Beyond the X: Demands come in many forms for high school football coaches

Steve Specht drives his 12-year-old Kia Spectra to work every day. As long as the air conditioning works, he has no complaints. He never figured to get rich coaching high school kids.

Not in the monetary sense. 

After 10 seasons coaching at St. Xavier (Cincinnati) and leading team USA Football’s Under-19 team, Specht expects the long coaching days and recruiting demands, though the latter is wearing a little thin.

“It (recruiting) just never ends,” he said.

Neither does running a program with 340 kids. Specht, who is also an assistant principal at the school, says he gets to coach the quarterbacks every once in a while, but his primary duty is CEO of the Bombers, who have won nearly 80 percent of their games under Specht along with two state titles.

Winning, of course, is fun and the goal. But it’s not what feeds Specht. And is certainly isn't his meager coaching salary.

That doesn’t detract from his ultimate payoff as head coach, though.

“I get to make a difference in a kid's life,” he said. “The other day a former player came in after graduating from college and was networking for a job. When they come in and say hi and share their life, there’s nothing better.” 

Robert Garrett, of Crenshaw (Los Angeles), has been making a difference in the Los Angeles City Section since 1988. He's also one of the area's most successful and respected coaches. He led the Cougars (14-1) into the 2009 CIF State Open Division title game.

The Cougars have won 90 games under Garrett since 2004 and last year finished 12-2. But according to those around the LA City Section and certainly Crenshaw, Garrett does much more than teach football. 

"I don't really keep track of my record," Garrett said. "I think I've had some success because I don't take myself too seriously. I got into the field to help build young lives."

He's done that, senior Dominique Hatfield told ABClocal.com during the 2012 season.

"He’s a father to some of us when we need him. We can talk to him whenever we need him. He’s more than just a coach,”  Hatfield said.

That's music to the ears of Garrett, who said he got into coaching because high school coaches of his were surrogate fathers to him.

"I'm just passing it on," he said.

Unfortunately in South Florida, qualified coaches are passing on jobs at an alarming rate. According to a story in the Palm Beach Post, 28 of 47 football programs in Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast will have a head coach with fewer than three years experience. Of those, 12 were in their first season last season.

In Palm Beach County, head coaches are paid a $4,110 stipend and assistants $3,015. Those in Clarke County make just less than $8,000 and assistants $4,000.

Justin Hilliker, an assistant at Seminole Ridge (Loxahatchee, Fla.), earned a gross $1.01 per hour he figured.

“It’s a love and a passion,” Hilliker told the Palm Beach Post. “But money and support, we don’t get a lot of that. That’s why the best coaches leave.”

Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) head coach Jack Daniels told the newspaper: “I would say most coaches lose money coaching football. There’s a ridiculous amount of time involved and you don’t get paid anything. I’m starting to get to the point where I’m wondering if it’s worth it.”

The money is considerably better in the Dallas region, where it has been reported that head coaches average $88,420 per year, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which is twice as much as the average teacher salary.

At the top of the heap is Trinity (Euless, Texas) coach Steve Lineweaver, who according to the report makes $114,413.

“I’m not comfortable talking about it and I think many other coaches would say the same,” he said. “But at the same time, people have a right to know exactly what we make.”

Though paid far better than the rest of the country, Texas coaches deal with probably more pressure to win. They definitely put in their time, said Coppell (Texas) coach Joe McBride.

“With the academic demands on coaches, we’re putting in 80-hour work weeks,” he said.

Other challenges for Texas coaches, McBride said, are unrealistic parents, the media and outside entities trying to change the game. The payoffs – besides wins and money – McBride said “it’s the greatest game in the world,” and, he said, “God's call on my life to impact youth.”

He sure needed to step up to that calling last season when the Coppell program was struck with a tragedy. Star receiver and wildly popular Jacob Logan perished after diving into the Possum Kingdom Lake in October. Besides coach, leader and second dad to many of his players, McBride had to play the role of grief counselor even though he was grieving deeply himself.

Logan was one of his favorite players.

“I felt guilty doing the things I had to do as leader of our program when what I really wanted to do was hit pause and cry,” he said.

Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) coach Aaron Brady said most coaches are prepared to wear many hats. What they don’t expect is the slow movement upward.

“It’s not like banking or the government,” he said. “You’re not going to be moving up any time soon. It’s one of those professions where you can work 15 years, work your butt off and you don’t get moved up.”

The nation’s winningest coach, ageless John McKissick, hasn’t moved up for 61 years. And he’s all good with that.

The 86-year-old has been head coach for Summerville (S.C.) that long and last season he won his 600th game. He’s as stagnant as they come, but some things he won’t bend on.

"I'm a little more mellow now,” he told MaxPreps senior writer Dave Krider last season. “I've changed with the times, but I never have changed discipline. I still don't have long hair and earrings.”

McKissick doesn’t teach any more but he is still the school’s athletic director. He’s delegated most of his power to assistants, including his grandson Joe Call, the team’s offensive coordinator.

That has helped keep McKissick fresh and successful. The Green Wave went 7-5 last year and McKissick now has 601 wins. He’s planning on coaching at least another season.

"I'm coaching coaches more than players," he said. 

Brady started in the college ranks and has been at Gonzaga, an all boys school, for the last three seasons while winning 23 games. He was also head coach at USA Football for the Under-19 team that won the International Bowl in February. 

“When you’re a high school coach, you wear a lot of hats,” Brady said. “You’re the equipment guy, you have to schedule all the practices, deal with the parents. Every little issue comes down to you. It’s not like college where people are handling different things.”

He loves influencing kids, but it can come at a price. He said his marriage largely ended due to so much time on the field.

“My ex-wife said that I spent more time raising other people’s kids rather than my own,” he said.

Brady, who has 5-year-old daughter, said he takes pride in two key aspects of coaching.

“One, I feel like every kid on the team should have a great high school football experience,” he said. “I want every kid to feel a part of the team where they get in one play or all of them. And two, my job is to get them to the best college possible.”

From the Class of 2013, Gonzaga has seven players moving on, including Devin Butler to Notre Dame. Defensive back Miles Taylor, from the Class of 2014, has already committed to Georgia Tech.

Brady said 99 colleges have been through Gonzaga this spring and when he talks to the recruiters, none of them want to be head coaches. He wonders if it’s the same at the high school level.

“I’ve had assistants tell me they don’t want to be a head coach because you spend all your time managing people and inventory,” Brady said. “I do a little bit of everything and I like it.”

He even likes the pressure that comes with it.

“I’ve always been the kind of person who has to stay busy,” he said. “If I sit still, I fall asleep. I think it’s how you handle the stress and I like it as long as you give me the ammunition to be competitive.”

Specht is very competitive, but over the years his edge has somewhat waned. He hasn’t exactly mellowed, but he has more perspective.

He offers it often to younger coaches.

“I tell them all the same thing,” he said. “You better get into high school coaching only if you love kids. Don’t get in it to build a resume or win football games. Get in it because you love kids and want to make a difference in their lives.”

McBride, whose team went 11-1 last year and figures to be a national Top 25 contender in 2013, said he has four pieces of advice.

“Be professional,” he said. “Be a great teacher. Chase great programs, not titles. And make sure you’re a great dad and husband, while mentoring thousands of kids.”