1- Bulldog Athletes Deliver Holiday Cheer

Pictured Below: Varsity Girls Basketball fill their cart with some holiday joy for local families in need.

Pictured Below: JV Girls Basketball come together to make the holidays bright for others.

Pictured Above:

Track/XC team collected gifts for two KINDH families Indoor Track Team Captains Maggie Sagan, Santi Gutierrez, and Daniel McNelis delivered the gifts.

Pictured Right: Student Athletes from Flag Football & Swim & Dive organize holiday donations for local families.

Pictured Below: JV Girls Basketball wrapping up some holiday magic.

New to our. Bulldog coaching staff in 2025 was Lelia True. Brought on to lead our Girls Flag Football team, Coach True has also taken on the role of JV Girls Basketball coach. Coach True brings a unique blend of battlefield-tested leadership, strategic expertise, and a lifelong dedication to service to every challenge she undertakes. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, she commissioned into the Signal Corps and commanded a tactical communications company during Operation Desert Storm, earning the Bronze Star Medal for exceptionally meritorious service under fire. Airborne and Air Assault qualified, she led soldiers in some of the Army’s most demanding environments before transitioning her discipline and mission focus to the civilian world. 

After earning a MS in Management from Purdue University, Lelia spent more than two decades in corporate America, rising to the Vice President role at Comcast where she mentored the next generation of leaders and championed diversity and inclusion initiatives. 

She then returned to her passion for developing young people, serving as Head of School at the Washington Waldorf School in Bethesda, Maryland. A lifelong athlete and coach, we are very fortunate to have her mentor our Churchill student-athletes.

Get to know more about this dynamic addition to our Bulldog community!

Q: What inspired you to start coaching, and how did you get into both flag football and basketball?

A: My first coaching role was as an assistant coach for the US Armed Forces Women's Combined Services Rugby team in 2004. I had to coach because I was 8 months pregnant and clearly could not play or ref. I like the challenge of coaching, it keeps me involved in the sport and allows me to compete in a different way.

I played a lot of flag football in the Army and also played in a few leagues in the area when I was younger. I started coaching basketball at Washington Waldorf School in 2017. 

Q: What’s your favorite part about coaching at our school? 

A: I enjoy the energy of the players and their ability to eagerly learn new things. I also like being part of the community. Education is important to me and I think that sport adds a lot to the educational experience. I have met a lot of good people, students, parents, teachers and administrators. I like being on the Churchill team.

Q: Flag football is growing fast for female athletes—what excites you most about coaching it?

A: I enjoy showing the players the nuances of what sets players and teams apart. It is such a new sport and while athleticism is critical, there are many techniques players can use to gain an advantage. Helping the athletes learn those techniques is a challenge that I enjoy. Coaching is teaching and I love to teach.

Q: What is your favorite play to run—or the play that always gets everyone hyped? 

A: Miss direction plays are my favorite and a well executed flea flicker is a winner. 

Q: Who is a past coach or player who inspired your own approach to the game? 

A: My first real coaches, Dave Udelf and Dave Cohen, coached my baseball team when I was one of the first girls to play in the Shaker Boy’s Baseball league. They set a standard for me in how they trained and treated us. I learned so much from them, they were kind, thoughtful, competent and fun. But additionally, it is important to me to make sure that all of my coaches know, I remember them and learned something important to me from every single one of them. 

Q: Do you have any pregame rituals—personal or team traditions?

A: I think I have started a new tradition of each class performing a skit during our team banquet. I did that this year for flag football and I think everyone enjoyed the experience. I know we laughed a lot.

I also really like the Basketball team’s tradition of supporting a family during the holidays. It is a meaningful activity and very fun for the whole team.

Q; What goals do you have for your teams this season? 

A: Learn, play hard, have fun and DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

Q: If you could only listen to one artist or playlist on game days, who would it be?

A: I like Billy Ocean “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!”. I also like Phil Collin’s song “I don’t care anymore.”

Q: What’s a fun fact about you that most people at school don’t know? 

A: I play a lot of funbridge on my phone and have a bridge trophy; I won at a bridge tournament, I think in Atlanta or Las Vegas. Oh and also I am running for Montgomery County Council.

Q: Who were your favorite athletes or role models growing up?

A: Joan of Arc and Harriet Tubman - I have a shirt that says “They used to burn women like us!” I also liked Arther Ashe, George Brett and Paul Warfield

Q: What’s your signature saying, motto, or piece of advice your teams hear all the time?

A: We can be the smartest team on the court, field, pitch. etc.

Stop by Dawg Dish concessions at all basketball games and wrestling meets. Located next to the gymnasium, the Dawg Dish serves pizza, hot dogs, cup of noodles, candy, assorted snacks, hot chocolate, coffee/tea, sodas and Gatorades. New this winter, the Dawg Dish has added cotton candy for $3 and root beer for $2 to menu. Plus, we now have a new digital menu that will feature any new specials, so come see us. 

A Big Thank You to Our Football Volunteers

The Dawg Dish cannot run without the help of our parent volunteers. We depend on a team of volunteers each game to help us set up, man the grill, take orders, make hot cocoa and popcorn, serve pizza, and then clean up. For varsity football games, our team consists of at least 18 volunteers who make Concessions run smoothly. We’d especially like to thank these amazing volunteers who worked every game to help us - 

Mitun Seguin

Aby Filomeno

Alyson Weinstein

Bryan Weinstein

Mohamed Karama

Mika Shimoji 

Renee Lai

Sana Akili

Aimee Robbins

Brian Robbins

Muzne Baabde

Jennifer Sprague-Hilderbrand 

And a very big shout out to our grill team - Jake Lynn for managing the heavy demand for grilled items and Brian Dubin for managing the Chick Fil-A sandwiches sold at each game. 

That's right, It says "opportunities" as in a chance, to actively contribute to the Bulldog Community and your student athlete's team experience, to meet new people and make new friends, and to have fun!

There are so many ways to pitch in!

School Store: Come in during lunch (11:00am-12:00pm) on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays or sign up to sell during home games. Sign up HERE.

Concessions: Volunteer to help sell snacks during games. Have questions send them to our Concessions Committee HERE.

Help out with the Bulldog Bash, with the planning, tasks leading up to the event, and day of roles.Sign up HERE.

Join and attend Booster club meetings to learn how to support our athletic teams. 10% of every paid membership goes directly into your student’s team account for the team to use as it wishes. There is also a special $300 team bonus for any team who achieves 100% member participation of households in Booster Club.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Next Booster Club Meeting is on January 7th, 2026.

WCHS Booster Club | Churchillboosterclub.com