From Menlo’s groundbreaking girls’ flag football team to its storied tennis program, the school’s athletic offerings have long been an essential part of Menlo’s student life. The history and legacy across all 19 sports that Menlo offers have long contributed to the reputation of the school. When Athletic Director Earl Koberlein was the senior associate athletic director at Stanford, the department would develop a new strategic plan every five years — something he is now implementing at Menlo. Regardless of Menlo’s success, improvement is something Koberlein continues to chase.
Koberlein worries about complacency, striving for constant improvement. “You just don’t get set in your ways,” he said. The plan is built around four main pillars: developing character, commitment to competitive excellence, maximizing student-athlete potential and amplifying school spirit. “We have lots of sub-goals in each of those pillars,” Koberlein said. “And we have different people responsible, which we call sub-committees, that are working on their distinct strategies for those goals.”
Koberlein has assigned coaches, faculty and staff to each pillar. “There are a lot of people across the campus that are helping with the plan,” he said. While formulating the plan, Koberlein consulted with students, alumni, parents, coaches, staff and teachers to brainstorm different kinds of goals for the athletic program.
One target Koberlein highlights is Menlo’s attractiveness to athletes, falling under the competitive excellence category. “We can’t recruit,” Koberlein said. “So we’re not recruiting, but we’re promoting ourselves.” Koberlein pointed to football as a sport where Menlo is working to promote itself to potential players. “If you’re a Pop Warner football player, ideally, Menlo is the place to go. Because they’re aware that we have a football team and we have a great school.”
If he had to summarize the strategic plan, everything Koberlein does is for the students. “A lot of this plan is how to end up maximizing student-athlete success,” Koberlein said. “How do we make [Menlo athletics] the best [experience] it can be?” He referenced Menlo’s Sports Performance, Sports Medicine and future Sports Psychology programs as integral parts of the plan. According to Koberlein, improving facilities and enhancing the student experience is essential.
Koberlein’s strategic plan aims to improve Menlo’s athletic offerings in multiple aspects, with the end goal not necessarily being victories on the field, but rather the development of the athlete and their character. It is a massive undertaking from many different teams, but the strategic plan is part of Menlo’s goal to improve. Koberlein believes that the strategic plan is fundamental for student-athletes to pursue never-ending improvement.
