Coaches will watch with family, friends; look for ideas
The Super Bowl equates to a super time for area high school football coaches.
It's not that they will be involved in Sunday's game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks in any way. They won't be coaching, not even traveling to any parties.
For them, it's all about family time.
“Just sit back, relax and enjoy watching football,” Mars coach Scott Heinauer said. “I don't get a chance to do that very much, but for this game, I do.
“Like anybody else, we get a kick out of watching the commercials, too.”
Slippery Rock University coach George Mihalik and Union High School coach Dave Louder won't be going to any parties — but they'll be hosting them.
“We always have a little something in our home,” Mihalik said. “Our young, single assistant coaches, graduate assistants and a couple of friends come by.
“We do the pizza, wings, fries, nachos and salsa, different dips, cheese and crackers ... All diets are off on this day.
“And when the commercials come on, everybody has to be quiet. That's a given,” Mihalik added.
Louder plans to host his parents, his sisters and their families on Super Sunday.
“It's a bit of a tradition,” he said. “We all get together at one of our homes for the Super Bowl. We turn it into a family reunion of sorts.
“The food is always potluck. Everybody brings something and it's a good meal. We enjoy eating.”
Knoch coach Mike King will go to his mother's house to watch the game.
“My dad passed away last fall, and my mom is a huge football fan, so we'll join her for the game,” King said. “I've got two brothers who live in Ohio, but because of the lateness of the game, we can't expect them to make the trip over.“My parents have lived in the same house since 1969. She's 100 percent Polish, so there's always good food. Kielbasa will be on the menu, I'm sure.”King said his mother watches NFL games every Sunday and is a “huge fan,” choosing her favorite teams primarily because of their uniforms.“She's always liked the Steeler uniforms. She thinks the Eagles and Saints have nice uniforms, too,” King said. “My mother is even a fan of (Patriots coach) Bill Belichick, though most people around here aren't.“She says my dad (a former football coach) used to cut off the sleeves on his sweat shirt just like Belichick does. He reminds her of him that way.”Moniteau coach Wade Vogan describes the Super Bowl as “precious time with the wife and kids.”“We just have a good time hanging out,” he said.Vogan has a daughter and a 9-year-old son who takes after him — as an Oakland Raiders fan.“I was a big Bo Jackson fan back in the day,” Vogan said of the former Raiders running back. “He would have been one of the best ever if he hadn't gotten hurt.“My son likes the Raiders because he follows his dad, I guess. We suffer together.”A couple of area coaches do have a rooting interest in the game.Butler coach Rob Densmore grew up in New Hampshire. His family left that area when he was 13.
“The Patriots were my team as a kid and they're still my team,” Densmore said. “I'm not a bandwagon jumper. I loved them when they were horrible.“It's like if you grow up a Steeler fan and moved away, you'd still be a Steeler fan. It's the same thing.”Densmore's favorite player as a youth was linebacker Andre Tippett, a standout Patriot of the 1980s who eventually made the Pro Football Hall of Fame.“I still have my Andre Tippett jersey,” Densmore said. “I break it out every time the Patriots reach the Super Bowl. It will be on display for this game.”Slippery Rock High coach Brendan Hathaway, who will coach at Moon next season, will be rooting for Seattle Sunday.That's not by his choice. His two sons, ages 8 and 10, make the call.“Every year, they make banners for the game supporting the team they like,” Hathaway said. “They like (quarterback) Russell Wilson and (cornerback) Richard Sherman of the Seahawks.“We have fun with it. My boys collect the football cards, baseball cards, they watch SportsCenter ... They know what's going on when it comes to this stuff.”Karns City coach Ed Conto admitted he may not even watch the Super Bowl. If he does, he'll pay little attention to it.“I'll probably be doing my school work during the game,” Conto, also assistant principal at Karns City High School, said. “Sunday nights are usually when I get caught up on that stuff.“There's so little time anymore. Between coaching football, doing school work, running my kids around five or six nights a week ... I only caught maybe three Steeler games all year.”
Of course, no football coach can watch a football game without staying in coaching mode at least a little bit.“I can't help but analyze things,” Densmore said. “The coverages, how they go in motion, I'll jot down formations ... You never know what you might pick up.”Vogan agreed.“I look for creativity,” he said. “I'd love to use a lineman to catch a pass sometime.”King said: “If I watch a play I really like, I scribble it down. Everything trickles down from the NFL.”Heinauer said a football coach at any level can never stop learning.“I'll watch the game closely. I can't help but study it,” he said. “I'm particularly interested in the different blitz packages. We can incorporate some of that.”Mihalik said he'll pay attention to the coaching strategies and decisions during the game.“That's the most intriguing part for me,” he said. “I determine what I would do in those situations while I'm watching.”Perhaps Louder has the best perspective on the whole thing.“We tell our kids at practice all the time — these guys are getting paid millions of dollars, yet you still see receivers dropping the ball, running backs fumbling, blown coverages, questionable decisions.“It's a game. We're all human. Go out and play.”
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