Knightly News

It is such a pleasure to join the Episcopal Knights! While some of you may have seen me around campus or know me as Taylor’s husband, I am excited to be working with Middle School athletes and teaching physical education this year. My first few months have been incredible.

I have played sports for as long as I can remember. During my middle school days back home in Texas, I played every sport. Eventually, I went on to play basketball in college. I learned so much from these athletic experiences, and now I want to serve our Episcopal Middle Schoolers and make sure they have an equally meaningful experience.

I am here to build on the standard of excellence set by my friend Jimmy Williams ’97. While we are all still coping with the loss of Jimmy, I hope to continue what he started. Jimmy was Taylor’s Senior Buddy when they both attended Episcopal, and he was always gracious and helpful with anything and everything I needed with life and transitioning to Episcopal. His legacy lives on through his family, our program and this community.

My goal for the Middle School athletic program is to engage, equip and empower our students to make a difference and achieve greatness. We’ll do this by boosting overall student confidence and increasing their belief in themselves. I personally wish I had been more comfortable being me earlier in life, and I’d love to help our students develop that confidence now.

The Middle School coaches and I will develop students on all levels of life through a fun, competitive and hardworking sports environment. The kids are going to be challenged. They are also going to accomplish things they never imagined possible. I hope we can remove the fear of going out there and trying something new. It can be difficult to put yourself out there, especially in Middle School. I want our students to feel empowered to try new things and take on new roles. It will take perseverance, mental toughness and grit, but I know our students can do it. I hope that as our athletes try new sports and develop new skills, they will continue playing sports and reaping the benefits of competing and being a part of a team.

My hopes for our students are already becoming reality. This fall sports season our softball, cross country, football, tennis and swimming teams are representing Episcopal well. They are also growing as young people. For example, sixth grade softball player Jeanne Bosworth caught a ball in the outfield. This was something she didn’t think she would do, and she did it in her first game! New eighth grader Gena AlSabban had never played a sport but wanted to come out and give it a try. She did and teammates Charlotte Spring, Ainsley Ebey and Abigail Landry encouraged her the whole time.

In cross country, runner John Lambert fell during a meet, but that didn’t stop him. He got up and pushed on to the finish line. Teammate Ada Mere competed hard as well and pushed through to the finish line even though she wasn’t feeling well the morning of the race. Middle School football player James Ryan struggled during a recent game. We talked on the sideline about speaking positively and having a “next play mentality.” James Ryan went back out there the next series and threw a couple of great passes and eventually threw a touchdown.

I am proud of these students, and I hope the Episcopal community will celebrate our Middle School athletes. Competing is about so much more than a winning record or a personal best. Our students are preparing now for the challenges and triumphs they’ll face throughout life. I am honored to be a part of the experience with them.

Thank you to Squires for providing athletic photos.

Alex Wharton brings a decade of college coaching experience to his role with the Episcopal athletics department. Wharton’s college basketball coaching experience includes stints at Lonestar College, Angelo State University, University of Houston, UT Chattanooga, Virginia Commonwealth and Louisiana State University. He is also active in sports ministry through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Wharton earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Houston and a master’s degree in sports administration from Angelo State University. He is married to Episcopal girls basketball head coach Taylor Wharton, and they have one daughter.

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