How following NFL coach father’s footsteps helped shape North Catholic’s Tommy Arth
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North Catholic quarterback Joey Felitsky looks to pass during practice Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, at North Catholic High School. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
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North Catholic quarterback Joey Felitsky looks to pass during practice Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, at North Catholic High School. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
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North Catholic tight end Tom Arth runs a drill during practice Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, at North Catholic High School. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
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North Catholic wide receiver Ryker Kennedy gets ready to make a play during practice Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, at North Catholic High School. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
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North Catholic wide receiver Ryker Kennedy tries to block a defender during practice Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, at North Catholic High School. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
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North Catholic tight end Tom Arth tries to get around a block during practice Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, at North Catholic High School. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
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North Catholic wide receiver Ryker Kennedy blocks one of his teammates during practice Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, at North Catholic High School. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
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North Catholic tight end Tom Arth runs a drill during practice Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, at North Catholic High School. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
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North Catholic football head coach Chris Rizzo watches practice Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, at North Catholic High School. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
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North Catholic football head coach Chris Rizzo watches players practice Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, at North Catholic High School. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
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(L-R) North Catholic’s Nick Franco, Reid Rinker, and Joey Felitsky during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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North Catholic’s Joey Felitsky during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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North Catholic’s Joey Felitsky during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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North Catholic’s Nick Franco during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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North Catholic’s Nick Franco during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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North Catholic’s Reid Rinker during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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North Catholic’s Reid Rinker during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
UNITY TWP — Years before North Catholic’s Tommy Arth was catching touchdown passes at J.C. Stone Field, he hauled in passes at a much more vaunted venue.
While riding backseat through his father’s coaching journey, the then-8-year-old walked onto the grass at the NFL’s oldest stadium.
Tom Arth was in his fourth year as the head coach of Division III John Carroll, which was readying for a ranked road clash at Wisconsin-Oshkosh to begin its 2016 slate. The Arths and the Blue Streaks stopped in Chicago for a practice on the way.
“He was pretty young at the time,” the elder Arth said. “He was running routes and catching touchdowns in the corner of the end zone at Soldier Field. I just remember that was really special. … To be able to do that with him was awesome.”
Tommy imagined the 61,000-plus seats at the Chicago Bears’ home stadium were filled.
“(It) was the first time, I think, I’d ever been on an NFL field,” Tommy said. “Just being in that stadium, I could feel the crowd, even though there was no crowd. ... It was almost magical to me.”
That father-son throwing session was the precursor to a 12-2 campaign that vaulted Tom to a head coaching gig at Chattanooga. Two seasons later, he took the same position at Akron, which eventually led him to become a pass game specialist for the Los Angeles Chargers and, since last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterbacks coach.
For Tommy, now a do-everything player and senior for the Trojans who also holds a college offer from his dad’s alma mater, all the time tagging along with his father has helped him develop a true love for and understanding of the game.
As his father coached for the Bolts, Tommy played his freshman and sophomore football campaigns at Santa Margarita High School (Calif.) before transferring to North Catholic prior to last season.
“It’s amazing to me how fast the time goes,” Tom said after a Steelers training camp walk-through at St. Vincent College.
Tommy began watching film with his father when he was 5 years old. These days, when the two sit down and the tape starts rolling, Tommy soaks in the finer points of the Xs and Os. He watches practices with his father, too, learning reads and how to approach zone defenses as a pass-catcher.
“Where you can blend your work and life balance together — where you can mix that — I think is really unique,” Tom said. “And if you don’t do it, it’s gonna be tough. Going back to probably when Tommy was 4 or 5 years old, he was coming on trips and … getting a chance to go in the back of the bus with the players.
“(It) was a cool experience for him, but far more meaningful to me.”
On Friday nights this season, Tom will take his coaching hat off and keep his eyes on Tommy, who plays wherever he’s asked.
“He just wants to be out there,” Tom said. “That’s the cool thing at North Catholic for him. The way that Rizzo has used him, he’s been able to play on both sides of the ball, been able to play in the kicking game. He’s on the field a lot. … I don’t think he likes it when he has to come off.”
Tommy stayed with his father for a weekend at Steelers training camp. He sat in on quarterback meetings and, during walk-throughs, caught throws from the team’s quarterbacks, including Aaron Rodgers. He won’t hold North Catholic passer Joey Felitsky to the same standard as the four-time NFL MVP.
“I haven’t mentioned it to him,” Tommy said, laughing. “Joey also throws it great.”
