When Steve Schultze chose his confirmation name as a 13-year-old, he

paid homage to an unlikely candidate for such a sacred rite. Schultze took the

name St. Basil in honor of a local high school football player he loved

watching on Friday nights.

Traditional names like St. Anthony or St. Christopher? Not for Schultze. He

wanted something different. And Basil Lansdowne, a former star running back at

Stonewall Jackson High School in the mid-1970s, fit the bill.

I love that story for one simple reason: it reminds me why Schultze was the

best choice in 2002 to take over an Osbourn football program in desperate need

of a jolt.

Perhaps another coach could have accomplished what Schultze did in the last

five years, taking a despondent program in the midst of a 32-game losing

streak and transforming them into state champions last December. But it's

unlikely.

Schultze's history here gave him an advantage, an extra dose of passion and

enthusiasm if you will, to confront head on the challenges before him and turn

things around.

This was more than just a job designed to serve as a steppingstone to

something else. This was his alma mater in dire straits. Leave? Not a chance.

Schultze was here for the long haul.

And so who better to take all this on than a guy who grew up on

Manassas-area football, who played in the youth leagues, who viewed the annual

Osbourn-Stonewall rivalry as the can't-miss game of the year?

Who better than a guy who takes the name St. Basil and then takes his

fanaticism one step further, naming his dog Basil?

"The bottomline is pride in where you grew up," said Schultze,

who moved to Manassas from Alexandria when he was five and graduated from

Osbourn in 1980.

Schultze, who began his coaching career at Loudoun County High School in

1988, first applied for the Osbourn opening in 1999, but Randy Bove got it.

Still living in Manassas and tired of the three-hour round trip, Schultze

tried again three years later to find a head coaching job closer to home.

At the time, there were two openings, first at Brentsville, which ended up

hiring Schultze's friend and classmate from Osbourn, Dean Reedy, and then

Osbourn after John Iannucci left following the 2001 season.

This time, he was hired, becoming the Eagles' fourth coach in five years.

"I went after it hard, but I didn't realize what I was getting myself

into," Schultze said.

A tireless worker with a constant current of energy crackling through his

body, Schultze began to rebuild the program, step by step. It wasn't easy, but

slowly things came into place.

Schultze refuses to take any of the credit for Osbourn's success. And

certainly, there are other factors that lifted the Eagles to unprecedented

heights a year ago.

It helps to have Brandon Hogan, a once-in-a-lifetime talent, who dazzled

fans with his deceptive moves, fast feet and gun for an arm as a quarterback

before taking his talents this fall to West Virginia University.

And yes, it helped to have someone on your coaching staff like Sonny Hagy,

a former Marine who brings 40 years of experience and a hard-core passion to

the game.

But someone had to take that first step to junk the offense you've always

used and help come up with something else to take advantage of Hogan's gifts

or see the wisdom in bringing someone like Hagy on staff. That's what Schultze

did and the fruit of his efforts is clear.

These are heady days for the 45-year-old. Winning a state title creates

demand for your time.

Schultze had hoped for some down time following Osbourn's championship in

December, but it never happened. There were seniors to get into college

football programs. He coached in the Virginia High School Coaches Association

All-Star game in July.

There were also clinics to speak at. Schultze estimates he spoke at eight

or nine of them since the end of last season, some local, others more regional

and national.

But never one to rest on his accomplishments, Schultze kept an eye out for

new ways to motivate his team.

The best came last spring when the Eagles attended a speed camp in Loudoun

County. One of the speakers, former Redskin Eddie Mason, opened the camp by

encouraging the participants to demand "Nothing But Greatness."

What started as a proclamation at a camp turned into a team motto.

The white t-shirts created by members of the Eagles' coaching staff

captures another inspirational message. On the front is a variation of the

skull and crossbones in an Osbourn helmet and on the back, three trophies,

district, regional and state resting on top of the declaration "Whatever

It Takes."

It's a new season now with new challenges, but in some ways, the mission

remains the same for Schultze. It's not just a football-thing measured in wins

and losses Never was. It's something more personal. Doing "Whatever It

Takes" is his way of giving back to a community that gave to him first.

Schultze almost never became a coach, much less one in football. Baseball

was his first love and he had hoped to walk on at Virginia Tech after

graduating from Osbourn in 1980. But it didn't work out, leaving Schultze in a

state of shock.

"It crushed me," Schultze said. "I was a jock."

Schultze had also planned on majoring in accounting at Tech. For the first

three years, that's what he did, hoping to get a degree in a field that would

make him a lot of money. But as he got closer to fulfilling his requirements,

Schultze wasn't comfortable with being an accountant. It didn't fit his

personality, he said.

He left Virginia Tech, enrolled at NOVA for a semester and then attended

George Mason University. The return home allowed him to be closer to his

future wife Jan, who was at GMU. It also gave him a chance to help out Wayne

Gryder with Osbourn's baseball team. It was then that something clicked:

coaching as a profession.

Schultze thought more about coaches who had influenced him at Osbourn, ones

like Gryder and basketball coaches like Barry Sudduth and Pat Brizzi. It made

sense. He liked sports and knew them inside and out. What a better way to stay

involved than in something you love?

When he finished up college, Schultze could not find a physical education

job in the Manassas area so he headed out to Loudoun County, where he coached

baseball for eight years and football for 14 years. It was at Loudoun County

High School that Schultze decided football was better for him.

He enjoyed the time of the year it was played and the scheduling format:

one game a week to prepare for.