After former varsity football coach Keith Rawlings announced that he will not return for the 2010-2011 season, offensive coordinator Rich Stichel will take over as head coach, as well as continuing to call plays.
In addition, according to Rawlings, “The majority of the coaching staff will remain.”
Stichel has experience on both the field and on the sideline, starting the game at age six. He played for McDaniel College, going 30-0 over a three year span to close out his collegian career.
At age 22, Stichel began coaching high school football and has been for the past ten years, becoming a head coach at Sparrow’s Point High School at 24. He was also a finalist to receive the head coaching job for the Patriots two years ago before coming on as offensive coordinator.
His decision to join the Patriots’ coaching staff was a convenient one. “It’s close to my house- – it’s four miles away from where I live,” Stichel said. “The second thing is that an opportunity arose [at JC] to coach at a higher level then what I was previously coaching at.”
Because of Stichel’s role as offensive coordinator, Dukes expects the logistics of the team to remain the same. “From an X’s and O’s standpoint, it is Stichel’s offense [the Navy offense] that we run,” said Dukes.
Senior Scott McIntyre said, “He’s one of the smartest coaches I’ve ever had.”
“The style of coaching is a little different,” Dukes said. “Coach Stichel learned a lot from Coach Rawlings. [The players will find] that Coach Stichel is very similar to the coach that they loved and has a pretty similar approach to the team.”
Senior Ian Jansing-Kaestner said, “Stichel’s coaching style is one that strives for perfection and for each player to work to be the best that he can be on the field.”
According to Stichel, “not much is going to change” in the program, as he is working to “make the transition as smooth as possible.”
The team anticipates seeing similarities. Junior Zack Frink said, “I’ll expect to see the same things from him since he was already coaching us last season.”
From his time with Rawlings, Stichel cites key lessons that he will bring into his tenure as head coach: “[I learned] how to delegate responsibility, not to take the game too seriously because it’s all about what we do to improve the kids off the field just as much as on the field, and how to develop close relationships with people.”
Stichel’s “ultimate goal” for the upcoming season is to “take our team to the next level and play in the championship because we were one game away the past two years.”
Rawlings did offer advice to Stichel: “I’d tell him to have a very strong relationship with Mr. Dukes and Coach Perry,” Rawlings said. “Those two have been very supportive of me and he needs to have that relationship with them. And win a championship.”
Dukes has positive expectations for the season following the turnover. “Coach Rawlings hired a very talented staff and put them in a position to succeed,” he said. “I’m very comfortable with the coaching staff, and once the dust settles with the boys, they’ll feel the same way.”
He concedes that “there’ll be some disappointment and transitional things to work through” because “the kids that have been in the program with Coach Rawlings will be sad to see this chapter in their lives ending.”