Football is a 'labor of love' for longtime high school coaches

Paul Engen has been on a football field much of his life — even now, at age 75.

He's not the head coach anymore, but perhaps being an assistant is even more rewarding. He has a front-row seat to see his son Brent at work.

Brent Engen is the head coach at Appleton West, the same school his father led for more than 25 years (1969-1994), including to a state championship in 1992. 

It hasn't been an easy road. Appleton West won just 10 games in Brent Engen's first six years. But the Terrors have made the playoffs the past two years and are 3-1 so far this season. 

"The first number of years was difficult, but he hung in there," Paul Engen said. "Football is as close to living as you can get. There's going to be good times and there's going to be rough times. Do you walk away when times get tough? Or do you come back and say, 'I'm going to be better tomorrow?' "

High school coaches like the Engens are part of a community of coaches that put an exorbitant number of hours into coaching despite the ups and downs, and the pressure to win. They say they stay in it for the love of the game. 

All over the state of Wisconsin, you can find high school football coaches who have been patrolling the sidelines for decades, never seriously contemplating walking away from the game. 

And while the game of high school football has certainly changed over the years, for coaches like Edgar's Jerry Sinz and Saint Mary's Springs' Bob Hyland, things have largely stayed the same. Without football, there would be a void. 

Many suspected Sinz would walk away following the graduation of his youngest son, Justin. But Justin graduated from college two years ago and his father still is on the sidelines.

"Most of my kids played in college and it was tough then when you're coaching, but somehow you make it work," Sinz said. "I thought about (retiring) in 2009 or 2010 and we were so good in that stretch — we won 41 out of 42, and my kids said, 'If you like it, keep doing it.' I was still enjoying it. I retired from teaching and I didn't want to do nothing."

Hyland says the goal is to stick around to coach his grandsons through football. His grandsons are in eighth and fifth grades. 

"I don't have a whole lot to do other than golf and mow lawn," Hyland said. "I don't have a ton of other hobbies (besides football) so I get pretty bored. (Football) keeps me active and busy."

Sinz and Hyland both have long and stunning histories of success.

Hyland started his coaching career at Springs in 1971 and through his first 18 games, his record was 1-15-2. But the pressure to win never really got to Hyland. In his fifth year, Hyland led Springs to a state title appearance and the Ledgers have reached state 23 of the past 43 years. 

"I never paid any attention to it," Hyland said."The pressure to win is put on by Bob Hyland and that's it. The pressure put on Springs is put on by me. We — myself, the coaching staff, players and families — just expect it and schedule the playoffs until the state championship every year. That pressure comes with success."

Sinz has turned Edgar into a perennial powerhouse as well. He became the head coach in 1975, when Edgar was seriously considering dropping football. Edgar hasn't missed the playoffs in more than two decades and Sinz has led the Wildcats to seven state championships and four state runners-up. 

Sinz is at Edgar High School daily at 6:30 a.m. overseeing his players in the weight room. The work ethic of excellence is instilled in the program now. Sinz says most days kids are already in the weight room at 6 a.m.

The sport has changed dramatically, particularly in technology. Sinz said all his players have the Hudl app on their cellphones and the coaches can see plays about 30 seconds after they happen on their tablets on the sideline.

Technology and expectations have turned coaching into a year-round job. Coaches said that a reliable staff around them is pivotal. 

"I had a few coaches with me for 30 years or more," Sinz said, "and now it's been really rewarding to have so many young guys on the staff that have all played for me ... they know the expectations and have heard a lot of the same things when we played."

Sinz said the players haven't necessarily changed much, but technology allows teams to know what you run and aren't surprised unless adjustments are made.

"I think for years we used to run two-tight end, full-house backfield," he said, "now, like Friday, we started in the spread formation.

"You have to do that now to keep kids focused and give other teams another look. I traveled to coaches clinics all over and took a lot of things from winning coaches, from Bear Bryant to Vince Lombardi ... if you weren't winning, though, I had a hard time taking any tips from them."

While the changes in the sport have gradually taken place — from player safety to open enrollment to technological advances — some things, like who leads some local football teams, stay the same. 

"Some of the rules from player safety and the paperwork and everything else ... these are all good things, but it’s very time-consuming," Brent Engen said. "The overall expectation that it’s a year-round job nowadays ... but I say it all the time, it's a labor of love. Football is a lot of hours and work, but I love it."