IN THE GAME

TOP AND BOTTOM: Varsity field hockey players came together during a historic season that saw Teacher-Coach Mary Werkheiser win her 400th career game and the team win a state title. CENTER: Teacher-Coach Trish Hopkins guided varsity volleyball to the TCIS title and a berth in the state semifinals in fall 2021.

Coaches’ Secrets

FORGING TEAM TOGETHERNESS

In late September, Norfolk Academy’s field hockey team suffered a potentially tormenting loss: 2–1 in overtime to the top-ranked team in the nation. That kind of defeat that can demoralize players. The Bulldogs went the other way. They came together and improved as a group. “We came away feeling pumped, energized, so motivated for the rest of the season,” Field Hockey Coach Mary Werkheiser said. The Bulldogs did not lose another game. Two months later they were state champions.

The team’s successful ride last fall happened because the student-athletes bonded as more than a team, said Werkheiser, who earned her 400th career win in September. They supported each other through preseason practices in the intense August heat, organized meals and activities on weekend road trips during the season, and even cooked pancake breakfasts before big postseason contests. “When you make the varsity field hockey team, you’re part of a family,” Werkheiser said.

But what is the secret to building a successful athletic family?

Kristen Kirkman is in her 15th year coaching Academy’s varsity swim team. Swimming presents added challenges for coaches. In many ways it’s an individual sport — student-athletes are not with their teammates while they’re competing in the pool. And the team annually has 60-plus members across four grade levels, among the largest groups in any sport.

Realizing that, Kirkman talks often with her athletes about the importance of bonding as a team. One exercise they do early in the winter season is “four corners,” during which freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors go into different groups and get to know their classmates better.

The team also has training partners, seniors who help underclassmen who are learning the expectations of being on a varsity team. Everyone goes on a trip over Holiday Break — in December 2021 they went to Woodberry Forest — where they come together and bond. Another tradition is the handing down of legacy items like scarves and blankets at a team dinner at the close of the season.

Kirkman also reminds her athletes that the best swimmers’ times and points are worth the same as everyone else’s. It behooves those swimmers to raise up their teammates. “A great team is not just about having great athletes,” Kirkman said. “It’s about having great leaders and students who work together.”

For Varsity Football Coach Steve Monninger, the sign of a great team is that everyone feels proud and has a sense of belonging, whether they’re the starting quarterback or the backup long snapper.

Building on Kirkman’s thoughts, Monninger said it’s important that students and coaches work together through the entire football program. Each spring, he gets together with JO Coach Scott Fowler to share information and draw up plays and schemes. During a varsity bye week last fall, he held a program-wide practice during which seventh graders worked alongside seniors and all 17 coaches were on hand, offering observations and advice.

Beyond that, Monninger welcomes parents to become part of the program. He holds a “Parents Week,” during which mothers and fathers are invited to watch practices, weightlifting, and video sessions. The varsity “Last 100 Yards” ceremony celebrates seniors and their parents, allowing them to walk the length of the Wynne-Darden Stadium field together.

Togetherness is critical in any sport, Monninger said. He can recall games Academy won when it had less talent but played more as a team. Specifically, he

mentioned a win against Fork Union Military Academy a few years back. FUMA had the son of NFL star Randy Moss on its squad and Academy was without a regular quarterback because of injuries. Yet the Bulldogs overcame that adversity. “Total team performance and execution got us the victory,” Monninger said.

Fowler has been an Academy teacher- coach for 20 years, primarily at the middle school level. Even at that age, the importance of team unity is no less important. As JO Football coach, Fowler awards stickers to players that they put on their helmets — much like the Ohio State tradition of pasting Buckeyes on their helmets. These stickers are given for achieving team or unit goals, not individual accomplishments.

Building team unity can be a challenge in middle school, though, even with creative ideas. Athletes understandably seek to stand out as individuals, so they can work their way up to the JV and, eventually, varsity.

A few years back, Fowler was coaching JO Baseball and experienced such a situation. Some of the players weren’t buying into the team concept. Fowler turned to Teacher-Coach Bernie McMahon, a former Navy SEAL, for help. One day, he asked McMahon to put the team through various exercises that had nothing to do with baseball but hopefully would build chemistry. The exercises, similar to activities that students do during Leadership Lab at the end of each school year, worked. The team went 5–0 the rest of the way, clicking together.

“Chemistry has become incredibly important to me as a coach,” Fowler said. “And when I can’t build it, I love that I can turn to colleagues to help.” ◆

Mike Connors is Digital News and Social Media Specialist.

Catching Up With a Storied Team

FIELD HOCKEY STATE CHAMPS OF 2017

Five years later, one of the great teams in Norfolk Academy athletics history is still going strong.

In fall 2017, the varsity field hockey team capped a remarkable run by winning the state championship. The Bulldogs finished the season 25–0, ranked second in the entire nation by maxfieldhockey.com. They earned their second straight state title and third in four years.

Almost a dozen student-athletes from that 2017 team went on to compete in college, including five from the Class of 2018 — Lily Clarkson, Riley Fulmer, Greer Gill, Halle Gill, and Liz Heckard — who joined powerful Division I programs.

As their college careers wind down, that group continues to excel. Fulmer went to North Carolina, which won national titles in each of her first three seasons. A forward, she played every game in 2019 as the Tar Heels went undefeated.

Greer Gill, a midfielder, has played in 77 games over four seasons — making 65 starts for UVA. In 2019, the Cavaliers reached the national semifinals. Greer’s twin sister, Halle Gill, made an instant impact at Georgetown, starting at midfield/ attacker in most of the Hoyas’ games as an underclassman. After Georgetown did not compete in 2020 during the pandemic, she picked up right where she left off in 2021, making regular contributions.

Clarkson, a midfielder, went to Penn, where she has played in 33 games over three seasons — the Ivy League also did not compete in 2020. Heckard, a defender, played in 63 games over four seasons for Stanford.

Mary Werkheiser, Academy’s varsity field hockey head coach, follows all her former players closely. But what is more important to her than their athletic success is how they’ve grown and what they’ve achieved in the classroom.

Fulmer is working toward a double major in studio art and anthropology, with thoughts of dental or pharmacy school down the road. Greer Gill has earned regular spots on the ACC Academic honor roll; Halle Gill was a multiple-time Big East All-Academic selection; Heckard has earned annual spots on the NFHCA National Academic Squad; Clarkson enrolled in Penn’s Wharton School of Business, which is ranked among the top business schools in the world.

That’s hardly all of the group’s accomplishments. Sydney LeGuillow ’19 is playing at Hofstra, where she is president of the university’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. “I love what they’ve grown into — beautiful young women making their way in this world,” Werkheiser said. ◆

Mike Connors is Digital News and Social Media Specialist.

NA’s varsity field hockey team went 25–0 in 2017, winning a state title.

TOP: Coach Dave Trickler, left, with quarterback Tom Rixey ’80 and fellow coach Tinsley Van Durand. RIGHT: Coach Trickler introduced the Belly Pass to Norfolk Academy in the 1960s, finding much success with the special play. OPPOSITE: While Bulldogs like Stinson Moss ’22 are winning with a new batch of plays, the Belly Pass remains steeped in Bulldogs’ lore.

Now You See It, Now You Don’t

THE MAGIC OF THE BULLDOGS’ BELLY PASS

At times it was the Miracle Play, a secret recipe for Norfolk Academy football success. “The Belly Pass” inspired Bulldogs from the 1960s through the 1980s.

THE PLAY: The Belly Pass was a play-action, two back dive, roll-out, and tight end-release corner route called “Strong right, fake 75, belly pass.” Disruptive in pivotal moments, its lore grew with each spectacular completion.

The play’s genius was deception, transitioning from “Who’s got the ball?” to “How did that happen?” in 10 seconds.

Initially, the quarterback faked two handoffs using magician’s guile. First, he showed the ball while shoving it into the fullback’s gut. The fullback advanced two steps; the quarterback holding the ball tucked in his belly. The quarterback then theatrically showed the ball to the defense before giving it to the halfback for the same charade.

The quarterback then withdrew the ball again, his magic act now hiding the pigskin. He deftly held it low on his hip, concealing it, watching the line devour his backs.

Suddenly the quarterback feigning no purpose awakened, drifting right of the mass, alone, holding the football. As he pulled the rabbit from the hat, a lone receiver appeared downfield, unbelievably open.

The tight end’s deceitful agenda was launching into the scrum, counting time, and dis-engaging downfield. A serendipitous moment amazed fans: two players concurrently moving freely away from the tangled pile. It seemed time slowed, like the movies; the quarterback threw to the open receiver, often producing a touchdown.

“It’s teammates,” recalled Craig Jones ’76, eyes sparkling. “The quarterback pauses, believes. Backs dive; the line and wingback block. Done correctly, it’s the parting of the Red Sea. Miraculous.”

David Costenbader ’82 recalled “… the hardest pass was when that guy was so wide open.”

While the quarterback and tight end might’ve gotten the glory, others played critical roles. Linemen toiled and decoy backs earned bruising tackles.

Charles Lustig ’81, a lumbering power-back, never saw a pass. Below the nasty heap, he heard only reactions. … A grin under a sea of moans and distant cheers.

THE COACH: Dave Trickler created the play, crediting 1950s Prince George County coaches. Trickler’s JV team used it in 1967, the year of Super Bowl I, at the “new campus.”

In time, Trickler succeeded Royce Jones at varsity, and continued to run iterations of the play, continuously fooling defenses. Trickler introduced the play to Bill Lawler ’71. Other quarterbacks included Chip Beaman ’70, Chip Jones ’75, Craig Jones ’76, Sam McGann ’77, John Gibson ’78, Tom Elder ’79, and Trickler’s son, Brian ’89. Steve Kollmansperger ’90 was among the last to run the play.

My classmates Tom Raynes ’81 and Jay Shipowitz ’81, plus teammates Costenbader and Jim Ingold ’82 ran it perfectly. I recall who I saw run it first: Tom Rixey ’80 and Bill Power ’80. JV Coach Tinsley Van Durand brought Trickler to August practice: the inventor and new disciples. Trickler wore shorts and Riddell cleats. Players struggled. Trickler blew the Acme Thunderer, got under center, and modeled Houdini precision.

Quickly the Rixey-Power tandem found their rhythm. Simply transcendent, both were older and for many players larger than life. They were effervescent, optimistic, handsome, kind, funny, and truly gifted athletes. Both were significantly better known for other sports, and sadly, neither is with us anymore. In the moment, they made magic. They were our teammates, our equals, yet only the Rixey-Power combination produced a crunch-time coolness, grace-underpressure ethos to make miracles.

THE END ZONE: Playing sports is a gift and remembering the Belly Pass is a conduit to celebrate practice and teamwork. Thank you, Coach Trickler. Old Bulldogs still recall teammates making magic when nothing else could.

Coach Trickler passed away in 2020, and never read this. Timing is everything. We discussed this play after Bill Power’s death; I never explained my interest. He enjoyed reminiscing as did each Bulldog collaborator.

In Hebrew, “Hakarat HaTov” means recognizing the good with a thankful attitude. Generations appreciate Coach Trickler’s time invested in them.

The Belly Pass re-teaches a lesson clear like an unbelievably wide-open receiver. When you appreciate someone for what they gave you, do them the simplest favor.

Let Them Know. ◆

Palmer Hamilton ’81 wrote this article to commemorate a classic play that remains steeped in Bulldog history. A more in-depth version of the article is available at norfolkacademy.org/athletics