Team

Austintown Fitch

Record	Div.	Conf.
6/4	Div. I	All-American Conference Gold Tier

Photo

Phil Annarella

2010 Fitch 24 - Canton McKinley 21

Gallery

This week’s Q&A

After 39 years in the coaching business, Austintown Fitch coach Phil Annarella is pragmatic enough to realize that his job is just more than winning football games — and he has won plenty.

“Molding young lives is what this business is really all about,” Annarella said.

The veteran coach still displays a framed letter he received from an ex-player when Annarella was an assistant coach at East Liverpool.

The player thanks Annarella for helping to make him the man he is today.

Annarella said that letter is representative of what his job is all about and helps keep him focused even today.

But that doesn’t mean that winning isn’t just as important to Annarella.

He knows that players and a great coaching staff are the main building blocks to a successful program.

Although Annarella sports a 179-118-3 record over the years, and has developed or rebuilt six high school football programs, he is smart enough to realize that he’s needed good players and good kids to get the job done.

“I’m smart enough to know that coaches get too much credit for winning,” said Annarella. “You have to have the players to win games.

“Don’t get me wrong, you have to do your job as a coach and put your kids in the best position to win. But in the end the players are going to make the plays or not make the plays.”

In 1990, in Annarella’s best job of coaching, he took kids from two high schools and from two different parts of town and molded them into a perfect 14-0 Warren Harding Raiders state championship team.

This year, he is trying to work that magic as he molds a Fitch team he took over four years ago into a perennial Division I power.

The Falcons may have taken a step in the right direction with a thrilling’ come-from-behind 24-21 win over Canton McKinley last Friday that gave the Falcons a perfect 4-0 record heading into this weeks key Federal League game with Canton GlenOak.

Q. How exciting was last week’s win over Canton McKinley for you personally, and for your program?

A. The win was important because it was the first time we’ve come back from a big deficit in one quarter in the four years I’ve been here. It was awesome to see the way our kids kept fighting and not giving up. I told our players after the game how proud I was of them that they never quit battling. That’s all any high school coach could ask of any players.

Q. There is a lot of buzz in Austintown about your team this year because of your 4-0 start. However, you can’t afford any letdowns when you play in the Federal League. How did you approach this week as you prepared for a good GlenOak team?

A. One of the things one of our players said to the team was that we were 4-0 last year and we went and got beat. That shows me that we are maturing as a team, and that our kids know they can’t get big-headed, or they will get beat. We play one game at a time and focus on the week at hand, and that’s refreshing when you see that your players recognize and believe in that concept. I don’t think we are worried about the team being too confident about this game.

Q. You’ve been coaching for a long time. Is a win like last week’s still as exciting as it was early in your career?

A. Absolutely. I don’t have to bat an eye to tell you that. I don’t think that anyone who has been in coaching for awhile will tell you that the fire is still burning if you are getting butterflies during the day of the game and that you’re revved up during the game. The simple answer is that the fire’s still there. It was absolutely a thrilling victory, and I was just so proud of our players.

Q. What drives you to stay in coaching this long?

A. First of all, you just enjoy the relationships you are able to develop with the young players and seeing them shaped and molded. It’s nice to know you’ve taken a small role in their lives. Secondly, to watch players work as a unit. That’s the most important and most refreshing thing. Third is the camaraderie that you have with your staff. And fourth, I’m a little nuts just like anyone else that is still doing this this long. (Annarella is very close friends with LaBrae coach Bill Bohren who is still coaching at age 76).

Q. You’ve tackled the job of rebuilding Austintown Fitch and you’ve rebuilt other programs over the years. What do you enjoy most about rebuilding programs?

A: It’s always the challenge I suppose. Well, sometimes you would like to go in and have tremendous players all the time and be the favorite going into games. But there is maybe more satisfaction when you know your kids are going to work hard and believe in what you are doing. And even though you might be outmanned, you build a competitive program that people respect.

Q. Are you a different coach now than you were when you first started?

A. Yes, probably. I’ve got a guy here on staff that played for me at Reserve and he teases me that I’m softer, and I probably am. I have grandkids now and I’m probably not as tough or strict as I was before, and I don’t know if that’s good or bad. But the guys do know not to get me riled up because if I do blow it’s not going to be pretty.

Interviewed by Chuck Housteau