When looking down the bench of the men’s basketball team for the past 36 seasons, Alan Childs was always there. The former Lafayette College psychology professor, who remained with the team after retiring in 2017, has finished his last season as the Leopards’ faculty mentor.
After stepping away from his role as executive director of the Colonial League in 1989 — later the Patriot League — Childs said he missed “being involved in athletics,” which inspired him to assume the newly created role in 1990.
“I was returning to be a full-time professor at the college, and at the time, the coach, who was John Leone, recruited me to take on the position,” he explained.
Head coach Mike McGarvey said the moment he realized the “depth” of Childs’ impact on the Leopards and the Patriot League as a whole came during his first game on Lafayette’s staff against the University of Miami.
“Hall of Fame coach Jim Larrañaga was the head coach at the time, and he came over to do his handshakes and say hello to the coaching staff,” McGarvey said. “When he hit Dr. Childs, he said, ‘Alan, great to see you!’”
Childs’ enthusiasm for the sport led to his strong bond with former Leopard head basketball coach Fran O’Hanlon, who led the team from 1995 to 2022.
“Fran and I were kindred souls,” Childs said. “We had a lot of the same experiences growing up.”
Faculty mentors help coaches understand the pressures that surround student life. Childs said his first concern was for the students and for their chance to adjust and adapt to a demanding academic and athletic environment.
Although his core job has stayed relatively consistent throughout his tenure, Childs said the biggest changes have come from the rise of athletic scholarships — which Lafayette adapted in 2006 — along with the recent additions of the transfer portal and NIL.
“My relationship with Doc has definitely grown over the years,” junior forward Andrew Phillips wrote in an email. “From long bus rides and meals in hotels on away trips, I would find myself talking to him about various topics from sports to the classroom. He was always willing to connect with us which was awesome.”
Childs made a point to build relationships with players before they ever suited up for the Leopards. He reached out during the summer before they arrived on College Hill, checking in and getting to know them on a personal level.
McGarvey noted that this would establish trust within Childs and the players.
“He allowed us as freshmen to feel a sense of community and support,” Phillips wrote.
“Whatever is said to me, stays with me,” Childs shared. He added that since he was a psychologist, this helped him in dealing with a multitude of issues.
McGarvey said what he will remember most about Childs was “the amount of emotion” he showed at his final game on Tuesday against Holy Cross.
“Seeing him hug our players, and watching the emotions come out as he recounted all those memories that he had being part of a team, that was really special to me,” McGarvey said.
Childs will still be immersed within the game, as his grandchildren play basketball, and his son Ben Childs ‘00 is an assistant coach for the Bangor High School basketball team. He also plans to remain a familiar face in the Lafayette community and continue to cheer from the stands.
“It was certainly a labor of love, and I hope I made the experience for the coaches and the players a little bit better, but it certainly enriched my life, and I’ll be eternally grateful.”