Ken Such feels like he has a lot in common with Dick Vermeil.
“He was gone from coaching football for 17 years and he came back and won the Super Bowl,” Such said about the former coach of the St. Louis Rams. “So if he could do it, I can do it.”
Such was last the head hockey coach at St. Peter’s Prep in the 1994-95 season. He recently signed on to become the new hockey coach at Prep again for the coming season. It means he had a respite of 23 years in between hockey coaching gigs.
“I love the sport,” said Such, who was the head coach at Hudson Catholic for five years, then moved over to Prep for another seven. “After I stepped away from coaching, I came back onto the scene strictly as a parent.”
Such guided the development of sons Aaron and J.T. from Pee Wee into youth hockey and finally at St. Peter’s. Older son Aaron graduated from Prep last June, but J.T. remains.
“I coached the Garden State Games team,” Such said. “So I still dipped my toe into it a little. Right from the ages of six through 16, I watched my boys grow.”
Three years ago, Such signed on to become the junior varsity coach at Prep.
“I was at every game and every practice,” Such said. “I found out that I still had the itch.”
After three years with the JV, Such says that he’s ready to become the full-time head coach again.
“Most of the kids in the program right now, I’ve coached just about every one of them,” Such said. “I’m familiar with them and they’re familiar with me. I know their strengths and weaknesses.”
Such, who has been an administrator for the Union City Board of Education for the past 31 years, said that he relishes the memories that came with his first go-round.
“Over the years, the guys who I have coached have now become my friends,” Such said. “As you get older, you cherish it more. I’ve developed so many friendships with the guys I’ve coached. That’s what this is all about. Creating stories to be able to tell later on. It’s all about stories.”
Such won almost 150 games as a head coach in the 1980s and 90s. He’s also spent his time as an assistant football coach at Prep, but has stepped aside those duties this season to concentrate on being the head hockey coach.
“The focus will be on character and culture of the team,” Such said. “There are ironies about being away for 23 years. Back then, there were no cell phones, no social media. If I want to send out a message about a time change or something, we have Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Things have changed so much, but hockey hasn’t changed.”
Such was asked if there would be a special feeling coaching his son.
“I have had the chance to coach them previously,” Such said. “J.T. knows that he will be just like everyone else. He just happens to be on the team that I coach. I’m not about to play favorites. I’m doing my best not to make him more accountable. I certainly wouldn’t want being his coach to being detrimental to our relationship.”
Such said that he’s more than ready to tackle the challenge of being the head coach again.
“I’m really excited,” Such said. “I’ve already initiated a strength and conditioning program. I’m ready.”
Much like Vermeil was…
Speaking of St. Peter’s Prep, standout two-way player Shayne Simon gave a verbal commitment to the University of Notre Dame last week. Simon is a rare kind of player, with tremendous size and speed, who could literally play every position on the field, both offensively and defensively.
It means that Notre Dame has secured the services of three current Marauders, namely Simon and the Ademilola twins, Jayson and Justin, have given verbal commitments to coach Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish.
Of course, the Irish’s projected starting quarterback is Brandon Wimbush, the former Marauder signal caller who led the Marauders to the overall state championship in 2015.
So South Bend will have a Grand and Warren flavor to it in a big way next year…–Jim Hague.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.
