Commentary: Mission of Archbishop Murphy school, football team isn’t well understood

Published 1:30 am Sunday, October 16, 2016

By Tom Hoban

I grew up a product of the public school system in Everett and for most of my young life I thought Catholic schools were the domain of the wealthy and were exclusive to Catholics.

I went on to attend a Catholic college and it was there that I learned that the Catholic mission is built on a simple premise that we are all God’s children and we are all called to serve each other.

So Archbishop Murphy High School in Everett, like other Catholic institutions, exists to serve its community. The school’s mission is more specifically, “To develop and inspire Christ-like leaders,” just as that of Providence Regional Medical Center, another Catholic institution, is to focus on health care.

All three of our kids attended Archbishop Murphy and went on to college. In the depths of the great recession of 2009, the school experienced an enrollment drop. So the administration reached out to those of us with experience pulling our businesses through those tough times to help out. We asked ourselves a provocative question in that first trustee meeting: What if we double-down on the great work others have done before us and rebuild from the ground up with complete focus on our students and mission?

It worked. Enrollment doubled the next year and has continued strong. We did the usual marketing and open houses, of course. But what we really did was focus on student’s interests first, even at the inconvenience of the adults at times, and turn outward to the community we are charged with serving.

It was not with the intent to recruit athletes, though. Like Division III colleges, coaches may not initiate contact with student athletes. Once they are engaged, though, families are directed to the admissions office which can best speak to the school’s myriad programs and privately discuss financial aid based on their income situation. The mission and student-centered focus was and is the test of every decision we make and that sort of engagement fits right in.

The success of Archbishop Murphy’s football team this year is a by-product of this culture of focusing on students first, turning outward, and welcoming all. To create competitive balance, the school plays at the 2A level now but has made attempts to jump two divisions above its natural 1A classification by inquiring with the Metro 3A (King County) league, and last year petitioning the Wesco 3A (Snohomish County) league to let the school in. Both efforts were denied; Wesco’s was a painful unanimous rejection by all member schools. No one wants us in their league for some reason, not even our neighbors.

The real story here should be these kids and their coaches and why this is happening. They are families from throughout Snohomish County, the sovereign nation of Tulalip Tribes, and other nearby communities. They are the sons of bus drivers, families fighting cancer and addiction, school teachers and CEOs. Ninety-nine percent of them will graduate and go to college. The 1 percent in our school who don’t are usually called to serve in the military.

I’m disappointed that our mission is misunderstood, leading to nasty labels laid by adults upon kids. It takes very little research to know that we’ve been trying to get into other leagues for years and for people to learn the rules around recruiting and see how we operate to comply with those. We already play “up” and usually it is our kids who are the smaller athletes on the field or court. This year is a rare exception.

I encourage you to come see these boys play, when they finally get to, and lean in a bit. Come sit with our widely diverse families during the game. When you do, I invite you to dig in even deeper. Because this isn’t about Archbishop Murphy High School at all. This is a story about what kids are capable of when adults tear down boundaries and limitations and let them experiment with their gifts and interests in service to others. That has never been the exclusive domain of Catholic education, after all. That is a universal calling we share at home, work, in the community, and in the important charge of educating kids everywhere.

Tom Hoban is a parent of former Archbishop Murphy High School students. Five schools in the Cascade Conference league have forfeited their games to Archbishop Murphy this season, citing concerns about student athlete safety.