Stahl serves as player-coach for Lowell throwers

LOWELL -- No member of Lowell's girls track team made it to state last year. Courtney Stahl went anyways -- just to visualize herself there this year.

"I could see myself being there," the Lowell senior said. "That's been my goal."

Of course, Stahl would be just as happy if any of Lowell's throwers made the trip. Like any coach, she takes pride in her athletes' success.

"This season's been the best season ever," she said. "I'm proud of my girls. They're understanding what I'm teaching them. They're listening to me and actually trying to apply it."

Stahl has been a player-coach for the Red Devils since her sophomore season. It's a task she inherited from Rachel Thiel, a state champion shot putter her senior season.

"No one really told her to do it. She didn't really ask for it. It's just her turn," said first-year Lowell coach Scott Coil. "It kind of takes some of the pressure off of us. Me not knowing a whole lot about throws, it definitely helps."

With no throws coach on staff, Coil delegates those responsibilities to Stahl. He'll check on his throwers a couple times a practice just to make sure everyone is staying on task. But other than that, Coil leaves all the coaching to his senior captain, who doesn't take it easy on her throwers just because they're her friends.

"When I have to be strict and buckle down, that's when it gets kind of iffy," she said with a laugh.

A hairline fracture in her left leg, the second fracture in the same leg in a matter of months, required her to miss a few weeks of the indoor season. But that didn't keep her from coaching. Stahl showed up every day to work with her throwers.

"She was even more of a teacher then because she really couldn't do a whole lot," Coil said.

Even on her own time, Stahl has a coach's mentality. She watches YouTube videos of Olympic throwers so she can teach their technique to her throwers.

"My parents make fun of me because I'll be on there for an hour or two at a time," she said.

Thiel is proof that player-coaches can still have individual success despite their added responsibilities. They just have to find time to hone their own skills.

"That's the hard part," Stahl said. "Usually I end up staying later than everyone else."

Almost always the last athlete to leave the track, Stahl misses plenty of dinners and stays up extra late to do homework during the season. She wouldn't have it any other way.

"I really like helping them," she said. "It's definitely worth it."

Despite her injury and her coaching commitment, Stahl is one of the area's top shot putters and has improved dramatically in the discus. She's thrown a 35-11 in the shot, and she's hoping to top her fifth-place showing at last year's regional.

"I'm not where I'd like to be, but I'm more consistent than a lot of people are," she said. "I'd like to be at about 37 (feet). And I can do it. I'm confident that I can."

Stahl will continue her throwing career at Trine University on an academic scholarship. After that, she'd like to return to Lowell as a full-time coach and maybe someday become an athletic director.

"I love Lowell High School," she said. "I'd love to come back and help."

Contact David Robb at 648-3122, drobb@post-trib.com or visit his blog at blogs.post-trib.com/robb.