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Moeller, coaches talk during Pigskin Preview
By BRANDON JUDEH
WARREN
The Warren Sports Hall Of Fame’s Pigskin Preview once again rang in the start of high school football season in Trumbull County on Sunday night at DiLucia’s Banquet Hall.
Gary Moeller, the former Michigan Wolverines coach and veteran Detroit Lions assistant, was the guest speaker for the organization’s 25th annual event. Moeller, who was the Lions’ interim head coach shared coaching memories and his take on what it takes to make a great team.
“Coaches have to do a good job leading the team, but they also have to teach players to lead,” Moeller said. “When you get a veteran player, he can tell a young guy what to do and show him how important it is, Ray Lewis and Tom Brady are great examples.”
The Lima native and three-time Big Ten champion coach also talked about working with legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler.
“One of the great things Bo did was establish leadership,” Moeller said. “He would set up a meeting room and the seniors would be up front, followed by the juniors and underclassman and the underclassman were to keep quiet.
“Bo was a great coach, recruiter and person. It was a lot of fun working with him.”
Moeller went on to reminisce about being a player on Ohio State’s 1961 national championship team and playing for the legendary Woody Hayes.
On a much more serious note, Moeller talked about ways to prevent head injuries and improve player safety.
After Moeller warmed up the crowd, it was on to the high school coaches.
Sixteen area coaches talked about their teams’ chances and what to look for this year.
Howland coach Dick Angle says expectations are once again high for the Tigers.
“Our goal is always to compete for a championship,” he said. “We are a little young, but we have a great nucleus and we are excited for this year.”
After going 1-19 in the past two seasons, Liberty has turned the keys over to new coach Brian Jones and he plans to get the Leopards back on track.
“We are starting from the ground up and changing the mentality of the kids, young kids like structure, and they are buying into our system,” Jones said.
Warren G. Harding also has a rookie coach in Steve Arnold, who has moved over from the Raiders’ basketball program.
Arnold said the first thing he did was assemble a staff that shared his vision of structure and discipline.
“Once I was able to do that, the kids bought into the system and they are doing good,” he said.
Chuck Wolbert, president of the Warren Sports Hall Of Fame, said the event is a way for fans to find out about their teams’ prospects.
“We discuss all of the positions with the coaches, their team schedule and everything else in between,” Wolbert said.
Other coaches in attendance included Randy Clark (Brookfield), Terry Howell (Champion), Nick Cochran (Girard), Brian Hoffman (Hubbard), Bill Bohren (LaBrae), Tom Pavlansky (Lakeview), Mike Palumbo (Mathews), Dan Williams (McDonald), Joe Stevens (Mineral Ridge), Jon Culp (Newton Falls), Brian Shaner (Niles), Ryan Slone (Southington) and David Pappada (Warren JFK).