At the end of every drive last football season, Southmoreland lineman Kaleb Tkacs would look for one face on the sideline.
“The first thing I would do was go to him, to talk about what we did wrong, what we could do better for the next drive,” Tkacs said.
He's talking about Ron Frederick, the Scotties line coach at the time. Line coaches may often get a reputation of being rigid and tough, Tkacs says Frederick was anything but between whistles.
“He meant a lot, particularly to all of the linemen,” Tkacs said. “He treated us like a second father. He even invited the line over to his own house and fed us.”
So naturally, Frederick kept Tkacs in the loop when he decided to go for the open head coaching job at Southmoreland this offseason. In early February, Frederick got the job, but just a day later all of the excitement came to a screeching and devastating halt.
Frederick passed away suddenly at just 40 years old, leaving behind his wife Liz, three kids, and an extended football family.
For Tkacs, disbelief didn't cover it.
“I was in my first period class, and was at the breaking point of balling,” he said. “One of the guidance counselors walked into the class and was whispering into the teacher’s ear, something. I think that was the point that I knew that this was actually happening.”
Once the initial shock passed, Tkacs began to look back on one of the last conversations he had with his mentor.
“Almost every day, we texted about getting people into the weight room and our plans for the upcoming season,” Tkacs said. “One of the last things we talked about was doing the camp for the youth kids.”
So, as part of a senior project, Tkacs got the ball rolling on a youth camp in Frederick's honor. All proceeds went to his family.
Once word spread about the camp, community members came out in droves to make donations, coach or register their kids.
“It was wonderful, it was great,” Tkacs said. “It made my time organizing the camp that much easier.”
About 75 kids showed up, learning not just good tackling form and quick feet, but the legacy of man whose lasting values will coach kids for years to come.
Said Tkacs, who raised over $400 for the Frederick family: “Just to pass on the memory of what he did, and how great of a coach I thought he was… I wanted to instill his values into the kids that would be there.”