Thursday, June 11, 2009
He’s slept several thousand times since then, but Johnny Tusa still has vivid memories of his first game as a head football coach — and the way he felt after that game.
The year was 1978, and Tusa was a rookie head coach at Reicher, his high school alma mater. His Cougars opened the season at Groesbeck, which starred former NFL standout Kenneth Sims. Not surprisingly, the Goats won.
“I came away from that ballgame knowing I had a ways to go as a head coach,” Tusa said. “I remember that being part of my thinking process on the ride home.”
Tusa made significant strides after that humble beginning, including a 23-year run at Waco High in which he made 19 playoff appearances and won a total of 181 games. On Saturday, he’ll try to win one more in the inaugural Super Centex Victory Bowl put on by the Heart of Texas Fellowship of Christian Athletes. It could mark the last time Tusa strides onto a sideline as a coach.
“I had the idea that last season would be my last one at Waco High,” said Tusa, who stepped down from his post overseeing the Lions in February. “As far as whether this is my last game, you don’t really know that. I don’t know that for a fact. You never know what could pique my interest or what lies over the horizon. But there’s certainly that possibility that it could be my last game, no doubt about it.”
If the Victory Bowl is Tusa’s swan song to coaching, it will probably feel more like a casually paced victory lap rather than a full-out sprint. It’s an all-star game, after all, and as such Tusa said the primary focus shouldn’t be on whether his Blue squad or Mark Bell’s Red team emerges victorious.
“It’s happening for all the right reasons, and our desire is to make it fun,” Tusa said. “You want to make it competitive and put a good product out there. It’s a great opportunity for our city, because you’ve got kids coming in from all over the surrounding area, and more often than not, it really will be the last game for a lot of those kids.”
Besides coaching unfamiliar players from various-sized schools around Central Texas, Saturday’s game will offer Tusa one last chance to coach three of his own Waco High players — linemen Paul Robinson, Michael Pendleton and Quentin Evans.
“It’s an honor to play for Coach Tusa, because not everybody gets that chance,” said Robinson, who will play at Hardin-Simmons in the fall, along with Evans. “Not everybody can take the — I guess you’d call it pressure — because he’s so hard on us. But he always keeps us in line and everything.”
“He taught us a lot,” agreed Evans. “The only thing, I would have liked to pass (the ball) a little more, but he was a pretty good coach. I’d love to work with him again, so I’m glad we’ve got this game.”
Tusa will also be teaming up with some of his old rivals for the Victory Bowl, including Killeen’s Sam Jones, who is one of four assistants on Tusa’s coaching staff. Jones called it a thrill to join forces with Tusa for once, rather than stand across from him on an opposing sideline.
“I think he’s an example of what this game is all about, and what he’s done with young men throughout his career,” Jones said. “First of all, being a Godly man. Everybody thinks an athlete or a coach doesn’t share the word. He’s an example of someone who does.
“He’s been successful on the field, and has been successful in a lot of young men’s lives. It’s a pleasure to come and be on the same sideline with him, try to get to know him a little bit better.”
Since his retirement from Waco High, Tusa has been working as a recruiter with the American Football Coaches Association, and he said he may also add some marketing duties for Waco ISD to his slate for the fall.
But he’ll likely always answer to “Coach.”
“If you’re a doctor, you’re always a doctor,” Tusa said. “I think it’s the same with coaching — once a coach, always a coach.”
bcherry@wacotrib.com
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