Players look at coach as ‘Father Figure’

Senior right guard at Southmoreland, Travis Jones, lost his father William Jones on Aug. 16, 2010 to esophageal cancer. This loss was “extremely hard” on Jones and his family. Since then Jones has developed a “father figure” in his life. None other than his coach, Mark Adams.
“Since the loss of my dad, Coach told me that he is always going to be here for me,” Jones said choked up. “He hasn’t just taught me about football, but he has taught me the ways of life too.”
Fellow senior football players, Jordan Pawlikowsky and Brennan Bunner, agreed that Coach Adams is like a second father to them.
Coach Adams lives in Leechburg, PA with his three children, Shawna, Brian, and Brandon. He explained that it is “an honor” to be seen as a second father to his players.
“It truly humbles me because I teach my players just as I would teach my own children,” Coach Adams explained. “I teach to be accountable for every one of their actions, and I never want them to feel like there is no hope.”
“He’s not just a coach to me. I believe that I can go to that man for anything,” Pawlikowsky added.
Coach Adams’ coaching philosophy strictly is to “give back” everything that is given to him from his players. His main intention is to coach at a level that allows his players to “exceed their own expectations.”
In a recent article, the Southmoreland players of the 2014 All-Conference team, seniors Jake Pisula and Chas King, and junior Jake Beistel agreed that they would trade their spots on the All-Conference team if it meant that the Scotties could go to the playoffs. Coach Adams believed that he had an influence on this statement.
“I have always taught these young men that it’s not about individual titles,” said Coach Adams. “At the end of the journey we are a brother hood, and in time, they will see that they lead a team based on legacy.”
This previous season was the closest the Scotties have come to the playoffs since 1979, and even still the goal for next year, and every year ahead, will be “going to playoffs.”
Coach Adams explained that when he first took the job at Southmoreland he needed to “turn the program around,” and that the first thing he needed to be was a “motivator” to all of his players that had gotten used to losing every Friday night.
“I knew that I had to be a role model to these boys in order for them to overcome adversity,” Coach Adams said. “There is great pride in Southmoreland, and I wanted them to realize that the best is yet to come.”
Coach Adams now must send off his first group of seniors that he has coached since they were freshman. He has hope that the new freshman coming up, as well as the underclassmen, learn off of the performance the Scotties had this season.
“When I first met these boys as freshman, I knew that I needed to shape them into what I knew they could be,” Coach Adams said wholeheartedly. “Now I look and I see men who are ready for life, society, school, work and even family.”
Coach Adams had a special message for the seniors: “It was a pleasure coaching you for four years. You are forever etched in my heart, and my door is always open for anything.”

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