Paying It Forward

For the athlete, achieving competitive excellence is the ultimate natural high.
It rarely comes easily, though, even when it might appear so to the observer in the stands. It requires time, energy, persistence, and a one-step, one-rep-at-a-time mentality.
 
Along the way, there can be fits and starts, good days and not-so-good days, and moments that embody (to borrow from the familiar catchphrase associated with ABC’s Wide World of Sports) “the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat” (although, hopefully, no defeat in an athletic event will ever reach the level of agonizing).
 
It requires also a coach who directs training, offers honest yet constructive criticism, provides encouragement, and collaborates with the athlete to develop an action plan to ensure maximum success.
 
Deven Shakya, a 2014 Collegiate graduate, spent many an afternoon at the east end of the Jim Hickey Track honing his skills as a high jumper (personal best 5-8) while also triple jumping and running the hurdles.
 
He spent a year at Denison University where he continued his track career, then returned to Richmond where he’s in his final semester as a fashion merchandising major at Virginia Commonwealth University.
 
For the past five years, he’s also served as his alma mater’s high jump coach.
 
It is in that role that he met a 9th grader named Alfred Stratford when he appeared on the high jump apron one afternoon in late February 2018 with the intention of learning the event for a meet a couple of days later.
 
“All I knew was that he was Grace’s brother and I had to give him a crash course,” Shakya said. “Grace was a good high jumper. Alfred showed the same kind of movement skills and body awareness that she did. His body moved in the way the jump wants it to move. He didn’t fight the jump.”
 
“It’s been a great experience to work with him from the time he started out to the point where he’s a high-level jumper who’s very confident and knows what he’s out there to do.”
 
Lacrosse was Stratford’s athletic priority that February day.
 
“High jumping wasn’t his full-time commitment,” Shakya said. “When high jump finally clicked with him, you could see his eyes light up. You could see the joy when he cleared 6-6 for the first time (his sophomore year). It was great watching him find what he enjoyed doing.”
 
As Stratford grew with the event, Shakya found an apt pupil.
 
“Alfred is very flexible,” Shakya said. “He was always able to flex his back over the bar. The way he jumps is very speed based. As he got physically bigger, stronger, and faster, his natural movements over the bar became more powerful. He approached it with a lot more velocity and aggressiveness. He controls his body very well over the bar.
 
“He’ll seek out film and information. Instead of directly teaching him, it’s more of an open dialogue rather than me telling him what to do or teaching him the higher-level concepts of the high jump. We talk about high jump all the time, even outside practice. It’s been great coaching him.”
 
Stratford has won two Prep League (outdoors in 2019, indoors in 2020) and VISAA (indoors in 2020) championships. His personal best (6-6) is two inches below the school record set by David Shannon in 1982.
 
“Deven and I connected very well early on,” Stratford said. “Our relationship has improved since then. We’ve grown together as coach and athlete. He absolutely pushes me very hard. All I’ve done I can attribute to him.”
 
Another longtime Shakya pupil, junior Eliza Stone, won the VISAA title outdoors in 2018 and 2019 and the LIS in 2019. She’s attained a personal best of 5-4, an inch below the mark shared by Ta’ Bingham (1994) and Brigid O’Shea (2014), the latter of whom Shakya coached his first year on the staff.
 
Numerous others have placed in league and state competition.­ ­­­­Whether point-scorers or not, most of his protégés have shown marked improvement and found the learning experience rewarding and fun.
 
When Shakya arrived at Collegiate as a freshman, he had never run track but quickly became captivated by the high jump.
 
“Coach (Erica) Coffey really got me excited about the high jump,” he said, referencing Collegiate’s high jump coach at the time. “After that first season, I was really hooked.”
 
He learned quickly that jumping above one’s height is a notable accomplishment and that speed and technique would allow him, at 5-7, to succeed in an event in which most competitors were taller than he.
 
“It’s hard for somebody like me to jump over my head,” he said. “I was into the details and the intricacies of the jump. That’s what Coach Coffey instilled in me. You can get higher not by physically jumping but by the way you jump.”
 
That’s the message he conveys to his charges, who have come to respect him and trust his guidance.
 
“When the kids take what I say, internalize it, and act upon it, it’s really cool to see their improvement,” Shakya said. “I’m a competitive person at my core. It’s great to get my competitiveness out through these kids. That’s one of the reasons I love coaching.”
 
 
 
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