Ageless John McKissick is on the verge of his 600th high school football victory

John McKissick, the winningest football coach in history at any level, turned 86 on Sept. 25.

Asked about the celebration, the longtime Summerville (S.C.) coach told MaxPreps, "I just got up in the morning, my wife (Joan) said, 'Happy birthday,' gave me a card and then I went to work. It was just another day at the office."

Those days at the office have led him to the verge of an amazing achievement. This week McKissick has an opportunity to become the first ever to win 600 games when the Green Wave travels to area rival Ashley Ridge (Summerville, S.C.). They won No. 599 last Friday by beating Colleton County (Walterboro, S.C.) 22-7, making his career record 599-148-13.

In his 61st year of coaching - all at Summerville - McKissick continues to build an unmatched record. He has experienced just two losing seasons. An example of how unmatched that record is: the all-time college winner is 86-year-old John Gagliardi of St. John's University (Collegeville, Minn.) with 487 wins in 64 years and still counting. Ageless Amos Alonzo Stagg coached for 57 years and won 314 games. At the professional level, Don Shula holds the record with 347 wins.

Even McKissick admits his record and longevity are mind-boggling.

"It never crossed my mind," he said. "It does blow my mind. We just always loved the Little Flowertown in the Pines (which has grown from 2,000 in 1952 to 43,000). I never had a principal I didn't get along with. I never had a trustee who put pressure on me."

McKissick long has been the pillar not only of the high school, but also of the community. The football field carries his name and nearby is a 5-foot tall statue with his likeness carved in stone.

When the statue was erected, custodian Bruce Lavella said to McKissick, "Coach, I see they've got your tombstone there with your picture. Are they going to bury you there?"

Don't be surprised if they do that some day.

Stability is the best word to describe the Green Wave coach/athletic director and his program. His secretary of 15 years, Donna Crowe, says, "He has a routine and he sticks to his routine."

Part of his routine is to never touch a computer.

"We've tried," Crowe said. "He says he has me, so he doesn't need one."

In the past year, she has noticed that her boss has come up with a new saying: "It is what it is."

McKissick will handle his AD duties from 8:30 a.m. until about 2 p.m. with a couple of those hours spent looking at film of the next opponent. In the offseason he will attend other sporting events. He retired 15 years ago as a teacher.

The ageless coach admits, "I'm a little more mellow now. I've changed with the times, but I never have changed discipline. I still don't have long hair and earrings. I get calls all the time. The judge always rules in favor of the coach, because athletics are not a must. They are a privilege. I've had kids transfer because of long dreadlocks. I think all kids want discipline. It's up to us to provide it for them. Some don't get it at home."

Since All-America wide receiver A.J. Green graduated, McKissick has switched from a passing attack to the running game. Now the Green Wave runs about 70 percent of the time after passing about 70 percent of the time during Green's four-year tenure.

The biggest change in recent years, however, is the freedom he now gives to his assistant coaches, most who have been with him for many years.

"I'm coaching coaches more than players," he pointed out. "I go from group to group."

His grandson, Joe Call, is his offensive coordinator.

Call noted, "It's really been nice as an assistant coach that he kind of lets us do our job. We evaluate the talent we have and he has to put trust in us. We've lost a lot of skill kids to the new school (Ashley Ridge). It's been a transition. He'll call a few plays (at games), but he leads us in the direction (he wants). If everything's working, he won't say a word."

The weekend schedule also has changed so the assistants can spend more time with their families.

They do look at film following games, but their Sunday time at the McKissick's has shrunk from 2 to 7 p.m., instead of ending at midnight. That means they don't get those big steak dinners anymore, however.

The veteran coach still relates well to kids, but in a somewhat different way.

"He doesn't have day-to-day communication like we do as teachers," Call said. "He kind of relies on us about what they are doing in the classroom and how they are behaving. He used to be like the principal. Once he finds out, they know that he knows. There are so many kids whose parents played for him that the respect is always there."

McKissick says that he knows faces and names of at least 50 of the 78 players on his roster.

Does he still have that competitive fire at age 86?

Call replied, "There are two things that keep him going - butterflies before the game and losses are what still drive him. He's still sick when we lose. He wouldn't tell anybody this, but (he'd like) to have one more state championship (he has 10, but none since 1998)."

A member of the National High School Hall of Fame and National Coach of the Year three times, McKissick concedes, "I'd like to (win another state title) just for the kids. I've got all the accolades I need. I just want to get some for them."

Nobody knows the coach better than Joan, his wife of 60-plus years.

She related, "As far as loving coaching, I don't see any change. As far as retirement, he doesn't want to talk about it. I think he has mellowed a little bit. He's not as rough and tough," she laughed. "As far as winning, he still wants to win. It's hard to take a loss. He's in very good health (except for occasional spots of skin cancer) and is blessed in that respect. He still goes to bed at 10 o'clock. I'm the night owl."

Joan pointed out one other consistency in her husband: "He still fusses at the referees. They just kind of go along with him and say, 'Yeah, coach, we know.'"

The boss man puts it this way: "I tell them all the time, 'What you call is probably correct, but you only call it on me.'  They tell me to get off the field (named after him). I look at the film and I'm usually right."

The McKissicks have two daughters, four grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

Years ago Billy Baker was a student at Summerville and long has been a close friend of McKissick. Now the publisher and editor of South Carolina's High School Sports Report, he recalls the young McKissick coaching his players on a steamy afternoon.

"He was out in the heat - shirt off - in the middle of coaching," Baker described.

Reminded of those days, McKissick replied, "I don't take my shirt off anymore. My wife used to give me a fit about taking my shirt off."
 
If the Summerville icon had a hobby (he doesn't), it would be cutting grass at his beach house, located in a gated community near Georgetown, S.C. One day a man driving a Lincoln watched him cutting his grass and asked him if he would do his yard next.

He recalled, "I laughed and asked, "How much do you pay?'"

A film crew from New York City has been following the veteran coach throughout the season and probably hoping that he will, indeed, notch victory No. 600 this fall. McKissick said they also are following a bullfighter in Mexico.

Once the largest school in South Carolina, Summerville has shrunk to about No. 3 due to two other schools that have been built in the district. McKissick said there actually are seven high schools in a eight-mile radius, thanks to migration from nearby Charleston (24 miles away) and big industries such as Boeing.

There is even talk about a fourth high school being built in the Summerville district in about five years.

Even though his talent continues to be siphoned off, McKissick already is preparing for a huge year in 2013. He will return nine starters on each side of the ball, including a freshman quarterback, junior running back and a 6-foot-8, 300-pound sophomore lineman. He continues to instruct his assistants to prepare backups to provide depth along with the veterans. There will be at least a half dozen Division I college prospects.

Joe Call said, "You heard 600 and he'll retire. No, he knows what's coming."

McKissick revealed that he once looked at what retirement would mean at his age and 30 years of teaching. Then he looked at it for age 72 1/2. The bottom line was that he loved coaching and, with no hobbies, would be lost without football.

Baker, who has written two books with McKissick, gets the final word when he says, "He thinks football 365 days a year. He'll coach until he dies."

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