Meade steps down at Navy
Another area team has lost its head coach.
Richie Meade resigned from his position after 17 years at Navy, joining Towson’s Tony Seaman who stepped down earlier on Monday.
In a brief interview Monday evening, Meade said the Midshipmen will recoup and recover under new leadership.
“It kind of is what it is, and we’re moving forward,” said Meade, who will continue to teach as a fully tenured professor in the academy’s Physical Education Department. “The Naval Academy lacrosse program is a ship in the Navy, and I was the captain of that ship. I was proud of it. In the Navy, captains change all the time, and the ships still have to float and the ships still have to fight. The Navy lacrosse program will do that and do it every well.”
Athletic director Chet Gladchuk declined to comment. In a press release issued by the school, Gladchuk praised Meade.
“After coaching 26 years at a Service Academy as both an assistant at West Point and head coach at the Naval Academy, there are many coaches, student-athletes and staff whose philosophy on life has been influenced by Coach Meade,” Gladchuk said. “He is a man of strong character and is professionally dedicated to that which is represented through the moral, mental and physical dimensions of our mission. Coach Meade has been offered the opportunity to reach an even greater representation of the Brigade as a tenured professor for the Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership, where he can share his extensive experience with our midshipmen at large. Although today he is leaving the playing field, educating in an even broader context for the Brigade of Midshipmen can be personally rewarding and to the great benefit of the Academy. Our gratitude will continue to be with Richie.”
Under Meade, Navy went 142-97, captured five Patriot League regular-season and tournament titles in six years, and qualified for the NCAA tournament seven times, including advancing to the championship final in 2004.
Meade, who has compiled a 169-120 record in 21 years at Navy and the University of Baltimore, could be a candidate for the vacancy at Towson, where Seaman resigned. Meade said while he loves coaching, he isn’t sure he wants to get back into the saddle so quickly.
“I’m going to have to see what’s right for my family,” he said. “I don’t want to say that I want to coach again. … Ulysses S. Grant got relieved in the Civil War and came back and led the Union to victory. So if I get another command, I’ll look forward to doing that. But I’m not really thinking about that right now. I think my family and I, we just need to take a step back here and kind of look at all this stuff and see what happens.”
Meade said he informed the players of the decision, but declined to describe their reaction.
“I did talk to the players,” he said. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere. It’s not like this is going to be the last time I’m ever going to see any of those guys. I’m going to be around obviously, but it was pretty emotional.”
The Midshipmen ended this season on a five-game losing skid, totaling a 4-9 record that accrued the most losses under Meade’s guidance. But Meade said an offense powered by freshman attackmen Tucker Hull and Sam Jones and a defense anchored by junior goalkeeper R.J. Wickham should spring hope for the team and its supporters.
“The only thing I’m thinking about right now is my family, the kids that we have in our program, the kids that we recruited, the kids are committed so that they know that the Navy lacrosse program is going to be in great hands, and we’re going to continue to improve,” Meade said. “We’ve got a great group of kids coming in next year with the young team that we have. So my expectation is we’re going to be very successful down the road.”
