“Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.”

Vince Lombardi said it and the legendary Green Bay Packers football coach probably believed it.

Professional coaches are paid to win, of course. High school coaches are paid to coach — beyond the field, court and gym.

One need look no farther than the 2022 National Federation of High Schools Coaches of the Year. Their winning rate is phenomenal, but the championship hardware is not the first thing on their agenda.

Take Rickey Baker, who has led Hopi Hick School in Arizona to a whopping 27 consecutive state championships. He believes that winning takes care of itself.

Baker’s theory is that hard work, dedication, discipline, attention to detail and a focus on fundamentals will produce winning. The development of meaningful relationships tends to relate well to winning, also.

Those characteristics produce more well-rounded, dependable people as well.

Greg Grant, football coach at Heppner High School in Oregon, has won 330 games in 41 years, including three state championships. Winning isn’t his primary goal, either.

Grant was quoted in an article on the NFHS website as saying: “It is my goal that players leave our program realizing that attendance, timeliness, effort and accountability are actions that will set them up for success in every facet of their lives.”

Terri Simonetti-Frost has won six Ohio state field hockey championships and is among the nation’s leaders in the sport with 365 career victories. She believes in teaching her athletes life lessons on leadership, respect, loyalty, hard work, communication and overcoming adversity.

Winning may be a result of all of these elements, but if a coach won a championship solely on having an incredibly talented team, but a team without self-discipline and dedication to each other, that victory would be a rather hollow one.

While veteran coaches around here do not match the championship achievements of those listed above, they operate with the goals of instilling the same values in their student-athletes.

Volleyball coaches Meghan Lucas of Butler, Tom Phillips of Freeport, Diane Geist of Knoch, among others, want to help create better people, not just winning teams. Track coaches Ray Peaco of Seneca Valley, Tom Meling of Slippery Rock, Mike Seybert of Butler want to do the same.

Extend that list as far as you like: soccer coaches Chris Knauff and Blair Gerlach at Mars, Tracy Dailey at Karns City, wrestling coach Scott Stoner at Butler, girls basketball coach Molly Rottmann at North Catholic ... I’m not even scratching the surface here.

Student-athletes in Butler County are being coached by quality people who are coaching for the right reasons.

Sorry, Coach Lombardi. Winning isn’t the only thing.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle