Saturday, September 27, 2014

Walton Central School

Jim Hoover Field

Coach Jim Hoover

A celebration of 300 wins

Years coached: 39 (1976-present) Career record: 301-79-1 (through Sept. 20, 2014) State championships: 2 (1994, 2007) New York State Regional championships: 9 Section Four championships: 14 Section Four Division championships: 19 The Daily Star Coach of the Year: 11 Press and Sun Bulletin Coach of the Year: 3

Jim Hoover: Looking back

First win: def. Afton, 40-0 50th win: def. Cazenovia, 34-6 100th win: def. Tioga, 12-0 150th win: def. Windsor, 22-15 200th win: def. O’Neill, 52-13 233rd win (Section Four record): def. Hancock via forfeit 250th win: def. Sidney, 66-7 300th win: def. Harpursville/Afton, 20-6 First undefeated season: 1987 First Bowl championship: 1983 First Division championship: 1987 First Section Four championship: 1987 First New York Regional championship: 1989 First State championship: 1994

Through the years

Firsts

1976: 6-3 1977: 3-6 1978: 7-1 1979: 6-2 1980: 4-5 1981: 6-3 1982: 4-4 1983: 8-1 1984: 5-3-1 1985: 5-4 1986: 8-2 1987: 10-0 1988: 10-1 1989: 10-0 1990: 9-1 1991: 11-0 1992: 7-2 1993: 10-1 1994: 13-0 1995: 8-1

1996: 6-4 1997: 10-1 1998: 9-1 1999: 9-1 2000: 12-1 2001: 8-2 2002: 8-1 2003: 7-2 2004: 10-2 2005: 6-3 2006: 7-3 2007: 13-0 2008: 11-1 2009: 7-3 2010: 8-4 2011: 8-1 2012: 4-5 2013: 5-4 2014: 3-0 (through Sept. 19)

Year-by-year record

Total: 301-79-1

It started on September 18, 1976. It was a Saturday afternoon and football

was in the air – as Walton took on Afton in the season opener. On Walton’s sidelines, though, was a young, new coach – Jim Hoover.

That day was a good one for Hoover as his Warriors won, 40-0. Quite a nice welcome to the Walton sidelines for the son of longtime Vestal coach Dick Hoover.

Walton would go on to finish 6-3 that season and little did anybody at the time know, but the Jim Hoover era was only just beginning at the school. Now in his 39th season on the sidelines at Walton, Hoover has reached a level no other Section Four coach ever has – and only four others in all of New York State have ever done – by winning his 300th career game.

“I’ve been lucky,” Hoover said before this season’s games had started. “I’ve had many good people to work with. I’ve always had good administrative support.”

The milestone victory came on a rainy and chilly Saturday afternoon in Harpursville – seemingly fitting as Hoover’s teams have always been gritty, grind-it-out types that can thrive in any weather conditions. His Warriors overcame some adversity and

prevailed, 20-6, over Harpursville/Afton, notching win No. 300 in front of a large contingent of Walton fans who made the trek to see the game.

As the clock ticked down the final seconds, a smile beamed across Hoover’s face. When the final horn sounded to officially end the game and give the longtime coach his 300th win, his son – and assistant coach – Adam quickly went over and gave his father a celebratory hug. The Booster Club had also

pre-ordered shirts for when this milestone happened and handed them out to the players and coaches, to allow the team to celebrate with their coach.

Hoover is now 301-79-1, a winning percentage of nearly 80 percent.

But that wet Saturday afternoon in Harpursville – to reach such a milestone –

was many years away when Hoover arrived in Walton for the 1976 season.

Even Hoover, with coaching in his bloodlines, said he’d never have thought about 300 victories. After all, back when he started coaching, teams played only eight or nine games per season. That didn’t extend to 10 until the 1980s and the state tournament – where teams can play upward of 13 games – didn’t begin until 1993.

“When I first started coaching, I knew I’d think about administration,” said Hoover,

Hoover reaches 300-win plateau

who eventually would become a principal at Walton. “I thought if I could get to 100 wins, I’d be happy. I was able to be an administrator and a coach and had the support of the community. Walton has been very supportive of its football program.”

Howie Vogts, who coached at Bethpage and died in 2010, is the state’s all-time leader in coaching wins with 364. Vin O’Connor, who is still active and coaches at St. Francis Prep, is second with 340. Shenendehowa’s Brent Steuerwald, who retired in 2011, is third with 318. Tony DeMatteo, who is still active and has coached at Roosevelt and Somers, is fourth with 311.

Then there’s Hoover.

Though the coaches above him have coached at larger schools, Hoover has built something extremely special in Walton.

Take for example, how well Hoover’s teams have played over the years.

Walton went 4-5 in 1980. What happened following that was an impressive span of football as the Warriors didn’t have another losing season until going 4-5 in 2012.

And over that span, take a peek at what the Warriors accomplished: two state championships, nine regional championships, 14 Section Four titles, 19 division crowns and five undefeated seasons.

That’s a resume that is mostly unmatched in

the coaching ranks. The accolades have been numerous, too. He’s been named the Coach of the Year by area newspapers a staggering 14 times. He was also inducted into the Section Four Hall of Fame in 2009.

It’s not just 300 victories, though. Hoover’s teams also don’t lose often. He’s yet to reach 100 losses in his career.

“We’ve been lucky to be very consistent over 39 years,” Hoover said. “Three-hundred wins is nice. But I think I’m more proud of the

percentage of wins and losses.”

Hoover has had more of an impact on his players and students than just on the football field.

“Playing for coach Hoover taught me there was a lot more to football than running fast and hitting hard,” said Dave Harby, who played for Hoover

in 1981 and 1982. “He taught me to be smart and disciplined and to pay attention to details. He taught me to be calm under pressure by focusing on my responsibilities. He taught me to make my mistakes at full speed. He showed me the value in doing your homework and preparation.

“More than anything, he taught us all that we could do things we didn’t think were possible,” he continued. “These lessons I have used, and continue to use, throughout my life.”

His impact on people – not just players – was never more evident than late last

year, when he was named to be part of USA Today’s contest for the nation’s top coach. It was a fan-based voting contest, but Hoover – despite being coaching in a small town in upstate New York – emerged as a possible winner of this award.

In fact, he won the Regional round to advance to the national finals.

He earned 38,654 votes to make it out of a group of eight New York coaches. Hoover then received more than 89,000 votes in the regional round, advancing Hoover to the national round.

There, he finished with 137,117 votes to place third in the nation, which earned the school a banner and $500 to the athletic department.

“Coach Hoover exemplifies what a coach should be,” said Walton Athletic Director Andy Gates, who coached football under Hoover during Gates’ first year in Walton. “He teaches, motivates and is a positive role model. He’s a mentor to many and is one of the finest people you’ll ever meet. For him to reach this milestone is not only a testament to his coaching ability, but to his role in so many students’ lives and how he’s been a positive influence on so many of them.”

Looking back, Hoover said it wasn’t easy to pick out one or two teams that were favorites. Instead, he noted, he can take a peek at a team photo from any year and be able to

remember positive things from each team. Of course the state championship years stick

out, but so do the senior years of his children – Adam Hoover and Brynne Hoover-Daye, who are now both teachers and coaches at Walton. Adam is an assistant to his father after being the head coach for several years at Oneonta, and Brynne is the field hockey coach.

“I knew a lot of those kids on a different level because they were friends with Adam and Brynne,” Hoover said. “I knew them more on a personal note.”

Coaching has definitely been a family affair for Hoover. He played at Vestal under his father -- and longtime coach Dick Hoover, who finished his legendary career with 182 victories. For a stretch of years, Dick Hoover assisted his son at Walton, a time when Jim Hoover

said he learned so much about coaching, not just the game plans, but about players and everything surrounding the worlds of teenagers playing high school sports.

Another team that sticks out? The 1978 squad, which went 7-1. The lone loss that season came to Chenango Forks, a 28-22 setback in the fourth week. Walton’s team was a little thin that year as Hoover said they had 22 players.

“We kept winning and winning,” he said. “It was a great group of kids who stuck together.”

And then there are the rivalry games – with teams such as Windsor, or Chenango Forks

back in the day. And, of course, there’s Delhi. The rivalry with Delhi goes well before

Hoover started coaching, and long before his counterpart at Delhi, Dave Kelly, started coaching. But the rivalry took on a different world when the two started playing as it was two of the most prolific coaches in Section Four history. Kelly retired from Delhi after last season with 272 victories over 48 seasons.

On the New York State Sportswriters Association’s football website (www.roadtosyracuse.com) Walton vs. Delhi is listed as the third-longest rivalry, dating back to 1892. Only Rome Free Academy vs. Utica Free (1891) and Fordham Prep vs. Xavier (1883) have had longer rivalries.

The rivalry, though still likely one of the biggest games on the schedule each year, has mellowed over the years as kids in the communities hang out and know who everyone is.

“When I first started, Walton didn’t like Delhi and Delhi didn’t like Walton,” Hoover said. “Now the kids know each other and are friendly.

“We’re all competitive,” said Hoover, who is 31-13 against Delhi during his career. “We always want to beat the other. It was always built as Hoover vs. Kelly, but it wasn’t. Delhi has always been the big game. That’s the one week you don’t have to worry about the kids

getting up for the game. We’ve had some battles with them over the years.”

And though it’s always pointed out that Walton is a defensive juggernaut, it should be shown, too, that the Warriors usually are a pretty solid offensive team.

How good is Walton’s offense and defense?Through the first game of the 2014 season,

Walton had outscored opponents 11,741-4812 during Hoover’s tenure – that’s outscoring opponents more than 2-to-1. In

10 of Hoover’s seasons, Walton has held their opponents – combined – to fewer than 100 points during a season. That includes an impressive 48 over 13 games during the 2007 season, when the Warriors had nine shutouts. In fact, over 39

seasons, Walton has only been outscored over an entire season twice – with one season where they scored the same amount of points that it allowed.

Hoover is quick to give credit to assistant coaches, who have been with him for many years. One of those assistants, Gary Backus, has been with him for the full 39 years, coaching at all levels and doing what was ever needed for the program.

“He’s been my right-hand man,” Hoover said. “He knows the system well and he is a very supportive person.”

-- P.J. Harmer

300 victories!

See more at: http://www.waltoncsd.org/Hoover.aspx

1970s: 22-12 1980s: 70-23-1 1990s: 92-12 2000s: 89-18 2010s: 28-14

Record by decade

Win No. 300 September 13, 2014

Walton 20 Harpursville/Afton 6

A collaborative effort of Walton Central School, the DCMO BOCES Communications Service and the DCMO BOCES Printing Service

Walton Central School DistrictSuperintendent: Roger B. Clough II Principals: Mike Snider (high school/middle school), Julie Bergman (elementary school), Mark Lamoreaux (assistant high school/middle school) Athletic Director: Andy Gates Board of Education: Judy Breese, Jim Hoyt, Butch Neale, Pat Reynolds, Ronda Wil-liams, Frank Ward, Bret Meckel.

Village of WaltonMayor: Edward H. Snow Sr. Trustees: Teresa O’Leary, Charles Gregory, David Breese, Allen Reynolds

Town of WaltonSupervisor: Bruce Dolph Deputy Supervisor: Kevin Armstrong Board members: Luis Rodriguez-Betancourt, Leonard Govern, Patricia Wood

Stay up to date on Walton CSD news: www.waltoncsd.orgLike us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/waltoncsd

Follow us on Instagram @waltoncsd and Twitter @waltoncentral