On Monday afternoon, every station in the high school weight room is occupied. Athletes are doing calisthenics in the corridors. Head football coach Ryan Baldock is supervising the activity. But he lets his staff take charge so we can talk about his recent award.
Ryan Baldock is the Class A Football Coach of the Year in New York State. His colleagues throughout the state selected him for the honor.
We head to his office in the boys’ locker room to talk football. Somehow, the award gets lost in the conversation. And we talk about the team’s success instead of its coach. Perhaps that tells us something about the Dragons’ leader.
He had a tough assignment as a new coach, taking over a team that had won a state championship the previous year. “There’s no pressure,” Superintendent Neal Miller had joked as he introduced the newcomer to the Board of Education.
“When I came here,” Coach Baldock recalled, “we knew we had talented players coming back. It was a quality team with a lot of talented kids.”
He avoided thinking about the title and concentrated on the next week’s opponent. The players got off to a rough start in Week 1. Trying too hard to please their new coach, they went into the locker room with the game tied. When they came out, they were like the old Dragons — scoring three times to put the game out of reach.
In week 5, quarterback Aidan Semo was injured. His replacement, Louie Francese, had appeared at quarterback in a few games last year, but never when the outcome was in doubt.
Louie’s coach was impressed. “The fact that the team could overcome that adversity,” he said, “speaks to their character. They refused to let that be an excuse. Louie was instrumental. No position has more pressure than quarterback. And the pressure is even higher for a Cornwall player at that position.”
The Dragons were ranked first in the state when the season began. But they had nine new starters on defense and three of the five offensive linemen were new. The team’s high ranking amused its new leader. “We got everybody’s best punch,” he mused. “The targets on our backs got bigger. We played a lot of really good teams — Monroe-Woodbury, Pine Bush, Minisink twice, and Marlboro on the road. A challenging schedule is good for us if we don’t get hurt.”
But the team did get hurt! Derek Schrag rolled his ankle in the section semifinals and didn’t return until the game in the dome. Derek was one of the team’s few two-way players. “While he was out,” Coach Baldock said, “Jack Diamond and Jack Gaillard were phenomenal in his absence.”
The champions had seven sophomores on their roster. They were part of the crew in the weight room. “I’m excited to see them come back,” the coach admitted. “The time they’re putting in is remarkable.”
The players’ hard work certainly contributed to their success along with the support of the community. Coach Baldock was impressed when he went to a few youth football practices and flag games. “We have really qualified youth coaches,” he observed, “making sure that every kid has a great experience. A poor youth club can drive kids away.”
We started to talk about the night at the Turning Stone when the coach got his award and Amin Woods was recognized as the Class A player of the year. But we didn’t dwell on the event. Coach Baldock was anxious to mention his coaches (Cassel, Gennaro, Holzapple, and Sacer) and the administration. “You don’t win without their support,” he admitted.
There were so many people to acknowledge we never spoke about the coach’s award and his contributions to the team. Maybe part of being a good coach is recognizing the people who help make you successful.
