Enid High Athletic Director, Scott Mansfield, has just finished his first year on the job, which made this a great time to chat with him about the 2023-24 school year, and what they are looking forward to in the future.
“I don’t define success by wins and losses, those are for the morning coffee guys” says Mansfield, “I care more about whether the kids are buying into the team culture, team concept, and team philosophy. I want our athletes to strive academically and learn how to be a part of the community. Ultimately, I want them to be solid citizens, which you can’t really track until they maybe graduate college, maybe get married and have kids. I want them to be successful at life, and athletics can play a part in that.”
That’s not to say he isn’t interested in the product on the field or court, but Mansfield believes in the bigger picture. “Wins are great, and our goal is to be competitive in every sport, but we want winners at life too. And I believe our philosophy helps our student athletes achieve just that,” says Mansfield.
And over this last year, there has been a lot to be proud of – the baseball team made the state tournament, Haley Hibbets finished 5th in state at #1 Singles in tennis, Shae Salinas made the state tournament in girls wrestling, swimming qualified 12 events for the state meet, and the 4X400 track team and a high jumper made the state track meet.
But again, Mansfield is quick to point out that the softball team won the Academic State Championship and several other sports programs won OSSAA Academic Achievement Awards, part of his goal to turn out well rounded student athletes.
Learning Curve
Being a first year A.D., Mansfield says that he’s had to learn a lot about the less publicized sports. “My whole life I’ve been around sports like football and basketball, so it’s definitely been a learning experience to try to understand sports like cross country, swimming, and track and what we need to do to help them succeed. Even “private” sports like tennis and golf present challenges that we have to be able to meet to be able to succeed.”
Mansfield also worked with new head coaches for swimming, football, and golf, and he will be hiring new head coaches for volleyball, girls cross country, and track and pom over the summer. “We want high character and high-quality coaches that will grow our youth programs and instill those traits in our student athletes,” he said.
And while he has not started developing a wish list for the future of facilities, he is really appreciative of the public/private partnerships the district has developed that have helped develop some of the top facilities in the state for baseball, soccer, and soon-to-be tennis. “The partnerships we have had across multiple sports have given us a smother and greatly expedited timeline to be able to provide great facilities for our kids.”
The Future
Next up: Summer Pride. “Summer pride is the building block of great teams. While we cannot require attendance, it is highly recommended, and the coaches and I have set a goal of 90% participation. The sweat these kids put in in July pays dividends in November (the first championships). It is also a time to see coaches really pouring into these kids, especially in sports other than what they coach. We see these coaches supporting other kids and as that support grows, it really helps encourage and develop these kids as people. I want the community to be proud of our kids and our brand. I want unity in the department to reach those goals, and I want people to be proud of what we are doing here. Those are my future goals. Creating productive members of society is real winning in my book,” says Mansfield.
