Teddy Orringer takes over for Summit Academy football: It’s about ‘understanding the assignment’
Summit Academy’s players grabbed a Gatorade and a snack, then sat down with one another to watch a football-themed film.
The recent camp movie night, which first-year coach Teddy Orringer used as a method for team building, was an effort to “try to work on camaraderie, as so many of our kids are from different backgrounds and areas,” he said. “Trying to get them to stop thinking quite like individuals.”
The players on the teams the Knights will play this year have had the advantage of building relationships through their community. Meanwhile, Summit Academy, a school for at-risk youth, doesn’t have even one returning starter on the gridiron this season.
“We are building from scratch and seeing where we can go,” Orringer said. “I’m a big fundamentals guy. ... Starting from zero every year is not something that’s new to me, and understanding the assignment of being the next guy in line to push the program forward, even though it is perpetually restarting.”
The Knights have rostered “30 or less” players during camp, many of whom haven’t played the sport. Orringer, a math teacher at the school, keeps his playbook simple enough to add to that group throughout the season. He enjoys watching them get a handle on sportsmanship and trying to attain a common goal.
Orringer previously helped coach at Shady Side Academy, where he played in the early 2000s. He’s been a coach on the Knights’ staff since 2017, tutoring the offensive and defensive lines and serving as a “de facto” special teams coordinator. He considers his strengths to be bettering his player in the run game and in pass protection. He’ll be the fifth head coach for Summit Academy during that same span.
Orringer, who played collegiately at Denison (Ohio), loves to hear about his former players continuing to play for their home schools. He likes to see them “keep going at the next level if they find they love the game.” If not, the lessons they take with them about work ethic help them in everyday life.
“No matter what happens in that first game, that will set the tempo of where we move from there,” Orringer said. “We try to coach beyond the scoreboard, because it’s very much (about) how you play. I’m not worried about wins and losses as much as I’m worried about sportsmanship, finishing the game with our head held high — victorious or in defeat.”
- Aug. 28, 7 — Summit Academy at Knoch
- Sept. 5, 12:30 — Springdale at Summit Academy
- Sept. 11, 7 — Summit Academy at Sto-Rox
- Sept. 18, 7 — Summit Academy at Rochester*
- Sept. 26, 12:30 — Laurel at Summit Academy*
- Oct. 2, 7 — Summit Academy at Cornell*
- Oct. 10, 12:30 — South Side at Summit Academy*
- Oct. 17, 12:30 — Northgate at Summit Academy*
- Oct. 23, 7 — Summit Academy at Shenango*
- Oct. 30, 7 — Summit Academy at Union Area*
*Section game
2025: 1-9
2024: 1-8
2023: 0-10
2022: 1-9
2021: 0-10
