Hall of Famer Brian Cross named head coach at Teays Valley

 
Scipio said:
Appropos of nothing, I just want to add that Brian was also a star player at Warren Western Reserve HS And I believe he played for the great Coach Straham there.
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He has great stories and recollections on not just Warren (of generations past), but the larger Steel Valley football scene growing up.

Teays gets a hard worker and someone who wants (what is presumably his final coaching stint) to be as meaningful, rewarding and impactful for the kids as it was at McK, Eastmoor, Ready, Orange et al. Brian can meet kids in the middle and he’ll get the point across what it takes for the upperclassmen to go out strong while preparing the younger kids for what the OCC is.

Two main keys I see: 1) the parents need to give him some room to work and trust him. He’s a good communicator who knows how to mesh a fundamental core philosophy and translate it to how today’s crowd can receive it. 2) Ideally whoever succeeds him will be on the staff he creates, or he can help TV identify what they need in the long-term years deep into the OCC. There isn’t a point in hiring him because of his wins if you’re not going to end up heeding his expertise on what programs need.

I don’t know if TV will be immediately successful out the gate, or not, but I do feel the seeds for success will have been planted with his time and work there. P.S. — any possibility he’ll have kids whose dads played for him at Grove City?
 
This one is a little puzzling to me. The program wasn’t exactly in shambles and they are embarking on a new adventure into the OCC. Let’s face it, this isn’t a long term hire. It’s been some time since Cross has had success. Not at all the direction I thought they would go.
 
RollingTrain said:
This one is a little puzzling to me. The program wasn’t exactly in shambles and they are embarking on a new adventure into the OCC. Let’s face it, this isn’t a long term hire. It’s been some time since Cross has had success. Not at all the direction I thought they would go.
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Just a thought... First, I love the hire! You're right, the program was not in shambles but certainly not what it should be. Frankly, they should be beating everyone in the MSL handily but they just aren't. Thera are a couple guys in house that I think could be outstanding high school coaches but they need a change going into the OCC. They need a change agent to come in and set the bar higher as they transition. They have young talent but they need a culture change. I can't even count the number of games they beat themselves over the last few years. I think the ideal scenario would be that Coach Cross comes in, ushers in a change in culture, and a "coach in waiting" takes over down the road. Perhaps even one that is already there.
 
RollingTrain said:
This one is a little puzzling to me. The program wasn’t exactly in shambles and they are embarking on a new adventure into the OCC. Let’s face it, this isn’t a long term hire. It’s been some time since Cross has had success. Not at all the direction I thought they would go.
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The scuttlebutt had been there were several active OCC coaches who put in and kicked the tires on the job, but it may have been that TV couldn’t land building positions for the staff. TV’s solid frosh WR also transferred to UA a couple weeks ago and that might have hurt the talent appeal as well.

I sorta disagree. It’s tough to not give Cross a hard look regardless of who all put in and in this case the program comes out more prepared for OCC play the next time you’re making a hire.
 
Coach Cross is very good at developing players and he is very good at game planning. He really does love coaching and while he is tough, he is extremely consistent and fair with players. The light usually comes on with players when they are Seniors what he is really teaching which are life lessons about work, personal responsibility, and not everyone in life is going to love you and criticism is part of life.
 
Scipio said:
Appropos of nothing, I just want to add that Brian was also a star player at Warren Western Reserve HS And I believe he played for the great Coach Straham there.
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Here's Cross recording a sack for Reserve in 1969.

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Brian Cross definitely played from Strahm at Reserve, but he never played or coached in the Steel Valley Conference.

When Cross landed at Olentangy Orange, it definitely was no accident. Orange’s AD and principal at the time who hired him were both WWR grads; the principal now doing a great job as the Orange superintendent, of course. Orange’s OC under Cross was a Niles grad so it was a nice little Warren-area party while it lasted. ;)

I don’t know Brian nor have I ever met him, but I wish him much success at TV. My mom had his kids in elementary school back in Warren.
 
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