By Steve Ruman

sports@vindy.com

WARREN

If not for a bolt of lightning during a freak winter thunderstorm, Jeff Bayuk might not be the coach today at Warren John F. Kennedy High School.

The unusual weather event occurred in January of 2014 while Bayuk was in a meeting with several JFK administrators, discussing the possibility of taking over the Eagles football program. Bayuk had stepped aside from the head coaching ranks after the 2009 season. He spent four years as an assistant at Howland and Warren G. Harding, then sat out the ’13 campaign.

“I really had no intention whatsoever to coach at that time, I only agreed to a meeting with JFK officials as a courtesy to a friend,” Bayuk said. “So I’m sitting there, and I look outside and its snowing and cold as heck, and I see this flash of lightning. It just seemed so odd.

“I didn’t know if it was a sign telling me I should coach or telling me I should get the heck out of there. I guess I went with my instinct. Something told me that the time was right and Kennedy was the right fit.”

Perhaps the bolt from the winter sky was a sign from the football gods that it was once again time for Bayuk to catch lighting in a bottle — a coaching skill he seems to have mastered.

A graduate of Kennedy Christian, Bayuk began his coaching career at the freshmen level at Sharon Kennedy under Dick Angle. He then went to Ursuline with Angle, where he was a freshmen coach for three years before assuming the role of varsity defensive coordinator from 1983-85.

Bayuk landed his first head coaching job at Canfield in 1986. Following a five-year stint with the Cardinals, he coached at Hubbard from 1991 to 2006. He then guided the Campbell program from 2007-09.

Canfield was 0-10 the year before Bayuk arrived, and was in a five-year stretch where it went 12-38. By 1988, Buyak had the Cards at 8-2. In his final year at the school, his team went 7-3.

At Hubbard, Bayuk’s 120-46 record was easily the best winning percentage of any coach in school history. The 120 wins Bayuk accumulated were more than the previous eight Eagles coaches combined.

Campbell was suffering through a 3-27 stretch before ’07. In just three years, Bayuk turned the Red Devils into a playoff team.

When Bayuk took over the Kennedy program two years ago, the Eagles had just come off a 2-8 season, and with a shrinking enrollment, football fans wondered why a veteran coach with a proven track record would tackle such an endeavor.

Kennedy finished just 2-8 a year ago, but the Eagles (2-0) have already matched that win total this year. They have victories over South Range and LaBrae. Last year, they were beaten by the Raiders and Vikings by scores of 41-21 and 35-8, respectively.

Bayuk knows that his Eagles are just two games into a long season, and he is quick to point out that his club is still young. A thin roster “which probably should be considered Division VIII” includes just two seniors.

So, a bolt of lightning aside, why take on such a challenge?

According to those who know him best, it comes down to the fact that Bayuk simply loves the profession of teaching, wherever the classroom may be.

“Jeff views himself as a teacher who just happens to educate on the football field,” said JFK assistant coach Dominic Prologo. “With Jeff, football is a byproduct of a bigger picture. His goal is to mold these players into upstanding young men. That’s the message he is trying to send. And he is such a great football coach, the winning usually takes care of itself.”

Prologo has coached with Bayuk on and off ever since the Ursuline days. When asked to recall a few moments that define Bayuk’s career, Prologo doesn’t discuss league titles or playoff appearances, but rather moments that never made the headlines.

There was the time at Hubbard when players were told that an all-state transfer from Texas was on the practice field, anxious to show up his new teammates. The Eagles stormed onto the field, only to find Bayuk in full uniform.

Then there was the time that a bad hair day prompted an assistant coach to suggest that Bayuk resembled Elvis Presley. That, in turn, prompted Bayuk to break out into Elvis tunes the rest of practice.

“Plain and simple, football is fun with Jeff Bayuk,” Prologo said. “Oh, you learn structure, you learn discipline. You’re learning the game of football and you are being taught life lessons, but the process is in such a way that you look forward to the drills and the hard work.

“Players, they will play as hard for Jeff today as they did 30 years ago.”

Bayuk is quick to point out that the work that goes along with the fun “is very demanding, and isn’t for everyone.” He says that his practices are meant to reflect what lies ahead beyond high school football.

“Look, whatever you decide to do in life, you’re going to have to do it with enthusiasm and passion,” Bayuk said. “You give 100 percent on the football field for an entire season, and chances are at least a part of that will carry over to your next step.”

Angle, who retired from Howland in 2013 and is now living in Florida, was in town to watch Bayuk and his Eagles in the season opener against South Range. Angle wasn’t surprised by what he saw from JFK.

“The kids played hard, they played smart football,” Angle said. “Coach Bayuk can be tough, but it’s easy to be demanding when the players hold you in such high esteem. The players have a great deal of respect for Coach Bayuk, and rightfully so.”

Angle then echoed the comments made by Prologo regarding Bayuk’s desire to use football as an educational tool.

“Jeff was an outstanding English teacher,” Angle said. “He simply takes his ability to educate from the classroom to the playing field.”

On Saturday, Kennedy hosts longtime rival Girard. Games follow against perennial powers Crestview and Steubenville Catholic Central before the Eagles hit the North Coast League portion of the schedule.

While Bayuk reminds everyone that “we are far from where we want this program to be,” he also admits that he is pleased with his team’s 2-0 start.

“It’s not the record as much as it is the fact that our kids busted their humps and worked so hard to get the wins,” Bayuk said. “Those first two games came down to hustle. We just never gave up.

“That effort is a sign that we are doing our job.”