Lifetime of Leadership: Stephens Honored by GLF

As a young boy — not yet a teenager — Jim Stephens crouched down in his stance behind the plate and gave the sign for the fastball.

 

He was the star catcher for his little-league team — a budding talent on the baseball diamond. 

 

But, on this summer day, he got more heat than he could handle, breaking his left hand after squeezing his mitt around the blazing four-seamer.

 

Stephens didn’t pout. He didn’t cry. He didn’t sit in the dugout, chew gum, and wait for his fracture to heal.

 

Instead, he picked up a tennis racquet at the suggestion of a friend and began hitting ball after ball against a playground wall near his childhood home in Greenwich. 

 

He was right handed, after all.

 

And, more than 60 years later, he’s still hitting that ball — although it’s the squash variety that’s now his claim to fame.

 

Stephens was honored by the Greenwich Leadership Forum (GLF) as the recipient of the Lifetime Leadership Award at its Annual Dinner, held on Tuesday, May 3, at Greenwich Country Club. 

 

“Jim personifies the highest level of character and ethical leadership, which he has successfully imparted to thousands of Brunswick students in the classroom and on the athletic field,” said Grant Gregory (P '89), GLF board chair.

 

“Jim is truly gifted. His humble leadership style has changed the lives of many students and families.”

 

Stephens has been coaching squash since his days as the Head Racquets Professional at the Field Club of Greenwich in the 1970s, arriving at Brunswick in 1985 to teach mathematics and coach squash and tennis.

 

In his three decades as leader of the Bruins, the squash program has grown exponentially — from seven players at the start to a maximum of 70 in 2015–16.

 

And Stephens has been at the heart of it all, loving every waking second of his time.

 

“Coaching is my life,” the University of Virginia graduate said. “It’s not a job or a chore to me. It’s a passion — it’s something that’s been my whole focus for as long as I remember.”

 

Stephens has watched squash evolve throughout his career — with changes to court dimensions, advancements in technology, and a shift to the “soft,” international ball — but he’s never failed to adjust to the modern game.

 

His success is staggering.

 

Stephens’s teams have won 14 New England Interscholastic Team Championships and compiled more than 360 match victories in his 30 seasons. The Bruins won their second consecutive (and second-ever) U.S. High School National Championship last February.

 

For the former UVa soccer and tennis captain, though, the trek toward winning — not the end result itself — is most important.

 

“The best men of any given talent are those that struggle on until the last detail is properly done,” he says. “Success comes to the person who does the right things repeatedly and patiently. Judge your success by what you have to give up in order to get it.”

 

Stephens, himself, has given up countless hours of his time and energy for the benefit of his players, even spending his nights stringing and re-gripping their racquets and calling them on the phone to discuss match strategy — or just life in general.

 

Will Broadbent ’02, a four-time All-American at Harvard University from 2002–2006, is one of those Stephens disciples, playing a remarkable seven years of varsity squash for the Bruins as a Middle and Upper Schooler.

 

“I look back so fondly on the years I played for Jim,” Broadbent said. “He takes a very analytical approach to the game, but he makes every serious teaching point with a lighthearted smile on his face.

 

“He’s paid so much attention to creating a pipeline of squash at Brunswick, ultimately creating the fabric of a collegial and entirely inclusive team environment. All of us in the Brunswick squash community — and it’s become a real community during his time as head coach — are grateful to him for his efforts.”  

 

And luckily for the up-and-coming litany of Brunswick squash players, Stephens isn’t planning on retiring anytime soon.