Should I return to coaching football at the age of 71? Well, it's complicated
… Thomas Wolfe: “You can’t go home again”
While I never took this idea seriously, it did cross my mind this week when a local community in which I reside part-time said that they were not having a 7th-grade football program because they could not find a volunteer coach. The thought was fleeting and not practice since I have scheduled two eye surgeries over a two-week period in late August and into September.
I did spend almost a quarter century coaching football, and I definitely enjoyed it despite experiencing mostly success but also some difficult years. These young men ranged from college seniors down to fourth graders, so I understood the gamut. I was fortunate to have coached five undefeated teams and seven that earned championships. However, I also went through two seasons in which we did not win the game.
Believe me, I remember those winless seasons as well as the undefeated ones. However, there was one common component that would lead me back to coaching: The relationships that you engender with the young players. That is special, and it sometimes lasts for many years. And the players often make you proud.
I sometimes talk about grade school team that had a quarterback who became an M.D., a
running back who earned a Ph.D. in pharmacy, a tackle who earned an engineering degree at an Ivy League school, another lineman who earned a Ph.D. in engineering, and teachers, accountants, and other professionals, and equally important, hard-working guys who became coal miners, railroad workers, construction employees — just guys who developed a work ethic that was exhibited later in life. That was a joy.
But, at 71?
That last coaching that I did was in 1971. Do I know enough about the game to even venture out as a coach again? When I quit in 1991, I had vowed that I had spent enough time in my life coaching. I was then writing about sports for newspapers, and that kept my pulse on the world of sports without spending the incessant hours on the practice field. However, you do not develop relationships with the players doing that, so there is definitely a trade-off.
As for knowledge, I would need a refresher, but still have watched enough college and high school games in my journalistic career to understand the basic concepts.
In addition, I remember an interview I did back in the 1980s with Mario Cicero, who had just been elected to the Pennsylvania Football Coaches Football Hall of Fame. He was then either in his late 60s or early 70s, and I asked him if he could still teach the game despite having been out of coaching for many years. I will paraphrase since that interview was about 30 years ago, but he said, “The offensive and defensive schemes may have changed, but the game comes down to blocking and tackling and other fundamentals. I believe that I could still teach that.”
That is where I am with the coaching aspect, but coaching has changed in other ways.
Never intended to coach, but ...
But, at 71?
That last coaching that I did was in 1971. Do I know enough about the game to even venture out as a coach again? When I quit in 1991, I had vowed that I had spent enough time in my life coaching. I was then writing about sports for newspapers, and that kept my pulse on the world of sports without spending the incessant hours on the practice field. However, you do not develop relationships with the players doing that, so there is definitely a trade-off.
As for knowledge, I would need a refresher, but still have watched enough college and high school games in my journalistic career to understand the basic concepts.
In addition, I remember an interview I did back in the 1980s with Mario Cicero, who had just been elected to the Pennsylvania Football Coaches Football Hall of Fame. He was then either in his late 60s or early 70s, and I asked him if he could still teach the game despite having been out of coaching for many years. I will paraphrase since that interview was about 30 years ago, but he said, “The offensive and defensive schemes may have changed, but the game comes down to blocking and tackling and other fundamentals. I believe that I could still teach that.”
That is where I am with the coaching aspect, but coaching has changed in other ways.
Never intended to coach, but ...
When I graduated from high school, I had no intention of entering coaching. However, as I prepared for my freshman year at Penn State, I had a call from Jack inman, who had founded the Lilly Raider grade school football team and served as its coach for about six years. He said that he would not be able to coach the Raiders for the first two weeks, and wondered if I would be able to do it. I had no clue where to start, but with my former high school teammate and classmate, Paul Erdal, Jr., aka “Butch” or “Ertz,” serving as the line coach, we undertook this for two weeks.
After the two weeks had elapsed, Jack said that he would not be able to coach that season. He said that we could have the players return their equipment — but we knew that was not even possible at that point. So, Ertz, who became and outstanding line coach, and I decided to coach the team for the season. The result was an undefeated season and a championship of the Cambria Country Grade School Football League. We followed that with two more undefeated seasons and two more titles, though Ertz coached only one of them. He left after being married to his high school sweetheart, Jeanie, and they ae still married decades later.
After the two weeks had elapsed, Jack said that he would not be able to coach that season. He said that we could have the players return their equipment — but we knew that was not even possible at that point. So, Ertz, who became and outstanding line coach, and I decided to coach the team for the season. The result was an undefeated season and a championship of the Cambria Country Grade School Football League. We followed that with two more undefeated seasons and two more titles, though Ertz coached only one of them. He left after being married to his high school sweetheart, Jeanie, and they ae still married decades later.
I then moved away for a while and only returned after my mother’s death when my father was alone and still grieving. At that point, Art Martynuska asked if I would be interesting in coaching the offense at St. Francis College. I spent six years with Art, calling the offensive plays for five of them. I retired to St. Francis a while later as head coach, which was very challenging.
In-between was a four=year sting at Blackjack Valley High School. We started 0-9 the first season, and three years later we were 11-0. I learned that the most important part of coaching was the caliber of your players — and their depth and conditioning. I knew that previously, but it became clear when you can make a change that dramatic.
After leaving St. Francis, I had no intention of coaching again. I had spent innumerable hours recruiting 43 players, most freshman, and realizing that even though we had more players dressed than the school ever did previously, we were not about to win many games. However, we could have, and conceivably, should have since we had a good nucleus returning. That was my worst coaching performance, not because of the record, but because of other factors, some outside my control, but most within it.
However, the first year at St. Francis, when we finished just 1-7, winning the last game of the season at Georgetown, may have been my best one. I am my staff kept the players focused so that at the end, we were able to put together a win. We had just about 40 players, were undersized and lacked depth, yet pulled out a win over the Hoyas. That was a joy.
However, when the Raiders were on the verge of ending their run in 1988 because they did not have a head coach, I returned and coached with Coach “Torchy” aka Adolph Tortoriello, along with Don Courvina and Shawn Stevens. We had to play 8-man football the first year, but in those four years, we had two championship seasons.
In-between was a four=year sting at Blackjack Valley High School. We started 0-9 the first season, and three years later we were 11-0. I learned that the most important part of coaching was the caliber of your players — and their depth and conditioning. I knew that previously, but it became clear when you can make a change that dramatic.
After leaving St. Francis, I had no intention of coaching again. I had spent innumerable hours recruiting 43 players, most freshman, and realizing that even though we had more players dressed than the school ever did previously, we were not about to win many games. However, we could have, and conceivably, should have since we had a good nucleus returning. That was my worst coaching performance, not because of the record, but because of other factors, some outside my control, but most within it.
However, the first year at St. Francis, when we finished just 1-7, winning the last game of the season at Georgetown, may have been my best one. I am my staff kept the players focused so that at the end, we were able to put together a win. We had just about 40 players, were undersized and lacked depth, yet pulled out a win over the Hoyas. That was a joy.
However, when the Raiders were on the verge of ending their run in 1988 because they did not have a head coach, I returned and coached with Coach “Torchy” aka Adolph Tortoriello, along with Don Courvina and Shawn Stevens. We had to play 8-man football the first year, but in those four years, we had two championship seasons.
After 1991, no more coaching I vowed, and I have kept that vow.
So, why not coach today?
My concern with returning to coaching would have nothing to do with the game itself. Instead, the times have changed in other ways. In the days that I coached, I never heard from parents about why their child was not playing or starting or not playing a particular position. This has changed since so many parents see their children as being a Div. I prospect if given the chance. It is not just football, this happened in all sports.
Today, i have heard parents in the stands belittling the coaches publicly. Some are just plain nasty, and they are often females, which really surprises me more. I could hear then from the press boxes when I was writing or broadcasting a game. And sometimes, the coaches whom they were denigrating were very successful. Decency and respect are not what they used to be. So, that would give me pause.
In addition, some of the players do not always have the respect for their coaches. I have seen this constantly on social media. Not often, but it happens.
That is unlikely to happen to a volunteer coach of middle school kids, but it could. And it gives me pause.
Bottom line
However, the final decision comes down to this. I have no desire to coach again. I actually do not watch the games that often any more. Last year, I seldom watched the Steelers, the one team that I still do follow. Sports are not as important to me today.
Would I like to work with young people? Absolutely, but in a classroom, not on a football field. When the desire is not present, the person should not take any such step.
So, as much as I would love to return to coaching in some ways, I am reminded of what Thomas Wolfe’s posthumous novel, “You can’t go home again.” The protagonist was an author who writes about his hometown, sometimes in not-so-wonderful ways, and when he tries to return to his beloved home, he is rejected.
While I would not return to Lilly, the problems faced by George Webber are perhaps relevant to one who wants to return to the field of glory. Sometimes, you just have to stay away, and that is what I will do. I loved it, but that was a long time ago, and we have to realize that we cannot go back to those days.
So, why not coach today?
My concern with returning to coaching would have nothing to do with the game itself. Instead, the times have changed in other ways. In the days that I coached, I never heard from parents about why their child was not playing or starting or not playing a particular position. This has changed since so many parents see their children as being a Div. I prospect if given the chance. It is not just football, this happened in all sports.
Today, i have heard parents in the stands belittling the coaches publicly. Some are just plain nasty, and they are often females, which really surprises me more. I could hear then from the press boxes when I was writing or broadcasting a game. And sometimes, the coaches whom they were denigrating were very successful. Decency and respect are not what they used to be. So, that would give me pause.
In addition, some of the players do not always have the respect for their coaches. I have seen this constantly on social media. Not often, but it happens.
That is unlikely to happen to a volunteer coach of middle school kids, but it could. And it gives me pause.
Bottom line
However, the final decision comes down to this. I have no desire to coach again. I actually do not watch the games that often any more. Last year, I seldom watched the Steelers, the one team that I still do follow. Sports are not as important to me today.
Would I like to work with young people? Absolutely, but in a classroom, not on a football field. When the desire is not present, the person should not take any such step.
So, as much as I would love to return to coaching in some ways, I am reminded of what Thomas Wolfe’s posthumous novel, “You can’t go home again.” The protagonist was an author who writes about his hometown, sometimes in not-so-wonderful ways, and when he tries to return to his beloved home, he is rejected.
While I would not return to Lilly, the problems faced by George Webber are perhaps relevant to one who wants to return to the field of glory. Sometimes, you just have to stay away, and that is what I will do. I loved it, but that was a long time ago, and we have to realize that we cannot go back to those days.
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