless of circumstance, block out the scoreboard and focus on the next play, relentlessly pursue continuous improvement, focus on the things within your control, focus on the process over the outcome, and always finish.” Flaherty also will teach history and physical education at St. Mark’s. The Lions played just two games during an abbreviated 2020 season, defeating Greenhill and falling to ESD. “Harr y has demonstrated outstanding character and leadership in his previous roles, and his coaching and teaching philosophy aligns with the mission of our school,” said St. Mark’s athletic director Sean Lissemore. “He strives to maximize the potential of every student and understands what it takes to have success both in the classroom and on the field. Harry’s exceptional knowledge, experience, and passion for football will make an immediate impact on our program, and we are thrilled that he will be joining us at St. Mark’s.”
North Star: ESD Alum Still Turning Heads After Setting NCAA Record Charlotte North earns national spotlight after Boston College championship run By Todd Jorgenson
“Our ultimate goal was winning the national championship. The individual stuff was cool,” North said. “I was playing alongAfter setting a national goal-scoring re- side the best attackers and midfielders in cord and leading Boston College to a nation- the country. They made my job a lot easial championship, Charlotte North’s summer er. That’s why we were so successful. We has been a whirlwind. worked well as a unit.” The former ESD lacrosse standout was North was a two-sport star at ESD, interviewed on national television. She was where she holds school scoring records named the Atlantic Coast Conference Fe- in lacrosse and basketball. She started her male Athlete of the Year across all sports. collegiate lacrosse career at Duke, where she And she participated in tryouts for the U.S. played for two years before transferring to national team. BC. That’s not bad for a woman from Preston Not only did North transition from midHollow, hundreds of miles from the sport’s field to attack after high school, but she had traditional hotbed on the East Coast. to adjust to the speed of the college game. “Texas lacrosse is growing, and there’s so She dazzled onlookers during two trainmuch more talent there,” North said. “The ing-camp sessions with the national program coaches there influenced me and mentored in Maryland this summer. me. I’m really proud to be from Texas.” “It was such a great experience to see all North scored 102 goals for the season, in- the people I’ve watched and idolized and get cluding six against Syracuse in the national to play with them,” she said. championship game, earning her Most OutNorth wants to stay active in lacrosse standing Player honors. Her 31 tallies during in the future, either via the national prothe Eagles’ NCAA tournament run also was gram or in the upstart Athletes Unlimited an all-timePCP_Aug2021x10Banner-DRAFT1.pdf high. During the regular season,12:38:16 professional league. But first, she plans to 1 7/8/2021 PM North established a new ACC mark with 10 play another season at BC, taking advantage of a one-time eligibility extension for goals in a win over Virginia Tech.
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It’s been a dream come true. I don’t want my time to ever come to an end. Charlotte North
Former ESD standout Charlotte North set a new NCAA single-season record this season with 102 goals for Boston College. (PHOTO: COURTESY BC ATHLETICS) athletes whose careers were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re so lucky that we get a chance to play for another year in this program,” said
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North, who will begin work on her master’s degree this fall. “It’s been a dream come true. I don’t want my time to ever come to an end.”
