By Noah Krawchick

The Maury High School Commodores defeated the Highland Springs Springers 25-7 on Dec. 13. 

This was Maury’s third consecutive class 5A Virginia state championship and the fourth in the coaching career of head coach Dyrri McCain who took over in 2017. 

In light of this success I sat down with him to discuss Maury’s first three-peat. The following has been edited for clarity. 

NK: How did it feel to win your third state championship in a row?

DM: It felt good. I mean, the guys set out a goal in January when we met. They did everything in between and they achieved the goal. So, like when you win it, third time in a row, it’s not an easy task. It takes guys staying consistent, not getting comfortable. And that’s what probably the best feeling was after was, being able to know that we were able to do that cause it’s not an easy thing to do. I enjoyed that moment of three peating. It’s very rare that that happens. I was happy for the guys.

NK: To build off that, what is your approach going to be going into next year, aiming to win four in a row?

DM: That’s our biggest goal. Our messages are all up across the weight room of what we’re trying to accomplish this year, you know, it’d be the first class in Maury history to be able to come in here and go four for four. Come in, win the championship, get a ring. You’re leaving out with a championship and a ring. So that would be special.  Not many people can say that they are able to do that. So it’d be good for those seniors to be able to pull that off. And it’d be a good moment for our school and history. So we’re pushing forward to try to make that happen. It’ll be something special.

NK: How did you guys bounce back from losing the first game of the year? Obviously, it was your first loss in three seasons. How did you use that as motivation to keep pushing through the rest of the season?

DM:  That game showed us a lot. It showed us that we weren’t invincible, that we can be beat. And it was good to happen at the time that it did to start out the season because then we can refresh and really get back on track for the rest of our regular season and then into the playoffs. So I think it was a good moment for our program, to be honest with you, as disappointing as it was at the time. It was probably the best thing that could have happened for this team because I think about on the flip end. I would have rather went into the state tournament with this team, not with any other team, but this team, 12-1 rather than 13- 0, because who knows how we would have probably went into those other games?  Kind of thinking it was always going to be okay even when we faced adversity. So that game was huge for us, and I’m a competitor. I don’t like to lose, but like I said, I think that was a good thing for this team at that time.

NK: So talking about that loss, how you’d rather go in with this team knowing that in the back of their mind, they can lose? How does that separate this team from your other two undefeated state championships?

DM: That’s a great question, man. I think that those teams were super talented, those two undefeated teams, they were super talented. Their mistakes that they made didn’t show up a lot only because the amount of talent kind of made up for the mishaps. So, you know, even when those guys would think that it was going to be okay, it always figured itself out and the ball would bounce in our way. And what makes this team different is that they didn’t get the same respect as the other two teams that went undefeated, even before the season, not even after, but before the season, it was a bunch of talk of so many guys being gone, so much talent being gone, so many guys graduating, and so they were already under the the ball anyway, through, you know, a third person’s eyes. So, you know, the fact that they to other people’s eyes weren’t as good as those other two teams. And they lose the first game, you know, you would think that it’s not going to happen for us in the long run with this team. So the fight that these guys had to go through and the adversity that these guys had to go through. I mean, those other two teams, they went undefeated, but they had their chances to three-peat because they could have won it the year before those two years, and they didn’t get it done. But that’s what makes this group special is that they were able to capture the three-peat in which those other teams were chasing. So that’s what makes them special.

NK: I understand you just became a father? How do you think that’s helped you coaching or vice versa? How has coaching prepared you for being a father?

DM: I think coaching first has helped me with fatherhood because I experienced coaching first before I became a father. So I think that just different personalities, different ways that guys think, different ways that guys handle situations, adversity, kind of go throughout their daily lives and doing stuff, and trying to teach them, taught me more of, man, these guys don’t know what they don’t know.  So my approach with my son is he doesn’t know. So I got to take my time being patient and teaching him as a coach has to do. So that’s where I think that they taught me that, but then on a flip end, having a child now when I’m coaching them, I’m probably now more intentional with teaching. Not that I never was, because I’m a very detailed and intentional guy, but I think it just made me more intentional with getting my point across through a conversation. Because this was needed and so I think it’s helped both, but it’s been great.

NK: As you know, Keandre Lambert Smith just got drafted to the NFL last year, played his rookie season. What does that mean to you? Is it validating or anything to see somebody who you coached make it to the highest level of competitiveness in his sport?

DM: I think that, you know, a kid that I’m super proud of, his class was the first class that I pretty much built this program with. So it was cool to see. You already knew that he had a chance to play in the NFL when he was here, so you kind of saw that. But you know, it’s been great to follow his journey, be a part of his journey. Me and him have a super close relationship. So it’s just been cool, man. I was able to go to the combine and watch him perform at the combine. Been to, obviously a couple of his games, college wise, still trying to make one of his pro games. So, it’s just, like I said, it’s been a cool experience, just being a part of his journey, our close-knit relationship that we have, being at his draft party. It’s just been all cool, man. He’s super deserving. He’s been through so much in his life. But for him to, like you said, make it to the highest of highest levels, it’s always been a dream of his, and it’s a cool thing to see as a coach because you’ve got a guy that wants to live out this dream. Every kid has a dream that they want to chase and get. So it’s cool as a coach being able to see him live out his dream that he’s always wanted to be and do. So, I mean, it’s cool, man. He’s deserving of it, and I’m proud of him.

NK: To keep on the trend a former players for a little bit, LeBron Bond, who obviously won a national championship at Indiana. Have you talked to him about maybe, you know, how Maury may have prepared him for that or how you may have prepared him for that, always playing in these big moments, going into the National Championship game?

DM: I think LeBron’s always been a star in everything he’s done. I think coming here, we’ve talked a few times. It’s helped him in some ways more than others. It might not be skillwork, it might be mentally that we’ve helped or skill development, but definitely planning those big games has helped him kind of be ready for that. You know, you’re looking at a kid who, like I said before, he hasn’t lost a game since, I want to say, 2022, that he lost his last game? And it might have been the Holland Springs State Championship game that he lost his last game, which I think was in, I want to say, 22. So he has under two undefeated seasons here. He goes to Indiana, has an undefeated season there. So he’s about to go in four years and not have lost a game. So you know, somebody who understands winning, who knows what winning is like, who’s been a part of been a part of winning structures and programs, you know, he’s a winner, and the fact that he was able to leave here and do that and then go there and do that. It speaks volumes. So I’m glad that we were able to do what we did for him, but he’s not done with his journey yet and more great things will come from him for sure.