The First Lady Of Stonewall Jackson She's a Rare Woman Coaching Boys
QUICKSBURG, Va. -- When Sophie Stout opened the e-mail that would change her life and jolt the small town where she lived, she felt an overwhelming sense of purpose. Sitting at the wooden desk in her middle school classroom last March, she didn't immediately consider the ramifications of what it might be like as a woman coaching a high school varsity boys' basketball team. She simply saw an opportunity to fulfill a dream, an avenue to help a struggling program and the many young men who pass through it."You know how sometimes you have something telling you that this would be a good thing?" Stout said. "I had one of those vibes."
The e-mail merely announced that the boys' varsity basketball coaching job at Stonewall Jackson High was open; the vibe told Stout the job would be hers. Three months later, the school -- and community -- agreed.
Of the 514 public high schools in Virginia, Maryland and the District, Stout is one of two women coaching varsity boys' basketball; the other is Dana Johnson, who coaches at Western High in Baltimore. In Division I men's college basketball, there have only been three women coaches, each of whom was an assistant.
The day Stout discovered the vacancy, she went home and pulled her husband, Tony, out of earshot of their three children. Stout told him she was thinking about applying. Without hesitation, he told her she should.
"I could tell when I looked at Sophie that she wanted to do this," Tony Stout said. "In her eyes and her mind and her heart, she feels that those young men, if they work together as a team, there's no way they can't win."
Stout was chosen over three male candidates for the job at Stonewall Jackson, a school of 549 students just off Interstate 81 in the northern Shenandoah Valley (not to be confused with the larger high school of the same name in Prince William County).
Throughout the four tiny towns that make up Stonewall's enrollment -- New Market, Mount Jackson, Quicksburg and Basye -- Stout's appointment was met with hope and optimism. The Generals were coming off a 1-19 season, a campaign marred by a tumultuous relationship between players and the former coaching staff.
Stout, 40, has lived in this part of Virginia for all but three years of her life. She has taught math to area children for seven years, and coached boys and girls in basketball and volleyball for nearly 20. She scored more than 1,000 points playing guard from 1981 to '85 at Strasburg High, about 30 miles northeast of Stonewall and where her picture is encased in glass outside the gymnasium.
"I was not surprised at all that Sophie got" the job, said Otis Ryman, 67, who has lived in the northern Shenandoah Valley his entire life. "She's been involved with the kids here for a long time. She'll do as good a job as any man, if not better."
Stout says she has known most of the Stonewall players "since they were babies." Her only major concern was whether she could actually turn around a team that could barely get the parents of players to attend games in recent seasons.
Five players quit during the 2006-07 season, some citing verbal abuse from two members of the coaching staff, and others said they sometimes dreaded game days. The team was blown out on a regular basis, and players remember students making fun of the team during morning announcements at school. "It was depressing," said Stonewall senior forward Nathan Beall, a four-year varsity player. "These young men in this basketball program have been subjected to a lot of negative publicity for many, many years," Stout said. "I just want something positive for them to come out of everything. I want them to have success, and I want it for them more than anybody."
When Stout was named head coach, she met with the team -- which includes her son, Hunter, a senior shooting guard -- in the school's gymnasium. She told the players the team would be completely different, that they were capable of winning, and that she believed in them. "I wanted basketball season to start right then," Beall said.
Players said Stout is intense at practice but that she has made them feel comfortable about approaching her with personal problems or basketball-related issues. "It's the exact same thing as having a male coach," Beall said.
Beall said the only behavior he has modified under Stout -- as opposed to playing for a male coach -- is his language. "Less cursing and stuff like that," he said. "You keep it to a minimum."
Stout has two male assistant coaches, Davis Rosen and Andrew Johns. Conforming to school policy, a male adult must supervise the locker room for practices and games, a role handled by the male assistants. Prior to games, Stout allows her players a few minutes to get dressed before entering the locker room; afterward, she addresses them before leaving so they can shower.
The Generals won consecutive games in early December against Eastern Mennonite High and Covington High, doubling the team's win total from the previous season. But Stonewall has struggled since, losing eight in a row and falling to 2-10. Even so, the Generals believe the team is headed in the right direction under Stout. Players said their coach remains positive and enthusiastic, as well as realistic that the team's overhaul will take more than one season.
"We're just having more fun, and we have hope for the future," Hunter Stout said. "I think each year you'll see more and more improvement."
After a December loss dropped Stonewall to 2-3, Sophie Stout told her players not to dwell on the defeat, and that they could play much better. As the players began peeling off their sweaty uniforms, Stout walked out to speak with local reporters.
Several fans rushed toward her, shaking her hands and embracing her. Some clapped and shouted encouragement. As Stout walked down the hallway, one elderly fan patted her on the back.
"You're gonna get 'em, Coach," the man said. "We believe in you."Report - Washington Post.
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