Janet Stammen Memorial Scholarship
Janet Stammen, wife of Woodridge coaching legend Stan Stammen, taught 1st grade in the Cuyahoga Falls school district for 37 years. During that time, Janet’s husband Stan coached football, wrestling, cross country and track at Woodridge. Janet traveled everywhere, to all of her husband’s events, home and away, to support her husband and all of the athletes that he coached. You never saw one without the other. She spent every weekend at cross country meets, wrestling tournaments and track meets. She wasn’t just there; she knew every athlete's name, time, weight, record, stats etc. She was a walking sports encyclopedia.
In that 37 year period, Janet missed two (2) of her husband’s events. One was to give birth to their daughter Shea. The other was to take Shea to a gymnastics event that she was competing in. Both Janet and Shea were at the next event, the week after Shea was born!
Janet’s commitment to her students, her husband and their daughter, as well as her commitment to the student/athletes of Woodridge, was nothing less than extraordinary. Her no-nonsense approach to life had a lasting impression on everyone who had the pleasure of knowing her. Janet Stammen was a worker, she was honest, and she led by example. She had a special way of getting the best out of kids. She was tough! Janet had little tolerance for laziness or lack of effort. This determination and commitment to education was passed on to their daughter Shea who was a straight “A” student and did not miss a single day of school for 13 years!
As tough as Janet was, she was a truly loving person. She truly loved her students and the student/athletes of Woodridge. She would do anything to help out a student in need. She would feed them, clothe them, listen to them, offer advice to them and always offer a hug and a smile when needed. A trip to Coach’s house was always a treat. It meant time spent with Coach and Mrs. Stammen, a great meal, laughs and you would always leave a better person having absorbed as much wisdom as you could from both of them.
Janet Stammen died on a Saturday in February of 2002. An hour and a half before her death she asked Coach Stammen to read the results of Friday nights sectional wrestling tournament. She was a fan right up until the end.
Janet stood for everything that high school athletics is supposed to be about; self-discipline, hard work, commitment, dedication, pride and sportsmanship. She demonstrated this every day of her extraordinary life.