Matthews to step away as Gilman lax coach

Gilman lacrosse coach Brooks Matthews, who guided the Greyhounds to Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association AConference titles in 2009 and 2011, announced he will retire after the 2019 season. The1987 Gilman grad, who will be entering his 15th season as head coach this spring, will continue at the school as a history teacher. In his first 14 seasons at the helm, he has posted a 140-89 mark for a .611 winning percentage. He also was an assistant coach for Greyhounds’ title-winning teams in 1998 and 2000. Matthews said he has felt extremely fortunate to play and serve as coach at Gilman and has loved every minute. But he added the ever-growing demands that comes with the position was the determining factor in his decision to step down. “When you’re the varsity head coach of a program like this it can take over,” he said. “I didn’t want to get to a point where I wasn’t doing things the way I needed to meet the standards I have for myself and the program. I don’t feel like I’ve been going through the motions, but I feel like I’ve gotten to the point where it’s going to be hard for me to continue to evolve the way the job needs to be done.” The Greyhounds reached the playoffs in each of Matthews’ first nine seasons as head coach, but have struggled to advance in recent years. Last year, they finished 7-8 overall and 4-6 in league play for seventh place. “I told the boys our mission at Gilman revolves around educating them in mind, body and spirit, and I wholeheartedly believe in that,” he said. “The best part of teaching and coaching is the relationships you form and we’ve always emphasized that you don’t always have control over wins and losses, but you have control over what you put in and therefore how much you get out of the experience.” VARSITY BOYS BASKETBALL: Mitch Fischer scored 25 of his career high 36 points in the first half and visiting Loyola Blakefield won 55-36 over Archbishop Curley in the season-opener for both teams. HORSE RACING: Rising Sun Racing Stables’ Colonel Sharp outran his rivals early and had plenty left to turn back a late bid from multiple graded-stakes winner Something Awesome for a front-running one-length victory in Friday’s featured third race at Laurel Park. Ridden by J. D. Acosta for trainer Hugh McMahon, Colonel Sharp ($6) covered 7 furlongs in 1:22.63 over a main track rated good in the $55,000 open allowance for 3-year-olds and up. —