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A new era begins for Albany High School
football
 Brian Spicer, a product of one of Ohio’s
most storied high school football programs and a West Point graduate, is
the new football coach at Albany High School.
The Board of Education approved the appoint- ment May 15. Spicer, whose resume includes reviving programs at
three Ohio high schools replaces Joe Burke.
Brian Spicer met many of his new players May 16,
including,
Read more about the
from left, juniors Jake Valentine, Jalon Scott and
Jason
appointment in the
Stevens.
May 16 Times Union.
“I am very excited to have him here and I
think he is going to do wonderful things for our football program,” said
Director of Athletics Kathleen Ryan. “Our search committee was made up
of a diverse group of administrators, teachers, community members and
district coaches, and everyone was very impressed by him during the
interview process because of his knowledge of the game of football and
his communication skills.”
Spicer also will work as a math teacher
at Albany High. He was valedictorian of his class and a three-sport
athlete at Washington High School in Massillon, Ohio. He earned a
bachelor’s degree in engineering with a concentration in human resources
management at West Point, and a master’s degree in education from the
University of Louisville.
“His record of success in the classroom
and in athletics was a point of distinction for the committee,” said
Albany High Principal Maxine Fantroy-Ford, one of the committee’s seven
members. “The combination of his football knowledge, leadership skills
and focus on academics made him an ideal candidate.”
Spicer was a high school classmate and
football teammate of former NFL star Chris Spielman, who was one of 11
members of his high school class to play Division I football. Including
Spielman, Massillon has produced 23 professional players, three NFL
coaches and 14 college All-Americans.
Massillon’s alumni include NFL Hall of
Fame coach Paul Brown and Harry Stuhldreher, one of the illustrious Four
Horsemen of Notre Dame who later became the head coach and athletic
director at the University of Wisconsin.
At Army from 1984-88, Spicer played
defensive back for the Cadets’ Sprint Football team, where no player can
weigh more than a specified limit (158 pounds during Spicer’s career and
172 pounds today). Army was 20-8 during his career and shared the
College Sprint Football League championship twice (with Cornell and Navy
in 1986 and Navy in 1987).
Following graduation from West Point,
Spicer served as an Army tank commander for three years on active duty
and two in the reserves. He earned his master’s degree from Louisville
in 1993 and began his career as a coach and educator that fall as a math
teacher and assistant coach at Louisville’s Wagner High School.
“Getting into education and coaching was
something I always thought about,” he said. “I think all my experiences
have helped me be a better coach and better teacher in the long run.”
After two seasons in Louisville he served
for two years in the same capacities in Carrollton, Ohio, before earning
his first head-coaching job in East Canton, Ohio, in 1997. He took a
program that had been 1-29 in the three seasons before his arrival to a
.500 record in his second season. He moved on to be a math teacher and
head coach at Marlington High School in Alliance from 1999-2001 and then
was hired as dean of students and football coach in Marietta.
Playing in Ohio’s second-largest
classification, Marietta never had made the playoffs in the 103-year
history of its football program. The Tigers ended that streak in
Spicer’s first season.
Spicer is looking forward to getting to
know Albany High’s players and beginning the process of hiring his staff
and introducing the players and coaches to his system, which features a
spread offense and an attacking defense.
He inherits a program that is 23-78 and
has reached the playoffs just twice since the Falcons won the Section II
Class AA championship in 1996.
“I look at this as another great
opportunity,” said Spicer, whose wife, Grace, is a Saratoga Springs
native. “I’ve been part of rebuilding three programs and they’ve all
been a little different in terms of why they weren’t successful at the
time. I think I’ve been a part of getting them turned around in the
right direction.
“It’s a big plan,” he continued. “It may
not be accomplished quickly, but with the support the district is
willing to provide, I think success is inevitable if the kids are
willing to buy into the system and willing to do some work. I can’t wait
to get with them and start teaching the system.”
The City School
District of Albany serves approximately 8,600 students in 18
elementary, middle and high schools. In addition to neighborhood
schools, the district includes several
magnet schools and programs, as well as other innovative academic
opportunities for students. The
district is more than halfway through its comprehensive facilities
project to newly build and/or renovate nearly all of its elementary
and middle schools. The ultimate goal of the facilities project is
to provide schools with the resources necessary to help students
succeed in the 21st century. |
