Amid the awards, varsity letters and league honors distributed last week at East Chapel Hill High School's spring sports dinner, one somber moment managed to insert itself into the festivities.

It dawned on many people, slowly to some and suddenly on others, that this would the last time Dave Thaden would be handling these awards in his role as principal.

Thaden announced last semester that 2009 would be his last year at the school, and last week he introduced his successor, Eileen Tully, to the faculty.

"It was emotional for a lot of us," said East Chapel Hill teacher and tennis coach Lindsey Linker. "It's going to be tough next year ... tough."

Thaden has been the only principal East Chapel Hill has had to date, taking the appointment 13 years ago while the school still was under construction. He literally helped finish and open the town's first new high school in a generation.

With no disrespect for Tully, whose selection has received virtually unanimous endorsement from the teachers at East, just about everyone shares Linker's opinion.

If one were trying to construct the perfect principal from scratch, Dave Thaden would be the model from which to start.

Under his leadership, East Chapel Hill has blossomed into an almost perfect symbiosis of high academic achievement and athletic success.

Linker found herself a bit overwhelmed when East Chapel Hill athletics director and basketball coach Ray Hartsfield asked her to count up the state championships won by the Wildcats during Thaden's tenure. "It really hit me as I was looking at all the championships," she said, her tennis teams responsible for more than a dozen of those titles. "He was been a wonderful principle, in every way."

Hartsfield wanted the tally -- 47 team state championships, five Wachovia Cups for overall athletic preeminence statewide -- for an engraved plaque he and the coaching staff presented to Thaden during the spring banquet. It bore the motto "Leadership Produces Results," and was underscored by the statement, "and Dave, you're a Great Leader."

And, as academics and athletics have peacefully coexisted, Thaden has accomplished the almost impossible quadrilateral, winning the respect and admiration of teachers, parents, students and alumni -- all while asking them for excellence.

"He's always been able to put everything into the right perspective," Hartsfield said. "He always puts the students at the forefront, and he sees that the teachers follow suit. The students know he cares about them. The parents see that and respect that."

Like everyone else asked about Thaden, Hartsfield has a direct assessment of Thaden's remarkable, and successful, high-wire act: "He's fantastic."

Only now, as he prepares to step down, have the positive opinions of Thaden coalesced into a steady outpouring of praise and a shower of accolades. Teacher and baseball coach Phil Woodell said that Thaden long ago mastered the art of quiet leadership. It's been a bit like the old advice about acting: It's a wonderful thing to do, as long as you don't get caught doing it.

"He attends everything. He's always there," Woodell said. "He's a great fan. He'd like to be incognito, but he's also a great referee. He'll be sure the officials know if they made a mistake."

All joking about Thaden's home-team enthusiasm aside, all the athletes and coaches at East Chapel Hill know their principal is always backing them, on the field and off. He knows every student at the school, and follows their progress with great interest.

One student who'd recently heard from some Ivy League schools was surprised when Thaden greeted him the hall the next day and congratulated him on the interest drawn. Thaden was surprised the student was surprised, and laughingly asked, "C'mon ... now who's the principal here?"

The East Chapel Hill coaching staff also knows Thaden supports them and roots for them. His continual attendance at events is palpable evidence of his interest. Less obvious are his careful notation of wins and losses, and a running total of points accumulated in the statewide Wachovia Cup all-sports competition, which he keeps in the back pages of the annual N.C. High School Athletic Association handbook.

Thaden understands the coaching profession in a way that many academics don't, Hartsfield said, calling him "a consummate professional" who knows when to delegate responsibility and when to chastise. Thaden's experience as a youth coach, working with club soccer teams, helps him appreciate the requirements of the job.

Great educational administrators share an understanding with great coaches: they must be teachers first. Thaden intrinsically knows that. The very root of the word "principal" stems from the concept of a "lead teacher."

When East Chapel Hill opened, Thaden continued to teach honors English Lit. He very reluctantly gave up classroom teaching only as his responsibilities grew in the front office. He's not a quitter.

Even now, as Thaden carries on a fight against painful bone cancer, he is not giving up. He may be retiring soon, but he's not quitting

He still makes the daily announcements over the school PA, steadfastly optimistic in voice and spirit. He still attended games right through the state playoffs, ever the Wildcat fan. He still makes the weekly phone call that goes out to all students' households, sanguine and resolutely upbeat.

Hartsfield, who Thaden first hired as basketball coach and who won a state championship in the school's first year of competition, isn't surprised by Thaden's irrepressible cheerfulness. Nor would he be surprised to see Thaden return to the classroom some day.

"That's his personality," Hartsfield said. "He doesn't know how to lose. He doesn't accept failure. He chooses to win -- always."

CHN Sports Editor Elliott Warnock can be reached at chnsports@nando.com or by calling 932-8743.