By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/21/22
Paul Stankewicz, who spent 53 years coaching Henderson lacrosse and 39 years as head coach, has announced his retirement.
Stankewicz, 74, won 440 games as head coach, including 12 Suburban League championships (the league merged into the current Ches-Mont) and led his teams to two state runner-up finishes. His Warriors were the Class AA runner-up in the 2017 District 1 and PIAA tournaments and also runner-up in the 1993 Avery Blake Memorial Championships, held before the PIAA sanctioned lacrosse.
Stankewicz, affectionately known as “Stank,” had hoped to coach this year, but said health issues forced a difficult decision to leave the job he loved.
Henderson athletic director Ken McCormick said assistant coach and Henderson grad Sean Evans will be promoted to head coach, pending West Chester School District board approval at the Feb. 28 meeting.
“I’ve gotten to work with Paul for the past 25 years and its truly been a privilege and an honor to work with such a wonderful person and lacrosse coach, but more importantly Paul is a great man of character and integrity,” said McCormick. “He’s one of the most brilliant lacrosse minds that this state has ever seen and we’re going to truly miss his leadership.
“Paul’s positive impact on our students is the uncountable number of great players whether they went on to play in Division I or Division II in college or those that never played again after high school. What I have enjoyed the most is watching Paul work with the students and the coaches.
“His goal was to make students grow, become better citizens, and help them grow into outstanding young men. On behalf of the West Chester Henderson community, I thank Paul for his contributions, loyalty, and I wish him and his family a happy retirement.
Stankewicz – who taught 40 years in the math classroom at Henderson before retiring in 2010 – was a rarity in that he is old-school yet was able to connect with his players into his 70s. He began his coaching career at the age of 21 when he was a student-teacher from West Chester College in 1969. He began teaching math and served as an assistant to Bob Brinton for 14 years until Brinton went to coach at Penn and later West Chester College.
In April of 2018 Henderson put on a major celebration event during a Henderson game vs. Owen J. Roberts to celebrate Stankewicz’s 50th year as a coach. More than 50 of his former players and coaches/colleagues, dozens of family members and the West Chester lacrosse community thanked him for his service.
The event featured speeches after the game and a presentation of a special drawing by a Henderson student and formal announcement of a Paul J. Stankewicz Book Scholarship, which goes each year to a Henderson senior lacrosse player.
“Oh yeah; the more work you put into it the more fun it is,” Stankewicz said after that game. “It’s the same with the kids; they put a lot into then they get a lot back. If they don’t they won’t get a lot out of it.
Archer Rymiszewski, a senior on the team that day of Stankewicz’s 50-year anniversary game, said his coach taught his players much more than lacrosse skills.
“He just puts in our minds the same mentality every day; you need to hustle all the time and helps a lot mentally and physically,” he said. “He wants you to always do the right thing. He teaches us life lessons. He has taught us how to be a better person; it’s great to have him as a mentor and a coach.”
“This is eye opening,” added then-senior Pat Keegan after the game. “It’s pretty hard to believe anyone has been around one sport for 50 years, let alone at one school. The West Chester lacrosse community is very tight-knit. Everyone knows everyone and he knows everyone in the community. He is someone who is there for you day in and day out, whether it’s lacrosse season or not. He will do anything for you.”
Bruce Vosburgh – one of the committee members for this ceremony – played for Stankewicz at Henderson when he was the assistant coach. Vosburgh later started the program at Unionville and coached there for many years; he credits Stankewicz for instilling in him the skills and work ethic needed to be a successful coach and person.
“He is always about the kids and being fair,” said Vosburgh after the 50-year celebration game. “I coached in the Keystone Games with him quite a few years and we lost a couple of overtime games because he ran each line evenly. He played everyone because it’s always about the kids and the experience for them.
“When I started the program at Unionville he helped me. We would go to clinics all over the place for years. He’s just a quality person committed to this game. He scouts all the time and sees every team four or five times. I remember he used to come to every Unionville game so we gave him a (Unionville) hat!”
