The head coach seat has been filled for 40 years of Irish football by one man. That man is Monte Kohler. He is always setting the bar higher and higher to the point where it seems that nothing is enough. Except for one thing: The 3A state championship.
(Photos from Paddy Mahar)
One of the first and last people in the building each day, Coach Kohler has forever left his mark on O’Dea High School through his remarkable success on the football field but also through his main mission, molding teenagers into young men. This year is no different with the Fighting Irish going into playoffs undefeated and ranked 2nd in the state. This is the standard that Coach Kohler has set: To reach for nothing lower than the 3A state championship. Going into November football it's do or die; the opponents that will pose a challenge are archrivals Eastside Catholic and the team that won state and knocked out the Irish out of the playoffs last year, the Bellevue Wolverines.
So, the question now becomes how will the Fighting Irish do it?
‘’O'Dea will need to be consistent and each individual will need to 'do their job'. An effective team operates together as one team. If someone strays from the team or doing their job, we are no longer one unit. We need to be one family to win state. No matter what happens, family always sticks together, ‘’ quarterback and linebacker coach Pierre LeDorze said.
Not just in the team but in the school, O’Dea possesses something a lot of school don’t have. The brotherhood is the tight bond that binds all students of O’Dea together. When a group of young men all with one goal to achieve come together, they push each other and lift each other up. This grows bonds within the team and brings everyone closer. Coach Kohler's mission is to improve each individual as a player, but more importantly, as a man.
‘’I’m not sure what O’Dea would be like without Kohler,’’ former star offensive linemen Owen Prentice said.
Coach Kohler has left a huge mark on O’Dea and has forever changed young men’s lives and still does today. With this season being Coach Kohler's 40th year this pushes the players as hard as Coach Kohler does to take it all, not just for the team but for Coach Kohler and the rest of the coaching staff.
The Irish will take on the Thunderbirds of Mount Tahoma High School in the 3rd round of the playoffs on November 22nd at Memorial Stadium at 7pm.
Comments