SOUTHVIEW COUGARS: STATE CHAMPIONS

Alex's father Rick is in the orange shirt, CoachFree, Tight End Mike Sayed in the blue, and #22 Chris Manera - the first varsity athletes to win a game for Southview HS 30 years ago when we started the program.

Alex Pidcock scores while leading the Sylvania Southview Cougars

to the 2008 Ohio Division 2 State Championship.

Thirty years ago I coached Alex's dad, Rick, and a bunch of other hard working Cougars to the first victory, the first winning season, and the first win over arch rival Northview.

It is only fitting that one of the sons lead Southview to the first 15-0 State Championship. Congratulations to the Cougars.

It just goes to show you how far things you start can progress. Who would have thought that it would play out this way?

Thirty years ago I signed on to start the Southview program as the school district decided to split Sylvania High School thereby creating Northview and Southview. The school was not fully completed when it came time for practice to start so we were handing out equipment at a nearby JHS.

When the school split, athletes were given the choice of staying at North or go out to Southview. Essentially, the football players decided to stay while the basketball players went out to South. The basketball team was very good those first couple years winning the league championship.

The football team was very inexperienced. We had but one letterman. He had been a part time split receiver, but we decided to move him to QB. To show you how inexperienced the players were, when we had all the equipment laid out on the floor of the gym for kids to check out, there was one young lineman who came over to me and asked why his pads fit so uncomfortably.

"Is this supposed to fit this way?" he asked.

I took one look and it was all I could do not to break down laughing, damage his self esteem and have him quit before practice even began. He had never played football before. When you split a school, you double the opportunities for kids to participate, and kids that never thought of playing before now turn out, and they have to play. Anyway, this player had his girdle on backwards and his butt pad was protecting what he wanted protected.

So that is where we started, having to teach the boys how to put on their pads properly, and now they are Champions of the State.

Yeah Team.