ANDREW RICHARDSON // HEATHWOOD HALL EPISCOPAL SCHOOL ( COLUMBIA , SC ) ASSOCIATE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR / SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTOR / HEAD MEN ’ S SOCCER COACH , MEMBER SINCE 2010 , 2022-23 COACH CREDENTIALING PROGRAM CANDIDATE

For the majority of American students , the educational experience is a 12-year journey culminating in a final year filled with hope , uncertainty and promise . Whether the next step of the journey is college , joining the workforce or exploring the ever-changing world , the promise of the future can often lead to a missed opportunity of appreciating the final stretch of what has been . Student-athletes have a unique conclusion to this 12-year expedition , where every “ first ” is final . From a workout to a training session , or from the season opener until senior night , the feeling of finality is both inevitable and , if valued appropriately , rewarding .

My personal journey as a first-time coach was its own 12-year voyage , where the emotions of the final year gave me a unique perspective on what was built at our school , and more importantly , the experiences our program gave our young men as they prepared for whatever was next .

Before I arrived at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School , I was fairly familiar with the school . Tucked away in downtown Columbia , South Carolina , just minutes from the campus of the University of South Carolina , Heathwood has a sterling

reputation locally as an inviting community of families with an elite academic program and competitive athletic department covering a wide variety of sports — although Boys ’ Soccer had not yet discovered its ceiling . At the time , I was an assistant coach at a rival school that featured a program on the rise . My final season at the Cardinal Newman School saw our team finish with a 25-5 record , a state championship , five All-State selections , a # 27 final national ranking from the NSCAA ( now United Soccer Coaches ), and two players who would go on to earn Gatorade State Player of the Year honors . With 23 letter winners returning , as well as eight of 11 starters , the future seemed incredibly bright . But with the prospect of building my own program , and a gentle nudge from some valued mentors , I took the leap to join the Highlander program in the summer of 2011 .

Upon arrival , I performed an audit of the program including personnel , staff , equipment , uniforms — anything that played a direct role in the operations of Heathwood Soccer . It became clear where I would have to focus my efforts almost immediately . Coming from a school that featured a higher enrollment as well as fewer sports

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