By Tommy Keeler Jr. -- Daily Staff Writer

WINCHESTER — Luke Mason still thinks back to his first years as a coach at Handley. He thinks about the way he did things and the things he could have done better.

Mason, now seven years in with the Judges' girls soccer program, knows he cannot go back. However, he wants to make sure he keeps learning and improving for the future.

"When I moved here I felt like I had to prove to everybody I knew what I was doing, and then I had to accept that, 'Hey, there's still so much more to learn,'" Mason said. "I still feel that way. I really feel bad for the those girls from 2002-04. They were great kids and I wish I could do it over again just for them."

Part of that learning process involved talking to coaches from every sport.

Mason took advice from Handley boys basketball coach Tommy Dixon, former Handley volleyball and cross country coaches Vaughan Kusko and Mike McKiernan, and former Handley boys soccer coach and current James Wood girls soccer coach Jim Carden. When he wasn't consulting area coaches, he was visiting clinics.

Mason, The Northern Virginia Daily's Girls Soccer Coach of the Year, applied that extra bit of wisdom to help the Judges to a second-place finish in the Northwestern District and a Region II berth. Handley also knocked off district power Brentsville, 3-2, in the tournament finals.

"I think the main thing it did for us was give us confidence," Mason said of the win on May 22. "We've been close before, we've been down 3-0, tied it 3-3, only to lose in the last several minutes of the game. It was great that it gave the whole program confidence. That we were able to be the first ones that had done it in a really long time. It was a good feeling for the whole team."

In that win, Mason heeded the advice of assistant Mike Koper, who suggested freshman Myrina Booker draw the defensive assignment of Brentsville's top player, Ashley Grant. The move worked perfectly.

"Luke definitely is willing to listen to my opinions," Koper said. "It's nice to know that he has a lot of respect for me and we can work together. That means a lot to me. We've worked together for three years and we know each other and what we both like."

Mason said over the years he's grown to really love coaching. It's become a real passion for him.

Mason said he enjoys watching his players grow on and off the field.

"Sometimes I'll go home and tell my wife you know, 'It's so nice to see these girls clicking well and somebody's stepping it up,'" Mason said. "There are times when I'll get a tear or I'll well up because I'm so proud of how somebody just stepped up.

"Those kids that are in the middle, on the cusp of having a great breakout game or great practice. Just to see them shine because they work so hard. Everybody works hard, but to see those kids on the verge of realizing, 'I'm doing something really great here.' That's what I look for every day. I'm just so proud of them."

R Contact Tommy Keeler Jr. at tkeeler@nvdaily.com

Comment on this story | View Comments |