86 The QUEE NS Courier • FEBRUARY 19, 2015 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com sports Coach Tom Pugh with varsity football captains Brandon Pelzer ’14, Frank Kestler ’74, Tim Lisante ’74, Jordan Francklin ’14 Holy Cross H.S. football coach steps down BY ROS BELSKY [email protected]/@QueensCourier After 42 years as head coach of the Holy Cross High School football team and with 215 wins under his belt, Coach Tom Pugh is shutting his playbook. “I am not walking away from football or mentoring young men,” said Pugh, who will continue as a school guidance counselor and moderator of the law club. “I am just recognizing how tiring the year-round season’s grind has become to me.” Pugh’s career at Holy Cross began in earnest as a guidance counselor and physical education instructor in 1973. He became head coach a year later based on his knowledge and passion for the game. For Pugh, life is genuinely synonymous with football. He’s been hooked on the sport since his father, the late Thomas Pugh, a renowned reporter and editor for the New York Daily News, brought him to his first Giants game at the Polo Grounds at age 9. Pugh played football from the ages of 10 to 62, had a full scholarship at Emporia State University in Kansas and more recently organized flag football leagues in which he shows he’s still got a few moves. On any given year since 1980, no less than 28 former Holy Cross High School football players have played in divisional college programs. Pugh has been the reliable anchor of the team’s success, but he said his mother taught him how to walk away at the right time. And he believes this is that time. “The biggest challenge was always working with and adapting to new coaches while maintaining the intensity of the program. It started as a work in progress. In my first season we went 1-7, the second 3-5, and by the fourth season we went 9-1.” Pugh insists he can remember every season and every game with clarity because they meant his life to him, but what stands out are his first game as a coach, along with all the championship games and several comeback victories. Several of Pugh’s players have reached the top of the NFL mountain, including current Giants wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, who graduated in 2005. But Pugh, proud as he is, feels at the end of the day it’s not about helping students make it as a pro, but cultivating good citizens. “Coaching isn’t even about the wins and losses,” he said. “It’s about separating the men from the boys. I consider myself a mentor because I teach the players to be respectful, responsible, and above all else teamoriented. No matter what you do, you have to be able to say you gave everything you have.” His sentiments about providing overall leadership are also proven through the number of students trained in his law club, which is completely unrelated to football, who now have successful law careers. “I love Holy Cross High School and I’m proud of our legacy, our mission, and what I’ve been able to accomplish and experience the past 42 years,” Pugh said. “I will continue to help the program and maintain its high standards within the community, our city, and with colleges.”
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