BY: Mike McMurran
Sports Editor
On Friday, September 2, two St. Charles City residents will make their high school coaching debut, against each other. Both young men grew up in St. Charles County; Nesslage graduated from St. Charles High, Wallace from Fort Zumwalt South. Both young men teach in the school in which they coach, and both live in the City limits. I had the chance to sit down recently with these two up and coming young coaches. Originally I had hoped to field five questions for each of them. Both coaches are currently preparing their teams for football jamborees on Friday August 26 as well as their contest against each other on September 2, so time was limited to two questions. We will publish one question this week and one next week prior to their contest.
FCN: No one accidentally becomes a high school head football coach. Kindly discuss what led you to this point in your life. Feel free to mention mentors, coaches, and parents.
Nesslage: “Becoming a head football coach is something that I am have been thinking about ever since the first day I stepped onto a practice field at Lindenwood University. I got to work under a great person in the name of Dan Kratzer. I have never learned so much football in such a short time than I did that year working under him.
I always had a passion for the game, but that is when I fell in love with the coaching of the game. I love the details that go into a weekly game plan, I love the way kids look at you and expect you to have the answers of how we are going to get something accomplished. I love the competition. I love the adversity that can happen in a 48 minute time frame of a high school football game and how you react to that adversity will usually determine the outcome of the game.
When you say mentors, I have had plenty, but it all started with my mom and dad. They have instilled in me the confidence to be the person I am today. Both my mom and dad have preached to me 1. When you take a job or when you start something, finish it. 2. While you are doing it, you might as well do it right the first time.
Mike Thorne, the former head coach here at St. Charles High, he taught me how to be consistent and fair when dealing with teenagers, if you are not, they will pick up on that very quickly.
I have had plenty more, but far too many to mention them all, but throughout all of them I have learned in order to be successful in anything, you have to totally commit yourself to it, and don’t ever look back. You have to be fair, consistent, sincere, and patient. And most of all you have to be a good communicator. It doesn’t matter how much knowledge you have as a head coach, if you can’t communicate it to your staff and players.
Then the two people that put it all in perspective for me are my wife, Angie, and my son Kannon, who is 2. No matter what happens on a practice field or game field on Friday night they are still my biggest fans. It doesn’t matter if we win by 4 touchdowns or lose by 1 in double over time, my son still comes up running……. to give me a big hug.
Wallace: I always appreciated my years of being a high school student athlete. My high school teachers and coaches at Fort Zumwalt South High School made the experience for myself and so many other student/athletes something that they would never forget.
Aspiring teachers and coaches often say that they want to give back what was given to them. I believe this whole-heartedly. My high school and college coaches serve as some of the most influential and dynamic characters in my life outside of immediate family. I thought from the age of 15 how awesome it would be to have the same career as Bob Groff, Larry McDevit, Bob Cliffe, Mark Hale, Bob Meyers, Reed Huffman and th late Brad Hill. These guys were incredible motivators on the field and more importantly in the classroom. I think about them everyday.
