“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”

The famous words of Steve Prefontaine not only exemplify ability, but longevity. In order to achieve, there must be sacrifice. In giving more than 50 years of his life to teaching, mentoring, coaching, supporting and caring for the children and community he so dearly loves, Dave Stookey has perfectly personified those words of Prefontaine.

Giving back to the Wawasee community since 1964, Stookey has served not just as a coach, but also an educator in all three communities — North Webster, Syracuse and Milford. Some know Dave as Mr. Stookey, who taught with a passion to enlighten. Some know Dave as Dave, always with a smile on his face, but always a thought on the matter whether popular or not. And some know Dave as “Coach,” who has encouraged, pushed, challenged, cared and proven, for 50 years, ability is truly a gift.

Dave Stookey has coached now 50 years in the Wawasee school corporation, with this fall’s Wawasee High School cross country season ushering in the fifth decade of Stookey’s presence urging the green and gold to go. And go. And go. He has touched the lives of thousands, and many wished to respond to 50 years of Stookey’s greatness.

Scott Lancaster
WHS Track Coach
There is not anybody around who bleeds green and gold as much as he does. You will be hard-pressed to find someone genuinely invested in kids in both track and academics as Dave.

Jerry Minton
Former WHS Track/XC Coach
He just likes being around the kids. He is one of my really good friends, even before coaching. He was really easy to work with, a natural fit, it all seemed to click. We still talk cross country since he lives close by. When he took over for me when I retired, it was a good transition. He was the perfect fit for the program.

Jerid Stoffel
Former XC Head Coach
He is the most passionate Wawasee supporter there is. He loves Wawasee. He told us quite a few years ago if he were running and had a heart attack, he would hope it would be on our course. He just loves it. He is so intense about running and coaching kids.

Jim Mills
Warsaw HS XC Coach
Dave has been an asset to Wawasee with his dedication shown all these years. One year, one of my runners sent Dave a fundraising letter, and the night we ran Wawasee he gave us a big bag of pennies. We have always had a great rivalry with Wawasee and there is always mutual respect between the two teams.

Doug Slabaugh
WHS XC Coach
I have the special opportunity to have both run for Dave and to also coach with him. I am 100 percent positive nobody is more Wawasee than coach Stookey. He will stay up until at least 2 a.m. every night looking at results, practices, looking for ways to treat injuries and so on.

Andrea Newman
Former Bookkeeper, Milford School
His work ethic at school is what I admired most. I made sure my daughter, Erin, had him in fifth grade. He always encouraged the kids to do their very best.

Pam Gilbert
Bookkeeper, Syracuse Elementary
Several years ago at the Manchester Invitational, Mr. Stookey was near the finish line. In order to see who was coming next, he leaned out around some parents standing there and was elbowed in the nose. He continued yelling for all of our boys as they crossed the line with blood gushing everywhere. It was quite the sight to see.

Travis Patterson
WHS Graduate
Coach Stookey is one tough bird, that’s for sure. He slipped on a patch of ice during a winter practice and landed on his hip. We thought he broke something, but he got up and all he said was, “Well, that’s going to be a nasty bruise in the morning.” Sure enough, when I came in the next day, he showed me his hip which was all black and blue.

David Slabaugh
WHS Graduate
I believe his best character trait would be his passion to help people, not just his athletes. Coach and his wife, Linda, are the kind of people who put the needs of others before themselves. Coach knows how to motivate people to reach their full potential and I can guarantee you will have fun along the way.

Eric Brown
WHS Graduate
One of the things he was famous for was running across the infield yelling, “go, go, go” during a race. That was the only thing I could hear over my own breathing. Many times it gave me just enough extra energy to make it down the last stretch.

Mike Schmidt
WHS Principal
Coach Stookey is a man of tremendous character. His passion and desire to see all athletes succeed and improve is outstanding. Wawasee High School is a better place with Dave Stookey coaching student athletes. It has been my pleasure to both coach with Dave and now to watch him coach our Wawasee Warriors.

Mike Deak
Sports Editor, The Papers
I learned quickly what to expect from marriage from Dave. He made it very simple, that if Angie was going to make it as my wife, she needed to learn one main task. “If she can’t make a good chili, then she isn’t worth keeping around.”

Kevin Gilbert
Former WHS Track Coach
I remember Stookey from North Webster Elementary when I was in about fifth grade. I was a little guy and thought I was the fastest kid in town, so I ran a lot of short races.  One day there was a mile race and Mr. Stookey put me in it. I took off running at a sprint and was too afraid that the guy behind me was catching up to slow down. After that, Stookey only put me in the long distance races.

Linda Stookey
Dave’s Wife
His personal interest in kids keeps him coaching. He goes beyond coaching. He calls kids to see how they are doing, especially if they are injured. He lives and breathes coaching. Most of his wardrobe is green and gold. That hat is always on his head. I’ve been involved in thousands of banana cupcakes, so many hours of helping. It’s amazing to see the give and take all these years have produced in our community.