Laying it on the line

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)

Published: Nov. 8, 2013

HS FOOTBALL

Laying it on the line

Area coaches talk about recent health scares with NFL coaches

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News Sports Editor

Their weight fluctuates, their stress and blood pressure levels can reach high levels, and they have a hard time getting away from the game.

That’s the norm for a football coach, no matter what level: NFL, college or high school.

At the same time, however, they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“The game of football is very special,” Hartford Union coach Tom Noennig said. “It’s meant a lot to us as coaches. We’ve learned so much from coaches that we had as players and we want to go back and give the kids the best experience possible. I want them to have the best possible experience.

“You put others first a lot of times. It’s a big strain on your family, physically and mentally. At our level, it’s more selfinduced. We just try to do it for the right reasons.”

It was hard to find a coach that disagreed with Noennig’s analogy.

“It is a lot like parenting,” Kewaskum coach Jason Piittmann said. “What parent doesn’t want it better for their kid than they had? You want those kids to have a great experience.”

“My whole life is based off my football experience in high school,” Germantown coach Jake Davis said. “One of my main jobs is to create great experiences and memories.”

However, the cost for this is often one’s health.

The health of football coaches has surged to the forefront this week after Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak collapsed at halftime of Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. He was taken off the field on a stretcher. He suffered a ministroke.

Also this week, Denver Broncos coach John Fox had open heart surgery.

“It’s scary,” Piittmann said. “Knowing the age of some of these guys and their health problems and the connection of being football coaches creeps into the mind.”

While the sequence of events forced area coaches to put things in perspective as to why they coach and put themselves through such stress, they conclude they do it for the kids.

They just can’t see themselves doing anything else.

It gets frustrating, especially when pressure builds up from school administration and parents if a team isn’t doing well or they don’t like how the team is being run.

“Our stress is that you’re trying to mold young minds and keep them on the right track,” Jacklin said. “There are stresses in football that are different than in other sports.”

Why do they do it?

It’s because they have to, especially as technology has evolved to where coaches have access to game film in so many forms.

“There’s a lot of pressure in high school sports to win,” Jacklin said. “I find myself laying in bed and if I can’t sleep, I’m watching film on my phone; I’m watching film on my iPad.”

Sports are measured in wins and losses maybe more than ever, some coaches said. In order to maintain a program, it needs to be successful. If it’s not successful, support drops off, as does the interest from potential players.

When that happens, the ability to stay competitive and making the experience fun will go away too.

Jacklin said he lost more than 20 pounds during football season. Unfortunately, it had nothing to do with diet and exercise. It was the opposite.

Jacklin admitted he doesn’t eat well, if at all, during football season.

“The problem that I see with this type of job even at the high school level, is it’s a labor-intensive job,” Noennig said. “You don’t sleep well, you don’t eat well. You just don’t take care of yourself as you normally would during the offseason.

“It’s the scariest thing for us as coaches. It’s such a grind.”

But they love it.

“I’ve always wanted to help people and this is the best way I know it,” Davis said.

It’s easy to tell these coaches they should just quit. They know that. But they have such a vested interest in doing great things. At the NFL level, money is such a driving force too. Millions of dollars are at stake. At all levels, coaches live under a microscope. The intensity of the microscope varies depending on the level they coach at.

“Being a coach, you understand the stress,” Davis said. “I don’t think the average Joe really understands it.”

Davis added about coaches at the NFL level, “People are critiquing and criticizing what you’re doing. It’s tough. It takes its toll.”

That can apply to the high school level, too.

“It’s just the nature of beast when you’re really involved what you’re doing,” Jacklin said.

Each coach tries to set aside time for family and fun time. The biggest help, according to area coaches, is having a good support group, whether it’s other coaches or family members.

“I’m fortunate to have a tremendous wife that does a lot for me during the football season,” Davis said. “She really steps up. She understands what I’m doing for the kids. She helps me a lot.”