STS Coach of the Month for May 2021

May 31st, 2021 | Josh Adelman

This month we recognize US Army Veteran and Football Coach Terence Lee Cunningham II as the Soldiers To Sidelines Coach of the Month, May 2021. 

It is our honor to present this award to Coach Cunningham due to his dedication to young students off the football field.  For the past seven years, Terence has been serving as a behavior modification technician for South Mecklenburg County Schools in Charlotte, NC.  This is an extremely important and stressful job that ensures at-risk youth learn the interpersonal skills to be successful and productive through school and life.  

Key tasks in this role include: 

• Advocate for students by providing individual and group therapeutic processing sessions. 
• Implement behavior management programs enabling students to acquire social and interpersonal behaviors to improve academic success. 

• Assist administration and staff with de-escalation and prevention strategies for school crisis. 
• Track and analyze data regarding student behavior, attendance and academic progress to make recommendations for staff administration to improve performance.  

Terence’s everyday work experience and skillsets strengthen his emotional intelligence to become a more empathetic and effective football coach.  He has also taken this experience to his continued education in the Soldiers To Sidelines Membership Development Program, where he reflects on how these key tasks have helped him in football coaching situations.  Coach Cunningham is becoming a master at positively influencing young athletes who need it the most.  

Prior to his work experience with at-risk youth, Terence’s military experience set the stage for a successful career in coaching in his community.  

Terence says, “My military experience most definitely molded me into a hard-working, committed, team-oriented person. So many different experiences in the military have helped me as a decision maker. I believe I have become a better listener and a better detail-oriented teacher through my time in service. My time in the military has helped me to understand how being a leader/teacher means doing things necessary to give each person an opportunity to be successful, learn, and develop.” 

Coach Cunningham is a natural teacher and motivator, which he initially learned from his father. His dad served as the inspirational spark for Terence’s desire to coach.

“My father has been coaching for 40+ years and he has always been my idol. Growing up as a coach’s son, so many people always talked to me about my father’s impact as a teacher and a coach. They always talked about how good of a person he was, how much he helped them, and the different things he taught them in sports and in life. I have always admired the amount of respect my father has earned from people that know him, and it has always inspired me to want to be just like him.” 

“I knew that eventually in my life I wanted to cross into the coaching ranks and begin my own journey. My father has always pushed me in sports, education, and in life. My ultimate goal is to go as far as I can in coaching football, potentially experiencing the college or professional ranks one day. I want to impact as many lives as possible along the way so that I can be remembered and loved the same as my father. He always tells me to go for my dream and never let people discourage you from working towards achieving it. My coaching experiences along with post graduate education in positive pedagogy for sports coaching has made me more open-minded, creative, collaborative, and patient.” 

Coach Cunningham’s dedication and inspiration had an enormous impact on his South Mecklenburg High School tootball team this year.  In a year of uncertainty, fear and doubt stemming from the pandemic, it has been challenging to motivate athletes through adversity.  However, Coach Cunningham recalls one of his favorite coaching moments this season. 

“One of the best coaching interactions I have had so far in my coaching journey was this past season at South Meck during our covid season. South Meck high school had been a losing program the last two seasons with only three wins in two seasons. So much had been given and taken away at the blink of an eye during the pandemic. We were never sure or unsure when or if our season in the spring was going to be held. Finally, towards the end of February, we began our 7-game conference only schedule. Our team started off 0-3. Each game we lost was due to turnovers and special teams mistakes. I believed our team energy, commitment, and dedication to creating a winning culture was lacking. After our third straight tough loss, our team boarded the bus I decide to have a conversation with the players. I asked them “What are you willing to do to win?” I asked them how important this season was to them and what they thought was going on with our team.  

It was a great moment and critical dialogue that needed to happen amongst our team. We as coaches realized we needed to be better for them, and we also demanded more from them that following Monday in practice.  

That following week we had to play against one of the best teams in the surrounding area.  It had already been predicted throughout the local media that our team was going to lose. We had a great week of hard, fast, and competitive practice and we won a hard-fought game on the road. It was one of the biggest upsets of the season!  

From that point forward our players felt what winning felt like, and how the process of doing the work could create more success. We created a weekly routine as a team for the rest of the season and it helped change our team culture. We ripped off four straight wins to finish the season 4-3 and barely miss the playoffs. It was huge for me to be a part of this. I really cherish this past season because it was a perfect example of when you do the work the right way, you can create the right results!” 

Coach Terence Lee Cunningham II is combining years of military experience, work experience, and life experience to continue to develop his coaching craft.  He is experiencing tremendous success within his football team and his community.  He is a true Soldier Coach. It is our honor to recognize him as the May 2021 Soldiers To Sidelines Coach of the Month.