If West Rowan can get past a physical High Point Andrews football team Friday night in the second round of the 3A playoffs, coach Scott Young can point to the unsung heroes as the reason why.
When you get right down to it, these unsung heroes wear that title every Friday night. They’re the hardest workers on the team and they constantly plot their next move. They go to bed thinking about tomorrow’s practice and wake up thinking about today’s practice.
If you haven’t guessed by now, West Rowan’s unsung heroes are the assistant coaches.
They are the ones who are also the most unappreciated. They watch hours and hours of film, make many of the moves and suggestions that win games and work about 80 hours per week.
But when the Friday night war is over, the media runs to the head coach. The fans pat him on the back. The fans congratulate him.
Meanwhile, the assistants fade into the background, walking off the field unnoticed among the fans. They have done their job well — it’s just nobody really seems to recognize it.
Except the head coach.
Young is like North Rowan’s Roger Secreast and Kannapolis’ Ron Massey and every other head coach whose team is in the playoffs.
You don’t win without your assistant coaches.
n
No one knows that as well as Young. Two years ago, I remember sitting under a tree outside the gym with Young and Joe Payne. Young was not happy. His first head coaching experience (3-8 record) had left him frustrated.
“Ireally felt when I first came over here that I had to do too much,” said the former East Rowan graduate and Davie County assistant. “Ididn’t have much trust in everybody else.”
His first chore was to shore up a staff that meshed well together. Last year, the staff improved in Young’s eyes and theFalcons went 8-3.
Now, Young’s eyes show how proud he is of that staff. The Falcons enter Friday night’s home game with High Point Andrews standing 10-1.
“I’ve got a staff now I can trust with some responsibility,” Young said. “I’ve delegated a bunch to other staff members. We’ve grown together.”
n
Defensive coordinator David Hunt has 24 years of coaching experience. He won six Central Piedmont Conference baseball championships in seven years at Davie (1987-93). But he says coaching baseball in the playoffs is completely different from hitting the gridiron.
“In baseball, because it’s so much reaction, you can’t let emotions get away from you,” Hunt said. “Baseball is more of a mental exercise than football. Football is much more emotional.”
And when Young needs an emotional lift, he calls on his emotional coach, Tim Dixon.
“He’s in charge of getting the guys fired up,” smiled Young.
Dixon storms out on the field, wearing sweat bands on each arm. He appears ready to hit the field himself. When the team gets into a pregame huddle, he jumps onto the pile. The players love Dixon’s enthusiasm.
“That’s what I’m trying to instill in these guys,” said Dixon, who played in state title games under Pete Stout at Salisbury in the mid-70s. “It’s an emotional thing when you want something. I love football and you’ve got to love what you’re doing to accomplish your goals.”
n
Young admires his assistants.
He praises Darrell Misenheimer, who came over from East. “Big Darrell has coached three straight Shrine Bowl players,” Young said, referring to Adam Horton, Danny Misenheimer, his son, and now, West linebacker James Francis. “Wherever he goes, he has success.”
He marvels at Ralph Ellis, who isn’t a teacher but is always there to coach West Rowan athletes. He is also the track coach.
“He’s just dedicated to West Rowan,” Young says. “We’ve got a good mix now of younger guys and guys with experience.”
Josh Sophia coaches the linebackers. Todd Bell and Chad Correll have the receivers. Payne is the running backs coach. Young has the offensive line. Jeff Chapman and John Russ are offensive coaches for the jayvee team.
And when you’re 10-1, something is working.
“Ihave to do more of the getting on players,” Young admitted. “But I have excellent coaches who are good at going back and hugging these kids and building them up when I make them feel not so good.”
n
Hunt, who playfully chides Young on a regular basis with his caustic wit, gets serious when the playoffs come.
“It would’ve been nice if we’d made the playoffs last year for a round or so,” Hunt said. “But the saving grace is there has been pretty much of a playoff atmosphere with Concord, Kannapolis and Northwest Cabarrus. If you’re going to win the conference, you’ve got to win those. So there was a win-or-else situation that helped us.”
Even after 24 years, the 51-year old Hunt says he still gets keyed up for playoff action.
“It’s not for me,” he said. “I’ve been there. Scott has been there. You want the kids to have success.”
So the kids can experience success, Hunt sits up in bed in the middle of the night wondering, calculating, second-guessing.
He is simply like every assistant coach at every school still vying for a state championship.
“Isleep like a baby,” he said. “I wake up every two hours.”
n
Ronnie Gallagher is the sports editor of the Post.
Ronnie