Football royalty: WPIAL coaching legends, former Steelers discuss state of football
High School football season is looming on the horizon with heat acclimation drills underway, practice starting on Monday, and Week Zero games set for Aug. 27.
A group of the greatest coaches in WPIAL held their annual luncheon on July 21 at Asti无毛视频檚 Steakhouse at Grand View Golf Club in North Braddock.
The event is the brainchild of my good friend, Bill Priatko. It celebrates sportsmanship and camaraderie, and it is a chance to discuss the state of the game they all love, high school football.
This year 11 coaches attended who have combined for 57 WPIAL championships and 16 PIAA titles.
Coaches who are still active that attended were Thomas Jefferson无毛视频檚 Bill Cherpak and Mt. Lebanon无毛视频檚 Bob Palko.
Retired coaches at the gathering included Upper St. Clair无毛视频檚 Jim Render, Woodland Hills无毛视频� George Novak, Clairton无毛视频檚 Tom Nola, North Hills无毛视频� Jack McCurry, Aliquippa无毛视频檚 Don Yannessa, Blackhawk无毛视频檚 Joe Hamilton, Beaver无毛视频檚 Pat Tarquinio, McKeesport无毛视频檚 George Smith and former Aliquippa head man Mike Zmijanac.
The group was surprised by two special guests, Steelers Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris and former Steelers defensive lineman John Banaszak. The coaches gave Harris an 无毛视频渋mmaculate无毛视频� reception.
A moment of silence was observed in honor of a member of the group, former Greensburg Central Catholic and Jeannette coach Joe Mucci, who passed away on Nov. 30,2020.
Harris and Banaszak were pleased to rub elbows and talk football with the coaches, and talked about what high school football meant to them and praised the great coaches attending the informal affair.
无毛视频淏eing here with all of you guys and knowing the lives that you无毛视频檝e touched and all the championships that you won,无毛视频� Harris stated, 无毛视频渋f you win all those championships I know it wasn无毛视频檛 easy, and I know the groundwork and what you had to do to make those championships happen.
无毛视频淣ot just once, you guys have multiple championships, and multiple championships that gets to be something that无毛视频檚 embedded and that无毛视频檚 what really makes the difference. So I无毛视频檓 just in awe because high school changed my life and just thinking of all the lives that you guys changed with the athletes that have come through your system. I just want to thank you guys for what you have done.无毛视频�
无毛视频淢y high school coach and the coaches that coached with him were very discipline oriented,无毛视频� Banaszak offered. 无毛视频淭hey were in your face. I don无毛视频檛 know if it made you a better football player, but it certainly drew attention to what details that are needed in order to be successful and for that I certainly give all the credit to that high school staff. I know you guys and I know how hard you work. I love the game of football and I promote the game of football.无毛视频�
In a question-and-answer session the coaches tackled some of the issues facing high school football in Western Pennsylvania and around the country.
Addressed was the upcoming 2021 season amid Covid-19 protocols and hopes for a successful year.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e going back to normal,无毛视频� Cherpak said. 无毛视频淗opefully it stays that way.无毛视频�
无毛视频淭he plan is to go back to normal.无毛视频� Palko explained. 无毛视频淭hese kids are resilient. It was a pandemic. What are you going to do? It appears like it无毛视频檚 back to normal and that无毛视频檚 a good thing.无毛视频�
Dwindling participation numbers in high school football are a concern. News that the proud Jeannette football program is facing a numbers crisis caught everyone无毛视频檚 attention. The Jayhawks无毛视频� official sign-ups had 29 kids. Eight players have transferred out of the program.
无毛视频淚 think it无毛视频檚 hard for Coach Cherpak to say because his numbers are up,无毛视频� Palko stated. 无毛视频淏ut who would have ever thought that something like that would happen at Jeannette. I无毛视频檓 still worried that they have watered it down with six classifications.无毛视频�
Teams leaving the WPIAL was discussed. Albert Gallatin, Butler and Uniontown have bolted the WPIAL to play an independent schedule and try and get their football programs back on track. Other schools are considering making the same decision.
无毛视频淭he problem is the teams that are leaving aren无毛视频檛 winning,无毛视频� McCurry offered. 无毛视频淚t was a winning issue, it wasn无毛视频檛 competition, it was just that they couldn无毛视频檛 win. Butler and Uniontown had great tradition, but they are not winning. They are trying to get schedules that are more conducive to winning football games.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚 agree with what Coach McCurry said,无毛视频� Render added. 无毛视频淯niontown would have never left the WPIAL if they were still competitive, I can无毛视频檛 even imagine that. The one that无毛视频檚 been a shock to me is whatever is happening at Jeannette.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚 think it无毛视频檚 a sign of the times,无毛视频� Palko stated. 无毛视频淧arents try to control things and get the kids in a perfect situation at that time of growing up and wanting to be a champion. It can happen anywhere, it happened in Jeannette.无毛视频�
无毛视频淭he publicity that football got about the concussion issue was really blown out of proportion,无毛视频� Render opined. 无毛视频淚 think that is part of the numbers problem we are seeing.无毛视频�
无毛视频淭he concussion issue is part of the numbers problem,无毛视频� Palko stated. 无毛视频淏ut there are so many schools now that don无毛视频檛 have a freshman team. They all have kids moved up to the varsity. They don无毛视频檛 have a freshman team because the pool of kids coming up through the system is smaller every year and that effects the overall numbers.无毛视频�
The football finals were held at high school venues last season because of the pandemic, but the WPIAL board voted to take four or five of the six championship games back to Heinz Field in November. The WPIAL could hold four games in one day, either Nov. 26 or 27. Or, in a break from tradition, the WPIAL might reserve the stadium for both dates and spread the Class 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A finals over two days.
No matter which decision is made, the WPIAL Class 6A final will not be played at Heinz Field. That big school championship must be held a week earlier 无毛视频� Nov. 19 or 20 无毛视频� because of where the WPIAL champion fits into the state playoff bracket. The WPIAL will use a high school venue for 6A.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 kind of a tradition and it无毛视频檚 a nice venue,无毛视频� Palko said. 无毛视频淲e played at Norwin High School in 2018 and we were still in the championships. It无毛视频檚 nice, but a filled high school stadium is sometimes a better atmosphere.无毛视频�
无毛视频淭he kids like it,无毛视频� Cherpak opined. 无毛视频淚 think the coaches dislike it. Your routine is off, your warm-up is off. You might play at one o无毛视频檆lock or you might play at 3:30, you don无毛视频檛 know. The kids like going there and they look at it as a reward, especially teams that haven无毛视频檛 been there, it无毛视频檚 a big deal.无毛视频�
The state of high school football coaching was a topic. All of the coaches agreed that coaching longevity is a thing of the past.
无毛视频淵ou look at it now and how much turnover there is now,无毛视频� Cherpak stated. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 crazy I just think that people are so impatient and want everything right away. I guy goes into a program that无毛视频檚 not successful and is trying to build it up and they want it to happen in a year or two and it无毛视频檚 not realistic. You无毛视频檙e not going to see the so called coaching lifers in football anymore.无毛视频�
The game of high school football is changing and the sport has received some adverse publicity. All agreed that some creative marketing and publicity would help.
无毛视频淚 think we need to find ways to promote football more,无毛视频� Harris said. 无毛视频淭he question is how do we promote it more? We have to do it and it无毛视频檚 a challenge. It无毛视频檚 a great sport in so many ways.无毛视频�
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.