ABJ
COACH AIMS FOR JOY
Larry Kehres looks for happiness as Mount Union tries for 9th title
By Terry Pluto
Some things about Larry Kehres that you might not
know...
It was about 90 minutes after his Mount Union football team had defeated St. John Fisher 26-14 in Alliance.
That victory sent the Purple Raiders to the Stagg Bowl, where they will face Wisconsin-Whitewater on Saturday for the NCAA Division III national title.
When Kehres conducts his post-game news conferences, his wife, Linda, waits in the back of the room. When it's over, they leave together.
A few weeks ago, they bought a Christmas tree after a game.
On Saturday, Linda wanted to do some Christmas shopping at a Christian bookstore in Salem. Kehres still was wearing his Mount Union jacket in the store when a man approached him.
``Mount Union, they're pretty good,'' he said. ``Are you a big fan?''
``You could say that,'' Kehres replied, smiling.
They talked a little more, then Kehres conceded that he was the coach.
``If you're the coach,'' said the man. ``how come you're not at the game? It's only 4:30.''
Kehres laughed as he explained about it being a noon start, and how he was taking his wife shopping and out to eat. He's 57 years old, has been married for 35 years and has three children. It's like that in Division III, even for the man who has the highest winning percentage (.919) in all of college football.
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Under Kehres, Mount Union has won eight national football championships.
Only Notre Dame claims more, with 11 dating to the 1930s, when there were ``mythical'' national titles. According to the Associated Press, Mount has the most with eight.
If Ohio State wins the national championship game, coach Jim Tressel will have six -- four with Youngstown State, two with the Buckeyes.
Kehres began his coaching career as an assistant with Mount. He also started the school's swimming program in 1974, coaching the team for 12 years.
He ran into his own ``Mount Union'' in that sport: Kenyon College.
``When I get full of myself, I say, `Hey, you're no Jim Steens,' '' Kehres said.
Who?
``Jim Steens, the Kenyon swimming coach,'' Kehres said. ``He has won 20-some titles in a row.''
It's 27 -- and counting.
Did Kehres ever beat him?
``Are you kidding me?'' he said.
Then Kehres talked about stopping at Kenyon recently to check the school's new recreation center. He ran into Steens, and they talked for a while.
``What I appreciated is how he still loves coaching swimming,'' said Kehres. ``He loves to win, but even more important is making his swimmers better. He's a purist. He gets joy from it. I want that.''
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Kehres has been coaching at Mount for 32 years. He was an assistant for 11 years, has been the head coach since 1986.
``One of the biggest challenges is to find the joy in coaching,'' he said. ``For too long, winning for me was just a relief. I need to remember that this means so much to the men, and I want to be happy about what each team, each player has accomplished.''
Kehres recognizes that those words collide with his image. He stands tall, ramrod straight. He is comfortable with people, but not quick with a joke or a smile. Seemingly little things can really annoy him.
``Some of the players will hear me talk about joy and say, `Joy? Him? That nit-picking so-and-so.' As a coach, you are always looking for what's wrong. You have to make sure you see what is right.''
Kehres said that when watching films, he has to remember that he might have taught a certain tactic five years ago, but these players weren't around five years ago. It's too easy (and dangerous) for coaches to think current players should know things the coaches have known forever.
``That's part of the reason I have turned some of the responsibilities over to the young guys (assistants Vince Kehres, Larry's son, and Matt Campbell),'' he said. ``They have fresh eyes. They have enthusiasm and new ideas. I'm working harder at not being so intolerant of itty-bitty mistakes. I don't want to kill the men in practice. I want them to enjoy playing here, and not just because we've won.''
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Five Mount quarterbacks have won national titles. The Purple Raiders have won with wide-open passing teams behind the arms of Jim Ballard, Bill Borchert and Rod Adamson. They've won with a balanced attack featuring quarterbacks Gary Smeck and Mike Jorris, along with star running backs Chuck Moore, Dan Pugh and Nate Kmic.
That's a testimony to the ability of Kehres and his coaches to adjust to the talent, to keep finding new ways to win. This team is one that makes Woody Hayes look like a passing fool.
Some Mount fans have criticized the team for being so run-oriented.
That doesn't bother Kehres.
What he does worry about is the impact of the enormous pressure on his players, especially if they lose.
``I don't want them to feel bad about anything here just because they didn't win a title,'' he said. ``So many things have to go right for that to happen. We want it to happen. It's our goal. But the last thing I want is for a player to feel bad about coming back to school after he has graduated because of something that happened on the field.''
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Mount has been to the Stagg Bowl nine times, winning eight.
The only loss was in 2003, 24-6 to St. John's of Minnesota.
After the game, Kehres tried to find the right words.
``This will not be the worst thing to ever happen to you in your life,'' he said. ``Most of you will become husbands and fathers. Hard things can happen there. This was a very important game, but it's still a game.''
Thinking back to that speech in 2003, Kehres said Sunday night, ``At that point, it really doesn't matter what you say. The men are just hurting too much.''
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Few Mount fans recall that Kehres took over an 11-1 team in 1986 from Ken Wable. He followed up with his own 11-1 season, but then Mount slipped to 6-4 and 6-3-1 the next two years.
Was there any pressure to change coaches?
``Not for me,'' said Kehres, laughing. ``That's because I was the athletic director, too.''
Kehres still holds that job.
Something else forgotten under the mountain of national titles is the climb to reach the first one.
That didn't happen until 1993, Kehres' eighth season.
In those first seven years, Mount made the playoffs three times. It never reached the finals.
After winning the national title in 1993, Mount didn't reach the Stagg Bowl again until 1996.
As Kehres said: ``This didn't happen overnight.''
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Kehres gives few inspirational talks. His goal is preparation, having his team ready by game day so the players really don't need to be fired up. Before kickoff, they only need to be reminded of a few key things.
``I never told kids before a big game that this was the most important game of their lives,'' he said. ``I never told them that no one will remember anything but this game. I just don't believe in that.''
In his own life, football means a lot but not everything. He doesn't stay all night in the office. He has turned down chances to coach at Kent State, Princeton and a few other schools larger than Mount during the years.
``There was a point where I wondered if I had done all I could (at Mount) and maybe should look elsewhere,'' he said. ``But not anymore. I really have been able to focus more than ever the last few years on making the men on the team the best they can be -- and making the team the best it can be.''
Memories.
