Vic Fangio offers advice to high school coaches wide-ranging session as part of Random Acts of Kindness Week

[Miles]

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — When Vic Fangio began his coaching career in 1979, he didn't have his sights set on the NFL. All he wanted to do was follow in Jack Henzes' footsteps.


Henzes, Fangio's football coach at Dunmore High School, led a legendary career high-school coaching career in Pennsylvania. For about 50 years, Henzes remained at Dunmore and compiled a record that included 444 wins. That was dreaming big for Fangio at the time.


"When I first started coaching, all I really wanted to be was a high school head coach eventually, just like he was," Fangio said, "and that would be it for me."


But destiny had much more in store for Fangio, who soon took a step beyond the high school coaching ranks to work at the collegiate and professional football levels. Still, Fangio maintains a connection to his roots by reaching out to high school coaches, as he did Tuesday in a video-conference meeting as part of Random Acts of Kindness Week.


"I think high school football is the roots of our game," Fangio told the coaches. "All the players have started in high school. I think a lot of the things they learned in high school they carry with them throughout their career. And I think a good high school coach goes a long, long way in developing the player as an individual. I still see, when I go back home, kids that I coached in high school who are no longer kids, obviously, and the relationships that ex-players have with a high school coach throughout their lives, I think, is pretty special. High school kids can be influenced in a good way by their high school coaches, because that's when they're developing emotionally, physically and mentally. A good high school football coach can go a long way. So anything I can do to help in that regard, I'm always happy to do."


Throughout the 45-minute session, Fangio fielded an array of questions, including the big things like recommendations for first-time high school head coaches.


"A lot of it is going to be due to your numbers, how many people you have on the practice field," Fangio said. "And if you're down low in numbers, you've got to practice wisely and smartly. Whereas if you're a team, a high school with over 100 kids out there, that's obviously a lot different. The challenges are different. But I would stay true to who you are. If you've been an offensive coach or defensive coach, stay true to your specialists and still do that job. … Delegation is important, but you're there for a reason, so don't cheat your team by taking away your expertise."