Valley’s new coaches set to debut in Week 1
Poland Football Coach


New Poland Football coach Ryan Williams shares his thoughts on the game.
Several Mahoning Valley coaches new to their teams, but not to the game
By Steve Ruman
Ryan Williams is a self-proclaimed history buff, so it is no surprise that the Poland coach turned to a few football historians as he prepared for the 2016 season.
Williams, who also teaches American History in the Poland School District, will make his head coaching debut tonight when the Bulldogs travel to Marlington.
“The American History teacher in me said to look to the past to project the future,” Williams said. “I value the wisdom of the past.
“When I first got the job last December, I called guys like Dick Angle and Neal Kopp. I just wanted to hit up some guys who I deeply respected. I wanted to pick their brains and see what they had to offer.”
Poland is one of six Mahoning Valley schools which will be guided by new coaches this season. Williams, along with Nick Wagner (Champion), are rookie head coaches. Four others — John Protopapa (Mathews), Doug Velasquez (Lowellville), Jerron Jenkins (East) and Albert “Butch” Jennings (Valley Christian) — have previous head coaching experience.
Williams served as the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator for the past 11 years. He took over the program following the resignation of Mark Brungard, who stepped down after a very successful 11-year stint.
“This has been a very smooth transition, and that’s a credit to what the previous coaches built here,” Williams said. “Becoming a head coach is like getting married or having a child. You’re never totally prepared until it happens. But I took the same approach and had the same focus as we have had in the past, and it paid off.”
Williams noted the “executive part of coaching” is the most notable adjustment in becoming a head coach. Paperwork, equipment inventory and phone calls are now the norm. The hectic pace even made him look forward to returning to the classroom for the start of another school year.
“I like to teach from bell to bell, and teaching is a welcome distraction for coaches,” Williams said. “That will especially be true on game days.”
As for the advice he received from his mentors?
“They basically told me they wish they knew then what they know now,” Williams said with a laugh.
While Williams takes over a stable and successful program, Wagner inherits a Champion program which has struggled in recent times. Still, he is no less enthusiastic about getting his head coaching career under way.
“To be coaching in Northeast Ohio, you can’t ask for anything better than that,” Wagner said. “I can’t wait to get going. These kids put in so much time during the off-season, all for the Friday nights in the fall.”
At 29, Wagner is one of the youngest coaches in the state. Assuming a head coaching role at a young age might seem like a daunting task. However, Wagner says he actually feels less pressure than he did a year ago when he was the offensive coordinator at Valley Christian.
“As a coordinator, you worry about every single call you make, you toss and turn at night wondering if you let your coach down,” Wagner said. “Here, I’ll allow my offensive and defensive coordinators do their thing. I’ll manage the game, manage the clock.
“Sure, the pressure to win is there. But I feel like if I trust in my staff and they trust in me, things will come together.”
Protopapa is no stranger to the head coaching ranks. He landed his first job at Rayen in 1993, and has since guided several programs. However, for the past four seasons he was an assistant at Mathews, coaching under one of his former players, Mike Palumbo.
The Mathews job opened up just as Protopapa was getting set to retire as a teacher in the Youngstown City School District last May. The veteran coach saw it as the perfect opportunity to return as the head man.
“Heck yeah, the butterflies are there for [tonight’s] opener,” Protopapa said. “If they weren’t, then I would know it is time to get out. I’m still as excited as ever to be on that field.”
Though it has been more than two decades since Protopapa first roamed the sidelines, he says that today’s players are no different than those he coached in the early 1990’s.
“For those who are playing, there is the same dedication, that hasn’t changed,” Protopapa said. “Off the field, that’s where the change is. There’s a lot of pull from every direction, so not as many kids are playing the sport.
“We are coming off back-to-back playoff seasons. You would think that would spike the interest and spike the numbers. Instead, we’ve dropped from 36 to 28.”
Velasquez has more than 20 years of coaching experience, but just one as a head coach. He guided Mineral Ridge in 2013, and says the experience will help him at Lowellville.
“Experience is a great teacher,” Velasquez said. “Going from an assistant to a head coach, you kind of know all about the added responsibilities. However until you actually experience all of the off-field duties you’re not fully aware of what a giant step it is.”
Like Protopapa, Velasquez said he is faced with the challenge of creating interest within the school.
“At Mineral Ridge, there seemed to be a lot of excitement for football,” Velasquez said. “Here, I think part of our job is to create that excitement. We have 29 players, but there are probably eight to ten students walking the halls who could be helping out. We need to change the football culture here.”
Change is also something Jenkins is looking for at East. In fact, “Time to make a change” has become the team motto. Several decades ago Jenkins was the head coach at the old East High School. In his very first game, East defeated Steubenville Big Red.
“We had some strong teams, some great players back then,” Jenkins said. “We want to change back to what we used to be here.”
Jenkins, a retired teacher, was an assistant at East last year. He noted that many of the players on this year’s team are the sons of players and students he mentored in the past.
“I seen all these familiar names, and that’s sort of why I came back. I know these kids come from good families,” Jenkins said.
Jennings is new to the Mahoning Valley, but he is certainly not a stranger to football. Following a successful college playing career and a stint in the Arena Football League, Jennings spent three seasons coaching at Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg. His teams went 22-11 and won back-to-back Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division III state titles.
Williams, Wagner, Protopapa and Jenkins will all kick off their seasons tonight. Meanwhile, Velasquez and Jennings will meet Sarturday when Valley Christian hosts Lowellville.