August 4, 2025
First Academy Senior’s Leadership and Passion Shape FA-Leesburg’s Future
By Kyle Coppola
First Academy Senior’s Leadership and Passion Shape FA-Leesburg’s Future
Logan Stalvey
First Academy-Leesburg multi-sport athlete Logan Stalvey is known as a reliable leader.
Logan, a senior who plays football and basketball, has built a reputation through hard work, consistency and a team-first attitude. Whether he’s making tackles under the lights on Friday or shooting lay-ups in the gym, Logan brings the same focus and energy that’s made him a key part of the Eagles’ athletic program.
Standing 6-foot-4, Logan is a commanding figure whether he’s charging the backfield as a middle linebacker or grabbing rebounds under the glass as a power forward.
His athletic roots run deep. Athletics weren’t just encouraged in the Stalvey household, they were part of the architecture. His mother, Gina Stalvey, played softball and volleyball at Leesburg High. His father excelled in football, basketball and track & field at Trenton High.
“If you want to be good at something work as hard as possible,” Logan says. “Don’t just show up and think you’ll be good at it. Reach out to your peers. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”
It’s a philosophy that’s guided him through injuries, long practices, and the pressure of leadership. Last season, a shoulder injury cost him five football games, but it didn’t break him. Instead, it led him to discover a new passion: sports medicine, inspired by First Academy’s athletic trainer Kari Earwaker, who helped guide him through recovery and back onto the court.
“Kari didn’t just help me physically, she reminded me how much I love the game,” Logan reflects. “Now, I want to help others the way she helped me.”
Logan maintains a 3.5 GPA, is active in Student Government, National Honor Society, and Key Club, and is set on studying sports medicine after graduation.
First Academy-Leesburg isn’t just a school to him, it’s home – a place he’s attended since kindergarten. A place where teachers know your name, and where kindness is part of the curriculum.
“It’s a special place,” he says. “You feel supported here. The teachers, the coaches, they care.”
Among those mentors, Logan highlights two who’ve helped shape him most: Athletic Director Don Birdsall, whose quiet wisdom often arrives right when it’s needed, and head football coach Canh Bui, the man who introduced him to the sport that now defines so much of who he is.
As Logan steps into his senior year, he knows the team around him is young. But that doesn’t concern him. Quite the opposite, he sees it as a blueprint, an opportunity to lay the groundwork for something greater.
“I’m excited to see where the program goes,” he says. “And I just hope I can be the kind of leader who helps build something lasting.”
Photos: Nicole Hamel
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
