By Lee Davis
Whether it was by coincidence or fate, three legendary area coaches in three different sports were honored in the past two
weeks.
Last Thursday, long-time Vestavia Hills wrestling coach Steve Gaydosh was honored during the Rebels’ dual meet victory over arch-rival Hoover. Gaydosh is retiring at the end of the season after 34 years at the helm. He led Vestavia to 12 state championships and eight runner-up finishes and produced more than 80 individual state champions – making him one of the winningest wrestling coaches in Alabama history.
“Coach Gaydosh was successful because he saw the sport of wrestling as a tool to make his athletes better young men. He saw it almost as a ministry,” said Vestavia athletic director Jeff Segars, who wrestled for Gaydosh in the 1980s. “He could be tough, but his players knew that he cared deeply about them as individuals.”
Gaydosh is characteristically modest when explaining his long years of success. “It’s really all about the guys and the team and seeing them develop into the best wrestlers they can be,” he said. “It’s also about training them to be young men who can stand on their own two feet without their parents’ help. That’s more important than championships and trophies.”
It’s probably symbolic of Gaydosh’s influence on the entire wrestling community that his son, Josh, is the head coach at Hoover. Vestavia has also named its wrestling practice room after Gaydosh.
Also honored last week was former Hoover softball coach Jim Brown, who led the Lady Bucs to five state championships and produced dozens of all-state and all-Over the Mountain players.
Brown was honored in a special ceremony on Feb. 6 after Hoover’s annual Black vs. Orange scrimmage.
Brown’s meticulous attention to detail was a major reason for his success, according to one of his former players.
“Coach Brown understood every aspect of what it took for player development and to help us win,” said Jordan Gann Sterley, who earned all-state honors as a Hoover outfielder in 2004. “There was no wasted time in practice. If we did something, we knew it would help us improve as individual players and as a team.”
Sterley said Brown asked a lot from his players and understood how far he should push.
“But he also knew how to get his point across without yelling all the time,” she explained. “We respected that.”
Like many coaches, Brown had his pre-game rituals, Sterley said.
“He always had bubble gum for us before every game,” she recalled. “Coach kept it in a bucket and was particular about which flavors we had. I think he may have been a little superstitious in that regard.
“Playing for Coach Brown was a great experience,” Sterley said.
Not every coach honored worked at the high school level. Coach Doyle Shaw, who coached youth league football at Shades Mountain Community Park for years, was honored in a special ceremony recently at Hoover Country Club. Shaw died last May. State Sen. J.T. “Jabo” Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, sponsored a resolution in the Legislature honoring Shaw for his work with youth, and his widow, Jean, accepted a plaque in his honor.
Perhaps Shaw’s most famous player was future University of Alabama star Major Ogilvie, who as a third- and fourth-grader played for the Shades Mountain Comanches. The Comanches went undefeated and won the first Shug-Bear Bowl at Legion Field during Ogilvie’s time with the team.
“Coach Shaw was the first great coach I had the opportunity to play for,” Ogilvie said. “He did a lot to build character and confidence in the young guys who played for him.”
Ogilvie said that, although Shaw worked full-time as an electrical engineer with Alabama Power Company, he always had time for his players.
“He was the kind of coach who was a great influence on young people,” Ogilvie said. “He was a good friend of Coach (Bob) Finley at Berry, and they were very similar in a lot ways.”
Shaw’s football legacy continues today. His son Steve is the head of football officials in the Southeastern Conference.
Coaches from the high school level and below are often the most influential adults in a young person’s life – oftentimes even more than parents. It was nice to see three of the best honored by those who grew from their leadership.
