在五月一个美丽的星期天, more than 100 members of the 韦德娱乐app下载地址 community gathered for an alumni basketball game and celebratory luncheon to honor a very special coach. After 39 years and well over 500 wins, Coach Cleve Christie is retiring. 

Cleve first came to Solebury to coach basketball in early 1983 and joined the team mid-season. A Project Man年龄r for the Trenton Housing Authority and organizer of several summer basketball leagues, 克利夫有发现和培养人才的诀窍. 到1987年初, the Philadelphia Inquirer called Solebury “perhaps the best-kept basketball secret in Southeastern Pennsylvania” in an article that profiled the team's success. In 2008, Cleve celebrated 400 wins as Solebury’s head basketball coach, with 500 coming in 2018. 

“I bleed blue,克利夫说。 as he explains his love of 韦德娱乐app下载地址. “索伯里为这些孩子提供了优质教育. 它启动了他们的生活. 我为我教过的球员和我们的项目感到骄傲. 无论我和团队走到哪里, 我们看到校友们认出了我们的球衣, 他们也为我们的团队感到骄傲.”

“There's a lot we can say about Cleve just as a human being and as an individual,87年的基思·平克尼分享道, 1985-1987年担任篮球队队长. “He was a great coach and wanted you to go as far as you could in basketball if that was what you desired. But he mainly wanted you to be somebody [who is] productive in society. He wanted to make sure that you contributed, got an education, and helped others. He knew that the world was much harder than we thought it was at 15. 他给了我们成为人的工具.” 

Ask any of Cleve’s players over the last four decades and you will hear this sentiment repeated. Cleve has a holistic approach to his players; he wants them to succeed in the game and in life. “这不全是篮球，”克利夫解释道. “First and foremost, it is about educating the child, educating the whole child. 你不是因为打篮球而特别. You are special because you work hard in three areas: on the court, 在教室里, 在社区中.” And as a result, 99% of his players have gone on to four-year colleges. “500 wins is nothing compared to the number of my players who now have a college degree and are professional people. 我们在这里培养了优秀的专业人才.”

In Coach Cleve’s final season the Spartans had an excellent season and won the Penn Jersey Athletic Association Championship. “It’s a nice finishing touch for the Solebury basketball team who put in the work and got a chance to see and enjoy the fruit of their labor,克利夫说。. “我为这个团队的每一个成员感到骄傲. 我们投入了时间和努力使这一切成为可能. 我非常感谢所有支持我们的人。”

克利夫的影响超越了学生. “I have had the honor of working with Cleve for the past 10 years, and my favorite moments come from sitting on the sideline of the home game with him,体育主管斯塔西·阿纳斯塔西奥说. “他等待着我因兴奋或沮丧而大喊大叫的时刻, 而且他总是有一个幽默的评论来补充. 他真的很关心他的运动员和每一个和他一起工作的人, 从不错过任何一个假期来和你联系.”

There are so many numbers that can be attributed to Cleve as proof of his success—nearly 40 years, 超过500胜, mentoring hundreds of athletes through Solebury’s basketball program, and seeing eight names added to the 1000-point scorer banner in the Athletic Center. But it’s his dedication to each individual athlete and their success that makes it tough to imagine 韦德娱乐app下载地址 basketball without Cleve.