Briana Carrillo is an ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Arizona Lutheran Academy for AZPreps365.com 

After losing the state football championship in overtime, former coach Doug Meyer felt devastated. He then realized his athletes did not focus on the loss as he did. He remembers them standing in the parking lot loading up the bus after the game, and these guys were just all talking to each other.

“Conversation was all about how much they appreciated the experience of high school football with their best friends, with the ups and downs,” Meyer said.

This reminded him that, win or lose, at the end of the day, sports are memories and lessons that athletes carry throughout their lives.

At Arizona Lutheran Academy in Phoenix, coaches and administrators are creating a culture where athletics are for personal growth, prioritizing character and leadership over championships. These values have helped make the school one of Arizona's top programs for student-athletes.

When the athletic director talks to ALA students, he reminds his athletes that winning cannot be everything; it's just a bigger part of the life lesson.

“The truth is, we're not going to always win in life, right? We're going to make mistakes,” David Peter, athletic director of Arizona Lutheran Academy, said.

They want to be able to teach their athletes what the real world is like, Meyer said, ALA president. 

But it doesn't just happen; they have coaches who are building relationships with students every day.

“Almost all of our head coaches are teachers in our school, which is not the case in a lot of places. We spend all day long building relationships with our kids, and we genuinely care,” said Meyer, past athletic director and coach of the varsity boys basketball team.

“The other thing that is important to me is being coachable,” Peter said, “receptive as a coach and as an administrator to positive and also constructive criticism.”

Through this, they have found coaches like Samantha List, who has coached multiple sports throughout the years while being a teacher at ALA, and who has taught her athletes that winning is just a byproduct.

The main goal for ALA is to cultivate good sportsmanship and build a strong team through developing leadership skills in older kids by helping them take charge. Then, the second goal is to teach them sport-specific skills.

The emphasis on leadership and commitment to building more than an athlete is something that is echoed throughout other coaches at ALA.

This perspective continues to shape ALA athletes, which is what is unique about the athletic program, Meyer said.

“I don't think it's because we have better athletes,” Meyer said, “Because I know that's not true. I think it's the consistency and the stability that we really have at our school, and the commitment to our kids and coaches.”

This stability and consistency relate directly to the school's philosophy about supporting its athletes.

“I want them to know that their coaches and their athletic department love them for who they are, not what they do,” Peter said, “We love them because of who they are. And who they are, ultimately, is that they, and all the mistakes that they have made in life, are forgiven because of Jesus.”