For the past 25 years, Lenny Calkins has been a mainstay in Richfield Springs athletics. Whether he was roaming the sidelines of the football field, calling pick and rolls on the basketball court or giving the signal to steal second, Calkins has made his mark on the lives of many students at RSCS. When the season ends for the modified girls basketball team, so will that chapter in Calkins’ life. It’s a chapter that has touched many lives, enriching them, teaching them, rewarding them. It’s a chapter that sometime had to end, and that time has come. “I really feel it’s the right time,” Calkins said. “I talked to Don Edick, who retired from New Hartford after 30 years, and he told me, ‘Len you’ll know. You’ll just know.’ And now I know.” Calkins, who just finished the season as the head coach of the varsity football team, will coach the girls modified basketball team, then walk away forever. “I love it,” he said. “I still get excited on game days. But you have to end it, and it’s the right time.” Calkins said he is looking forward to doing some hunting and travelling after retirement. Throughout his 25 years of guidance, Calkins has coached varsity and modified football, varsity and modified baseball and junior varsity and modified girls basketball. Of all the sports, football is his favorite. “It’s just fantastic,” he said. “Football is different because there’s so much contact. No other sport has that much camaraderie. And there’s so much emotion. You see these big, tough kids shed tears; that’s just amazing.” One of Calkins’ assistants on the varsity football coaching staff, Randy Stone, was thrilled he got to work with Calkins in his final season. “It’s been the most rewarding experience I’ve had coaching,” Stone said. “I’ve learned more about coaching than with anyone else.” RSCS senior Ryan Wratten played football and baseball for Calkins and echoed Stone’s sentiments. “He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever had. He likes to keep it simple and to the point. He’s old school. His players like him, so they want to play for him.” Dan Bloomfield, a junior at RSCS, played his first year as the quarterback of the varsity football team this past season. He said he was glad Calkins talked him into trying out for the quarterback position. “Coach helped me out a lot,” Bloomfield said. “He just kept pushing me to get better.” Although football is his favorite sport, it’s not what Calkins will miss the most. “Anybody that coaches has to understand it’s about the kids,” Calkins said. “Any other reasons and you’re there for the wrong reasons. That’s the reward.”
|