Lady Scots have thrived in 25 years under Mark Duble

Soccer tile
Soccer tile

This is homecoming weekend at Covenant College, and it's an extra special one for women's soccer coach Mark Duble and his Lady Scots, current and past.

Even though virtually his whole life has been a home-staying as opposed to a homecoming for the 60-year-old coach, this is the 25th year of the Covenant women's program, and Duble has headed it the entire time. Actually, his part goes back a year before, when the Lady Scots started a club team and he agreed to guide them.

The former painting contractor takes a 258-161-32 record into today's 4:30 p.m. game on Lookout Mountain against Transylvania, with 12 conference championships, two national tournament appearances and six conference coach-of-the-year awards.

But he declares that the best memories are the connections with his players and their families, and seeing those players continue their development into spiritual, successful women.

Duble and his wife, Lynn, hosted 60 or so of those alumni players and some of their children Friday evening at their home, and he's expecting as many as 100 to be present for today's game. Another extra consideration is that Gene Ezell is in the last of his 17 years as an assistant to Duble, who has appreciated him greatly.

In no hurry to retire himself, Duble said, "The most gratifying thing of all is the relationships we've built - Coach Ezell and I - with the kids. Yeah, we've had good success on the field, but way more than that is involved here. The girls remember their teammates more than the wins, and things like mission trips we took.

"I'm really excited about this 25th anniversary. I haven't seen some of these players in years, and it's hard for them not to be like your own kids by the time they leave. That's the reason I stay. Helping kids grow up helps keep you young. I may be 60, but I don't feel 60."

And when he resumed his Covenant playing career at the age of 32, Duble was in the cardiovascular shape of a 22-year-old, only with more rugged strength and wiliness under that thinning, graying hair and behind those signature goggles. An all-conference stopper who became a team captain, he truly was a man among boys for coach Brian Crossman - and the boys included some of the best in Scots history, with the likes of James Van Steenburg, Jimmy Weekley, Aaron Clark and Sean McDaniel.

He also played with his brother Troy, 14 years younger - "That was fun," Mark said - and Troy's wife, Sarah, was one of the first players he coached. Now their daughter Kyra is a sophomore midfielder for her uncle.

Duble's own sons have helped him. Allen, the oldest, is an assistant coach; John Mark is a student assistant, just as Charlie - now a chef in Knoxville - was before graduating from Covenant.

Mark grew up as a Covenant kid. His father, E. Allen Duble, was a vice president of the school. But Mark went from high school to three years in the U.S. Army and another three in the Army reserves before enrolling. That lasted one year, the best part being meeting Lynn.

He then got into the working world, establishing the painting business that he continued through his seven years as a part-time coach. Climbing and descending ladders so much kept him in shape, he says, and he stayed active in soccer, so he was ready to play for the Scots again when he decided he wanted a degree.

His lead assistant is Anne Charlotte Hooper, who played for the Lady Scots from 2012 to 2015. She knew of Covenant through her Presbyterian Chuch in America, the college's affiliation, and her older cousin, Stephen Strawbridge, who played there, but she was planning to go elsewhere until visiting from Ocala, Florida, as an 11th-grader.

"I met Coach Duble and the girls and was pretty much sold," Hooper said. "I could tell immediately from him that he cared about me off the pitch as well as on. He didn't push me super hard to come to Covenant - he wanted me to make sure it was a good fit.

"He's been the most encouraging and thoughtful coach I've ever had, and it's fun to help carry on that tradition now."

Lindsey Latta Fain earned NAIA All-America honorable mention for Covenant in 2004, got a master's degree from the school in 2010 and returned this June as associate dean of its graduate school of education - after 12 years working and coaching soccer at a Christian school in her hometown of Dothan, Alabama.

"What stuck out first about Coach Duble was his care for his players - also his love for this school," Fain said. "He was looking to instill his vision for the school, using soccer as a platform. But it was more than soccer. It was his way to weave in the gospel."

Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.

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