BUTLER TWP — Bill Elliott is not a hard guy to spot on a high school football field Friday night.

Butler's defensive coordinator is the one roaming back and forth along the sideline, arms in the air, reacting to a play, whether the result is good or bad.

As the Golden Tornado come out of the locker room before a game, he's the one slapping helmets, grabbing shoulder pads, getting players fired up.

“None of that is an act or for show,” Butler head coach Eric Christy said. “It's all genuine. That's who Bill is.

“He laughs with the kids. He cries with them, too. He's so passionate about this game.”

Then again, Elliott, 34, is passionate about a lot of things.

He's coached junior high basketball. He coaches the throwers on the high school track team. He and his wife, Michelle, have three children, a 4-year-old and a set of 2-year-old twins.

“I gave up coaching basketball. Life changes with three little ones at home,” Elliott said, smiling.

Of course, he's more passionate about his family than anything. But Elliott is a guy who wears his emotions on his sleeve.

“When he's coaching basketball, that's his thing. When he's coaching track, that's his thing,” Christy said. “Bill gives everything he has into whatever he's doing at that moment.

“That's why I appreciate him so much as a coach.”

And that's why Elliott appreciates his family.

Coaching year-round comes with a price. He gets plenty of help on the home front to enable him to stay around sports.

“My wife, my parents (Ken and Chris Elliott), mother-in-law Elaine and an aunt, Linda, all help with duties at home,” Elliott said.

“They sacrifice a lot of their time and they spend a lot of time at my house so I can do this.”

Elliott was a three-sport athlete during his high school career at Knoch. He was a linebacker in football, played basketball and was a thrower for the track and field team.

He went on to play football at Slippery Rock University.

His father, Ken, was a longtime football coach at Knoch.

“I grew up around it,” Elliott said of football. “I've always loved it. My father taught me so much, but mostly to give all of what you have.

“Football is one of those (organized) sports you can only play when you're younger. I knew I'd always want to stay involved in the sport in some way.”

Elliott recently attended his 15-year class reunion at Knoch. Someone showed him the yearbook from his senior year and a section about where each senior wanted to be in 10 years.

“I wrote being a physical education teacher and coaching football,” Elliott said, laughing. “I don't remember writing that back then, but that's exactly what I'm doing.”

He is employed as a physical education teacher at Butler Area High School.

Elliott's fiery passion on the sidelines and during practice isn't confined to himself.

“He brings the energy,” senior middle linebacker Cooper Baxter said. “Coach Elliott knows the game of football inside and out.”

Defensive lineman Jacob Pomykata said “you can't help but get fired up when you're around him. He pushes the physicality.

“His intense love for the game comes out every day.”

Lance Slater, a starting safety, appreciates Elliott's approach as a coach.

“He teaches us. He works with us. If you make a mistake, he doesn't beat you up about it,” Slater said.

“I love being around the guy. His passion rubs off on us. He's an excitable guy, but he's always in control.”

Elliott recalled the way he was coached as a player.

“It's interesting being on this side of it now,” he said of life as a coach. “I think back to how my coaches invested time and energy into making me better. I want to do that same thing for these kids.”

He loves doing so as an assistant coach.

“I can't say I've got the bug or the urge to be a head coach,” Elliott admitted. “That requires a lot more time. I hope Eric has this job and doesn't go anywhere else for a long time.

“I love working with him and this staff. My career is in a very good place right now.”