Prosser named Handley’s new AD
- By WALT MOODY | The Winchester Star
- Aug 14, 2018
Reed Prosser said the Director of Student Activities opening at Handley High School was “not just another job.”
And to prove just how special the opportunity was, he was willing to give up something that had been a major part of his life for more than 20 years — coaching football.
Prosser, 45, came back to his alma mater as the Winchester Public Schools announced his hiring to the position on Tuesday. He replaces Rick Lilly, who resigned in July after six years in the post.
“It’s always difficult because when coaching is in your blood it’s in your blood,” said Prosser, a 1991 Handley graduate. “But by the same token, this is a spectacular opportunity. Handley is not just another job. It’s a special place. You’re a custodian for the city, essentially. You’re talking about a school that’s almost 100 years old. That’s incredible. At other places sometimes it’s just a job. Handley is more than that.”
“Reed is a proven winner … in the classroom as an English teacher, on the football field as a head coach and in the community giving back to others,” Handley Principal Mike Dufrene said in a news release. “He is a leader full of passion that wants to make a difference by being visible for his coaches and sponsors.”
Prosser, who holds an English degree from William & Mary, and a masters degree in education from Shenandoah, returns to Handley after helping revive several high school football programs. He has an 87-74 career mark and took Broadway (1), Millbrook (5) and Heritage (2) to regional playoff berths. Prosser also served as an assistant coach under Walter Barr at Shenandoah University.
For the past five seasons, Prosser coached at Heritage High School in Leesburg. Over Prosser’s final three seasons, the Pride went 21-12 with a pair of regional berths.
But Prosser, who has maintained his residence in Winchester since leaving Millbrook after seven seasons in 2013, said he could not pass up a chance at the Handley position, which includes much more than sports.
“Everything about it appealed to me — the opportunity to work with kids not only in athletics, but also in the arts,” he said. “I think that’s special. I taught English, so I have an affinity towards the arts. The fact that I went there. I understand the town. I’m from here. Just the opportunity to return to a place that was so special to me is remarkable.
“The arts encompasses everything — athletics, music, dance,” he added. “It’s all performing arts. When you are able to take that and use that as a tool to instruct kids and help kids grow and create a positive culture of success, it will permeate the entire school. That’s what you are trying do. You’re just trying to use the opportunity of athletics and the arts to supplement their growth and instruction. At the end of the day, you want your kids to be better people. If you are focusing on that culture, winning is a byproduct of that success.”
Prosser said his goals at the position are simple.
“First and foremost, we want to make sure that we have great relationships with the coaching staff, continue to build programs and certainly increase the student participation and at the same time reconnect with a lot of people in the community and make sure it’s, ‘One community, one school’ and we’re all Handley,” he said.
Prosser certainly knows about that. He’s played for some of the coaching legends at Handley and been a part of the school’s athletic history. He later went on to play football for Jimmye Laycock, who begins his final season at William & Mary this fall with 245 career wins.
“I played for Coach [Ron] Lindon, Coach [Tommy] Dixon and Coach [Terry] Shickle,” he said of the former football, basketball and baseball coaches for the Judges. “Those guys are giants in the coaching community and the area. Mr. [Jimmy] Omps was the AD when I was there. I was fortunate enough to win the Snag Sargent Award when I was a senior. The fact that you are looking to sit in the same chair as Hunter Maddex, Jimmy Omps and Ron Lindon — that’s pretty heavy stuff. It’s really humbling.”
Prosser said he still draws upon experiences playing for those coaches that he uses today.
“I think you take a little bit from everybody,” he said. “I don’t think there’s one shining piece of advice. It’s just the way you were treated in a positive light, the way that you were demanded of and perhaps pushed sometimes and to be a better person. When you were a kid, you don’t understand that. It’s being challenged and to be better. It doesn’t really matter about the results. It’s just, ‘Hey, let’s get better today.’ I remember all of those things playing for the guys that I did.”
He also said he was fortunate to work with Barr, another legend.
“Coach Barr helped mold me into a lot of what I am,” Prosser said. “Working for him for three or four years, what a tremendous experience.”
Prosser and his wife Claire have two children — Jack, a sixth-grader at Daniel Morgan Intermediate School and Anna, a freshman who is on the volleyball team at Handley.
“My daughter is actually excited because I can give her a ride to school,” Prosser said.
Prosser certainly is acquainted with one of his new coaches, first-year football coach Dan Jones, who was a longtime assistant football coach at Handley.
“Dan was a senior when I was a 10th-grader, so we played on the same team,” Prosser said. “We coached together at the freshman level [at Handley] when we were both cutting our teeth.”
Prosser said the toughest part of taking his new job was leaving the team at Heritage.
“Telling my team [Tuesday] that this opportunity was coming along was certainly difficult, but that went well and they understood,” he said. “They know the importance of the opportunity and being with my family.”
Heritage turned to another coach with local ties to serve as its interim coach. Kevin Copley has coached at James Wood and Millbrook and was secondary coach when Prosser was defensive coordinator for Barr at SU. Copley became Prosser’s defensive coordinator at Heritage.
But now, Prosser is concentrating on the future at his alma mater.
“Handley is a unique place and a special place,” he said. “The connection that the school has with the community is something you don’t find everywhere.”
