Still crazy after all these years

Chuck Sponsky More than 30 yeara ago, I engaged in a conversation with Chuck Sponsky that illustrated for me the love that he had for the game of football and the love that he had experienced because of the influence of football coaches in his early years of life.  At the time, I had nominated a football coach from my hometown to the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Hall of Fame (PSFCA). I knew two coaches from our area who were on that committee, Jerry Page of Laurel Valley, originally from the Son-man area of Portage, and Chuck, who had been the football coach at Bishop Carroll High School in Ebensburg for 11 years. The Hall of Fame was in its early stages, and Jerry and Chuck helped guide me in sending in the recommendation. My conversation with Chuck ultimately went back to his years as a young man — and to his high school football coach, Mario (Huck) Cicero. Chuck grew up in Bakerton, a small village in West Carroll Township in Cambria County, and he attended John Carro

Chuck Sponsky Photo: Altoona Mirror A long-time coach and administrator at Bishop Carroll High School in Ebensburg has passed away in Florida as a result of the coronavirus.  According to the Altoona Mirror, Chuck Sponsky, a former Ebensburg resident who was 80, passed away on Sept. 6 in West Palm Beach, Florida.  Sponsky first served as head coach at Forest Hills High School for eight seasons, compiling a record of 35-34-2. He retired as a teacher from Forest Hills. A graduate of John Carroll High School in Carrolltown, he coached the Huskies of Bishop Carroll for 13 seasons, finishing with a record of 90-45-6, according to the Mirror.  Sponsky also served as athletic director at Bishop Carroll for 26 years. Chuck was also very active in the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association, and for that service, he was inducted into the PSFCA hall of fame.  Chuck as his wife, Carole, moved to Florida in 2012 after his son, Craig, had been named as athletic director at a sch

  … it has brought joy, friendship, and great relationships to me This has been coming for a long time with me. When you reach a stage in life where you no longer care about something that you hold dear, it is time to say goodbye.  So, in this challenging time, it is probably better for me to say goodbye to football than it has ever been. I realize that I have no desire to follow a sport that I have loved any longer.  And while it has brought joy to me, it no longer does.  Goes back to my dad My love of sports was something that I inherited from my father. From the stories that he told to his playing baseball with me in the backyard, they were an important part of my life.  While I never really wanted to enter coaching when I finished high school, fate intervened. A phone call led to my becoming the coach of a grade school football team, and ultimately, to realizing the joy of working to teach and nurture young people.  My love of football was nourished in my younger years when I accom