Meeting at mid-field before each game meant more than you will ever know, coach McKinney

It’s not how they wanted to finish, but what an unforgettable year it was for the Bloom-Carroll football.

The Bulldogs fell short in their quest to bring home a state title when they lost 35-14 against Canfield in Friday’s Division III state championship game to finish as state runner-up. It was the first time in school history that Bloom-Carroll had made it to the state finals.

The Bulldogs made memories that will last a lifetime and they certainly galvanized their community. The support the fans showed throughout the playoffs was undeniable and there were plenty of them in attendance at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium showing their support.

What the team accomplished this season will live on forever.

On a personal note, I want to say thank you to Bloom-Carroll head coach Jeremy McKinney, his coaching staff and the players. Covering them this season will always be one of my fondest memories as a sportswriter.

I’ve covered a ton of teams throughout my 30-year career, but rarely do you get to know the players and coaches on a personal level. This coaching staff and team were different.

I’ll start with coach McKinney. To be honest, at least for me, I kind of know when I’m either going to click with a coach or I’m not.  I’ve been at this long enough to know that most coach-reporter relationships are that. Usually, it’s just all business. You cover a game, you interview the coach, and you leave, which is fine. That’s just how it is.

However, on rare occasions, you get that coach that you just click with, and it becomes more than just a coach-writer relationship. It becomes a little more personal, and that’s the way it became this year with coach McKinney.

Heading into this season, I knew who coach McKinney was because he had spearheaded an outstanding defense the previous two seasons as Bloom-Carroll’s defensive coordinator when the Bulldogs had reached the Division IV state semifinals, but oddly enough, I had never talked to him.

So, this summer as workouts and two-a-days began, I had my first-ever interaction with McKinney. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. Little did I know then, he would become one of my all-time favorite coaches to cover.

First impressions of someone are usually what sticks with you, good or bad, and the one thing I went away with that day was just genuine the guy is. We talked like we had known each other forever, and it just grew from there as the season went along.

I covered the Bulldogs at Circleville during the fourth week of the season, and I hadn’t really talked to McKinney since our first interaction before the season started, so during warmups, I made my way out to talk to him on the field. From that game on, every time I covered the Bulldogs, and throughout the playoffs, I made a point to go talk to coach McKinney before every game.

It became a ritual, me making my way to midfield to talk with coach McKinney before every game. I did it on Friday, too, before the state championship game. Sometimes we would talk about football and sometimes we would talk about stuff that did not pertain to football.

It was something I looked forward to. Last Monday when I went to practice doing my interviews with coach McKinney and the players for previews for the state title game, we ended up talking for 45 minutes right outside the weight room, and to be honest, we probably could have talked even longer. It was dark and spitting rain, but there we were, talking, and time just flew by.

The point is, it’s rare to build a relationship like that with a coach you are covering. It says everything about what kind of person coach McKinney is and what he stands for. I guess this is my way of thanking you, coach McKinney. Thank you for listening to me and always being so forthcoming about everything.

It’s sad the season is over, but what a season it was. I will miss covering the Bulldogs but won’t soon forget what a special season it was, thanks to the interaction I had with the players and coaches.

Coach McKinney is a credit to what high school coaching is all about. He is in it for all the right reasons. Bloom-Carroll should be thankful it has a coach with as much integrity as coach McKinney has.

I am humbled and grateful that to know you, and coach, thank you once again for being so kind and personable to me. Each time I made the walk toward coach McKinney at midfield, I often wondered what he was thinking as I was walking toward him, but he was always gracious and welcoming even though he had a game to coach. Now that the season is over, I will miss our talks at midfield before every game. It meant more to me than you will ever know.

Until next season, coach, when we meet on the field before each game.

Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on Twitter @twil2323.

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Meeting at mid-field before each game meant more than you will ever know, coach McKinney