Mr. Steve Howe’s is a graduate of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School.  Starting this school year he is the acting athletic director and taking over for Mr. Pat Bates, who will be retiring mid-year. Previously, Howes was the Head Coach of Men’s Basketball at The Catholic University of America (CU).

The Talon interviewed Mr. Howes to get insight about his journey, coaching career at CU, why he returned to Good Counsel, expectations, and what the future holds for Good Counsel sports under his command.

Mr.  Howes, a ‘91 Good Counsel Alumnae, was transformed by his experiences as a student here.  He went from being a shy kid to one that was very confident, ready for college, and ready to be successful in the world.  Howe’s gives credit to his tremendous teachers and coaches that positively impacted him and made him want to give back in the same way professionally.  Mr. Howe’s first started giving back through his coaching position at CU. He coached 15 seasons there, and he qualified for postseason play in 13 of them.  Additionally, Howes led the cardinals to five NCAA tournament appearances.  “Being a college coach at a small school, you have to do so many roles. You recruit, you fundraise, and you are involved with a lot of different campus organizations.  So being a college coach gave me the opportunity to see hundreds of other high schools around the country, and [anywhere] I went I took notes on what I liked and what I didn’t. Not just for my own coaching career, but also looking ahead the opportunity of what if I ever got to be an athletic director,” said Howe’s of his coaching career at CU in preparation for his position of Athletic Director at Good Counsel.

One of the factors that played a key role in Howe’s coming back was Mr. Pat Bates.  Howe’s describes Bates as someone of tremendous loyalty and someone who has done a great job as the athletic director of Good Counsel.  Howe’s says that he has always looked up to Bates and wants to continue his great legacy.

Another factor that made Mr. Howe’s come back to Good Counsel was the fact that he felt like Good Counsel still has the same passion for its sports programs.  Howe’s says that “Good Counsel is a tremendous place to spend 4 years as a student athlete.”  He also states that one of his goals is for Good Counsel to have winning sports teams.

Another goal of his is to make sure that once athletes leave Good Counsel they’re fully prepared to succeed in life on and off the field.  This is specifically important because this aligns with Good Counsels mission to graduate students of character who are ready for successful futures.  Howe’s hopes to continue the legacy started by Pat Bates of winning teams and graduating students of strong character.