Missourian had a fine career as an OC in college before a one of a kind run at Trinity
🎶Nobody does it better
Makes me feel sad for the rest
Nobody does it half as good as you...🎶
Songwriters: Carole Sager / Marvin Hamlisch, 1977
Beatty had an incredible run at Louisville’s Trinity High. Of the school’s 29-KHSAA titles, Beatty won 15 of those and played for 17-titles in 21-years. Beatty won approximately 86% of his games coached in Kentucky (255-43) and put sixty (60) or so kids in college programs and four (4) former players to “The League (NFL).” Beatty won the 2011 “USA Today” National Coach of the Year and the 2012 “Russell Athletic” Coach of the Year. In 2013 “Athlon Sports” voted him the tenth (10th) most influential high school football coach in the country and, in 2017, the mayor of Kentucky’s most densely populated city (Louisville) gave him the Key to the City. If the criteria is championships, this is Kentucky’s all-time football coach.
HB Lyon, Scouting Director, “KPGFootball”
Trinity High School football coach Bob Beatty spoke during a press conference announcing his retirement after 21 seasons, 15 championships, on Thursday, January 7, 2021. Jeff Faughender, Louisville Courier Journal
Louisville, KY: When Carly Simon recorded what became the theme song for James Bond: The Spy Who Loved Me, she wasn’t talking about Bob Beatty. She was making reference to Ian Fleming’s fictional “Super Spy,” James Bond: 007.
The intrepid Missourian, Bob Beatty, the Beatty who took over one of Kentucky’s premier football programs 23 years after the song’s origination, was no where on the lyricists’ conjoined minds. At least, we don’t think so; but, in the end, how would we know?
While Carly Simon could well have been describing Bob Beatty, it is probably a pretty sure bet she wasn’t. Perhaps, in the end, the really important thing is the applicability of the lyrics and not their actual reference point. After all, Beatty had an enviable college coaching career even before taking the Trinity job in 2000.
Beatty took the job at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri in 1980 and worked until 1986 in that post. William Jewell, while he was there, reached the NCAA Division II quarterfinals four times, reached the semifinals in ’80 and ’83, and reached the championship game in ’82.
In that 1982 title game, William Jewell College would lose to Linfield College. The Kansas City Star and the Statesman Journal, two Missouri periodicals covering the game, attributed the loss to lackluster defense as opposed to anything Beatty’s offense did, or failed to do.
William Jewell’s offense, under Beatty’s direction, scored an 86-yard TD in the games first 19-seconds. After the game, Beatty’s boss, Vic Wallace, claimed “We haven’t played against anybody who did a better job of attacking our defense than [Linfield] did”.
Whether you are good on offense or not, and Beatty’s unit was flat good, it still can come down to whether or not you can stop folks. William Jewell, in the end, just couldn’t stop Linfield on that day.
So much for the college game. Beatty would move on to the high school game and really leave a mark.
It was at Trinity High in Louisville, Kentucky where Beatty would ultimately shine brightest. Beatty coaching Trinity is where my favorite story about Beatty occurred.
In May of 2013, it is reported a player at Trinity told Beatty he just couldn’t wait for practice to start. Beatty was surprised at his excitement.
“You’re ready for me to scream and yell and cuss and spit,” Beatty asked him?
“Sure,” the player reportedly responded. “You’re not my friend. You’re my coach.” There’s a young man who “got it.”
Beatty would go on to relate, “I don’t have 17-year old friends, I have 17-year old champions.” Beatty would claim his teams trained, practiced, and played eleven months a year. It appeared that way.
If you are going to be in this program, you have to punch the clock
Bob Beatty, HFC, Louisville Trinity
Beatty used to say, “If you are going to be in this program, you have to punch the clock.” Beatty would tell his players, “You better pray hard, because you belong to me now. We do more in two hours than other teams do in two weeks.”
Beatty’s players showed daily. Beatty’s players gave an honest effort for an honest day’s wages. The “wages” he was meting out were titles. These guys were winning titles, both left and right, for two decades.
This was Beatty’s “coaching method,” if you will. This was how he conducted business.
This was the workmanlike approach demanded by him of his players. Players for him learned life-lesson one, “take care of business.”
Beatty’s players learned, through hard work and preparation, they could control the only aspects within their reach; they could be “ready” for success. They were ready. They were successful.
Beatty made good men, accountable men, men who “punched the clock,” men who did even more than what was expected of them. Beatty built students, athletes, citizens, champions, and leaders.
Beatty took this approach with him to Louisville’s Trinity High. In 2000, he would be named the head football coach. He would lead the ‘Rocks on an unprecedented run of success.
Under Beatty’s direction, the ‘Rocks won titles in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020. Beatty won five state titles against Male, four against St. Xavier, and one against Simon Kenton, Ryle, Dixie Heights, Pleasure Ridge Park, Scott County, and Lexington Lafayette.
Dozens of Beatty’s former players earned college scholarships from his tenure at Trinity, a list that features University of Louisville players Brian Brohm, James Quick, Alex Kupper, Reggie Bonnafon, and Rodjay Burns. The list also includes Rondale Moore of Purdue, Jason Hatcher of Kentucky, Dayln Dawkins of Colorado State, and Ryan White of Vanderbilt.
“NFL”
None of this should be interpreted as meaning Beatty didn’t face his struggles. Beatty finished 2013 with only six (6) wins against six (6) defeats.
Beatty didn’t just roll with those punches. Beatty fired all but one of his defensive coaches and hired present head football coach, Jay Cobb, a former head coach at Knott County Central, Somerset, and Campbellsville, as his new defensive coordinator.
Trinity won several more titles after what Beatty termed as a restructuring. Over his 40-or so years on a sideline, it is estimated Beatty sent over 60-players to play collegiately and four (4) former players to the NFL.
In 2012, Russell Athletics named Beatty the National Coach of the Year and cited his exceptional coaching abilities and leadership skills as positive influences on the nation’s youth. In 2013, Beatty was named by Athlon Sports the 10th most influential high school football coach in the U.S.
Looking back, Beatty was all of these things and more. Beatty also “punched the clock.” His players could give him what he demanded because they would see he was giving it too.
Beatty never expected anything, of any player of his, that he wasn’t also willing to give. Simply put by Sager and Hamlisch,…
🎶And nobody [did] it better
Though sometimes I wish[ed] someone could [have]
Nobody [did] it quite the way [Bob Beatty did]
Why'd [he] have to be so good?🎶
Songwriters: Carole Sager / Marvin Hamlisch, 1977
This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!
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