Coaches Strait And Atkinson, Responsible For Program Turnarounds, Step Down

By Andy Hutchison

Newtown High School baseball coach Carl Strait and girls’ swim coach Mary Atkinson announced, recently, that they will not return to run their teams next school year. Although their sports are different — as are their specific reasons for retiring — the coaches share a trait that will be missed by the NHS athletics community.

Both Strait and Atkinson turned struggling programs around and have helped boost the interest in their respective athletic teams at the high school, NHS Athletic Director Gregg Simon said.

Strait took over head coaching duties in 2003. He helped the program reach the South-West Conference Tournament for the first time and win its first conference championship this past spring. Several of Strait’s players have gone on to play baseball at the collegiate level, a testament to the coach’s efforts, Simon added.

“Our baseball program had been struggling for many, many years,” the athletic director said. “I think kids came out for baseball without high expectations. He turned that attitude around.”

The baseball team went 19-61 in the four years before Strait took over and won 61 games, while losing 39, in his time as coach.

Strait said the team would not have turned it around without the administrative support and effort from the players that it received.

“It wasn’t me. I always say kids win baseball games and coaches lose them,” Strait said.

After Atkinson took over coaching the swim team in 2001, the Nighthawks handed longtime conference powerhouse Lauralton Hall its first SWC meet defeat. NHS won a state title in 2005 and won SWC championships in 2004 and ’05.

“With all of her hard work and effort she really turned the program around,” Simon said.

Atkinson said working with the high school swim team is what gave her the desire to work with high school students as a guidance counselor at Joel Barlow High School in Redding.

“They were an extremely close team every year. I will miss the camaraderie and the sportsmanship that they showed,” Atkinson said. “The swim team was like a family. Every year I was sad when kids left. I will miss them.”

Atkinson said she will be able to remain linked to the school team since her daughter, Maggie, still swims there.

Simon pointed out that students gravitate to programs that are winning and that the coaches have their work cut out to change the perceptions of those programs. Strait and Atkinson succeeded in doing that.

Both coaches hung up the clipboards to devote more time to other responsibilities. Strait stepped away to give more attention to his family. Strait said winning the SWC title was not the determining factor in his decision. He was discussing plans for next year with members of his coaching staff before a comment his son made led to the coach stepping down. Strait said his 4-year-old, Kyle, asked him one night when he was going to come home. Strait realized that not being around for his family because of games, practices, and bus rides, was something he wanted to change.

“It made me do a little reflecting,” Strait said of his son’s comment.

But it is not to say this was an easy decision.

“I can’t explain how much I’m going to miss baseball,” he added.

Atkinson left because of the demands of her job at Barlow. This is her second year in the position.

“You’re away so much when you’re doing the job — especially at the varsity level,” said Simon who, along with serving as AD, is a freshman basketball coach at the high school.

Strait will remain on board as associate athletic director at NHS.

It is to be determined who will succeed the Strait and Atkinson in head coaching roles next year.