Jake Oswalt | Playing for coach Don Bailey paid off in many ways

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For many generations, most of the boys who grew up in the Forest Hills School District wanted to play football for the Rangers.

That was due, in large part, to coach Don Bailey elevating the program to be among the best in the region and state over his storied 45-year career patrolling the sidelines.

Who could forget the 1990s when Forest Hills won 101 games over 10 seasons and posted a .820 winning percentage, claimed four straight District 6 titles between 1991-94, and finished as 1994 PIAA runner-up after losing in double overtime to Mount Carmel Area?

Coach Bailey's passing Sunday brought many memories flooding back to my mind in reflection.

Wearing the green and gold under the lights at G.H. Miller Memorial Field in Sidman was my dream. The first athletes I idolized were Forest Hills football players. The reason I wore No. 88 was because of Brian Endler and Josh Rearick.

Little did I know that playing under Coach Bailey would have an even bigger impact on my life during those formative years.

When playing for Coach Bailey, he immediately commanded your respect. His resume – as an administrator, educator and coach – was second to none. He is one of the few men who struck fear in me, the same any son has of their father. You never wanted to let him down and you always came to practice ready to go. You didn't "just go through the motions" in practice. There was intent and purpose in everything we did, and the victories kept stacking up because of it.

His District 6-record 375 wins on the football sideline rank seventh in Pennsylvania history, but the indelible impact he made on the Forest Hills School District as a whole will never be duplicated. Any student or player who was under his guidance would say the same. He rose from teacher to principal to superintendent, always putting Forest Hills first and foremost. His leadership was unrivaled.

He ran his football program with discipline. If you forgot equipment or were late, there would be extra "busters" after practice. You learned your mistake and very rarely made the same one again. If you got into trouble during school, there would be consequences. Everyone had to abide by the rules. No one received special treatment if they were a starter or not.

Coach Bailey always had an attention to detail. If the smallest element of the play was off in his mind, we would have to run it until we perfected it. As evidenced by his 10 District 6 football titles and having his teams advance to 17 of 34 district championship games, you couldn't argue with his methods. Practice didn't make perfect within the Forest Hills football program. Perfect practice made perfect. There was no detail too small. When it comes to football, sometimes doing things the right and precise way was the difference between winning and losing. We didn't realize it at the time, but he was preparing us for life as well.

Thursday practices would incorporate a lot of running for wide receivers, which was my position in high school. We would go over every passing play in the playbook, it seemed like. There was plenty of running involved, and receivers certainly got their cardio in. We, as receivers, joked later that we felt more like cross country runners than we did football players with all of the running. Come Friday night, it certainly paid off. Practices were more physically demanding than the games in some cases. We always felt like we were better conditioned than the other team, which gave us a competitive edge.

Coach Bailey's methods of running practices were certainly old school, but they were effective. We went over many different situations that we could face during the game that particular week. We went over the opponents' formations and what to expect when they had certain personnel on the field after watching film all week. We certainly were prepared every week for the challenge that awaited us across the line of scrimmage.

Forest Hills' slogan is "excellence is the tradition." Coach Bailey personified the term in everything he did by imparting his wisdom to his students or players. He made the Forest Hills School District a better place and rose the standards of those around him.

Playing for a revered coach such as Bailey was tough at times, but we, as former players, were thankful later in life that we had the chance to compete under his tutelage. I found myself appreciating that a lot when I continued my baseball career at Slippery Rock University. Many of the lessons and work habits I learned under Coach Bailey at Forest Hills carried over to college. That discipline instilled as a youth stayed with you through your life.

Before Friday night football games, you were already motivated as a player. When it was Coach Bailey's time for his pep talk, he always found the right words to say to spark an even bigger fire within you. He was the master motivator and knew what buttons to press in order to keep you humbled and inspired at the same time.

Even when you saw him after your football career was over, he was genuinely interested in the next chapter of your life. He was first class all the way, and we as former players, view him as a second father. The lessons he imparted to us will never be forgotten.

Coach Bailey impacted countless men who have become better sons, husbands and fathers because of his influence. Coach Bailey elevated the standards at Forest Hills, where excellence will always be the tradition, thanks to his incredible legacy.

Thank you for helping live out every boy's dream in the green and gold.

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