As Chantilly says goodbye to head coach coach Mike Lalli, who has held the position for over a decade, the Charger community welcomes back Chantilly alumnus and former staff member Sean Curry.

Curry was a Chantilly assistant football coach for nine years before accepting the head coaching job at Freedom High School in Loudoun County. During those nine years, Curry taught English 11 and English 11 Honors and was an active member of the school community by serving as English 11 Team Leader and as a member of the school improvement team.

Prior to becoming a faculty member at Chantilly, Curry attended James Madison University for his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and master’s in teaching.

As a Chantilly student, Curry was influenced by the coaches he had since his freshman year. Entering high school, he was quiet and insecure. However, football helped Curry develop confidence and self-esteem.  

“[Curry’s high school role models] Coach Chapman, Coach Smith, Coach Dux [and] Coach Ford seemed to really enjoy their work, and it seemed like a great way to give back to young people and stay around the game I love,” Curry said. “Football imbues so many important life skills- selflessness, discipline, dedication [and] mental and physical toughness. As cliché as it sounds, I don’t know where I would be today if I hadn’t played high school football.”

By his sophomore year of high school, Curry knew he wanted to be a high school football coach. After graduating college, he returned to Chantilly to coach as well as teach. Working alongside Curry was Assistant Principal Mike Astudillo, who was a teacher at Chantilly before becoming an Administrator. During their years at Chantilly together, Astudillo got to know Curry well.

“He’s energetic, enthusiastic, fun, dedicated and motivated,” Astudillo said. “He’s the kind of guy that our kids are really going to respond to and are going to try to do their best for.”

The staff members are not the only ones to take notice of and appreciate his enthusiasm- so have the players.

“We have only met him once, but I could tell he was excited to start working with us,” running back and junior Joey Imperato said. “I am excited for the new coach and for the fresh start that we will have.”

Curry was introduced to the football team on Jan. 27 after school in the cafeteria, which was packed with football players, all just as enthusiastic as Imperato.

“Coach Curry came in [the cafeteria] and he had written a letter and gave it to each player describing what they can expect from him and what he expects from the team,” Astudillo said. “He set up a Twitter account and some different things where the players could sign up right away, and helped get them involved in some off-season workouts.”

Curry also encouraged the players to get involved in other sports as well, since he is a big believer in spring and winter sports to help the team stay fit and conditioned for football.

“We want our guys competing with each other, with themselves and with the young men at every school in the state,” Curry said. “We want our players to represent Chantilly High School in multiple sports. We want them to get comfortable competing in authentic contests.”

Curry wants the players to focus on just getting a day better, simply meaning that the football team will take every opportunity to improve itself.

“It’s a simple goal because it is a choice to give effort and to focus on what we control,” Curry said. “Whether that means going all out during a workout or spending more time studying, getting a day better means we took advantage of an opportunity to improve.”