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Youngstown Chaney

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THIS WEEK’S Q&A

Chaney High coach Jim Vivo knew when he returned as coach to his alma mater, the program would be quite different than the one he grew up admiring and playing in 25 years ago.

The Cowboys haven’t had a winning season in nearly a decade and as Vivo concludes his first season at the West Side school, his team stands 1-8 with only a game tonight remaining against Howland.

Vivo said he knew that the schedule wouldn’t allow for many wins.

Games against Austintown Fitch, Boardman, Canfield, Warren Harding, Poland … well, you get the idea, are just too much for a school like Chaney anymore.

Vivo remembers a Chaney that was a power. He was a standout quarterback from 1983-86 and was All-City and All-NEO his junior and senior seasons.

Q. Why did you want to come back to Chaney to coach in a program that has really struggled the last several years?

A. I love this place. A lot of people I played for and with love this place and encouraged me to apply for the job. It had a great tradition and a lot of great players went through these halls and I know its not the same as when I went to school — it’s not just a West Side school any more — it still has Chaney written on the front of the building. There are a lot of guys my age and older, and even younger who want to see this place come alive again on the football field.

Q. How has the support been so far?

A. It’s been great. We started a Red Angelo golf outing and a new group called, “Once a Cowboy always a Cowboy,” and coach Angelo was gracious enough to come out and support us. Coach Berdis is still in the building and I ask him questions everyday on how to do this or that. Coach Matey is the City athletic director and he was instrumental in getting me to come here and we talk every day.

Q. What were you looking to accomplish in your first season at Chaney?

A. When we came in, we knew the type of schedule we had. We just asked the kids to practice, prepare and play hard. And for the most part they’ve done that. It’s hard to change a culture overnight. I knew it wasn’t going to happen this season. I just wanted to make it an enjoyable experience for our senior kids who are only going to be with us for this season. Hopefully those seniors realize they are leaving this program in better shape when they arrived.

Q. How do you think the team has progressed throughout the season?

A. Our goal is to get better every day. You can’t always control what your opponents do but you can control what you do. Our kids believe that now. There has been a lot of improvement. I know the win-loss record doesn’t show it but we’ve narrowed the gap against some of the teams we played and hopefully that will pay off down the line.

Q. How exciting was it to coach against a City rival, East, last week?

A. It was pretty exciting. I’m a city boy. I grew up in the City Series with a lot of fond memories when there were seven schools in the league. They were always very competitive games. It was tough to come up on the short end of the stick (against East) but our kids really played hard. They were really excited to play that game so I hope down the line they get that excited to play every game.

Q. What does the future look like for your program?

A. Our future is in our young kids. We start a freshman and several sophomores and we only have one senior starting on offense and two on defense. Volney Rogers, under coach Casey Bogard, had a great year and we are going to try to keep those kids in the City and become part of the program. I’m also working on the kids in the halls. We have a lot of kids who simply haven’t come out and I am trying to get them to give the program a try. I also want to revamp the schedule and play teams that are more in our class and that means I will be looking to play teams from Cleveland, Columbus and Akron if some of the smaller teams in this area won’t schedule us. I’m encouraged by the attitude of the returning players and I think they are going to be willing to put in the work needed to help move this program forward. The ones that aren’t willing to do that won’t be here next year.

Q. What do you envision for the program moving forward?

A. We need to play teams we are able to compete with. We’re not what Chaney once was and I think everyone would agree with that. We’re not what coach Matey’s teams were in the ’70’s and ’80’s and were not what coach Berdis’ teams were in the ’90’s and early 2000’s. The whole culture of the school has changed so dramatically and we have to take a step back and figure out what we are — our enrollments aren’t what they once were. We have to play against people we can compete with because unless we start to win and rebuild our tradition, the kids aren’t going to want to come to Chaney. Interview by Chuck Housteau.