Famed Japanese poet and master of the Haiku, Matsuo Bashō once wrote; “Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.”
While these words were written centuries before even the concept of football would materialize, they ring true for the many men and women who undertake the act of coaching.
The dream is to find that happy place, that organization or situation that promises stability, while also stimulating that creative side of you that is necessary to excel at the highest level.
The reality is you are more likely to find yourself bouncing around from stop-to-stop trying to soak in as much from those gifted enough themselves to teach the game while trying to parley each opportunity up the ladder.
For new Head Coach of Archbishop John Carroll High School, Steve Honick, he can do what many wishes they could, by melding both the journey and home into one.
Honick was the Patriots quarterback from 2013-2016 putting together some incredible performances as Carroll’s single-season passing leader but also saw firsthand how hard it’s been as the team went 9-32 during those years.
What makes Coach Honick so confident that he’s the man who give a rebirth to a school that has only seen 1 winning season since 2007?
“Does it mean that I’m the best guy for the job because I went to Carroll? No. I think being from Carroll and having a lot of connections with the alumni and anybody that I had played with can confidently say that I pour my heart and soul into that school, and I do think that goes a long way.”
He talked about what it meant to coach under another legendary Carroll QB in Bill Zwaan, who led the Patriots to a 1971 Philadelphia City Championship, and who was the Head Coach of West Chester, where Honick got his coaching start.
“He gave me an opportunity to be a student assistant. I left Ursinus after two years and I went to West Chester, and I wanted to get into coaching. I reached out to Coach Zwaan over email asking to come over and be a student assistant, and he said “Sure, swing by”.
Honick would go on to reference back to his stops along the way since leaving Carroll as a senior in 2017 as guiding lights that have helped him prepare for coming home.
“Being around Coach Devlin (Ursinus), Coach Zwaan (West Chester) and all those coaches at Temple, Coach Drayton (Temple), unbelievable guy, you pick certain things from certain coaches and try to apply that to yourself. What do you think makes the most sense first for yourself because everyone has different personalities, but also the situation in which you’re in.”
Honick knows this turnaround of the program won’t just come from him, but also the people he empowers to journey with him and the program.
“The biggest thing in being a head coach is surrounding yourself with very good people. A lot of coaches know X’s and O’s and what not, but I want to surround myself with good people that the kids will respond to and can get the most out of the kids.
In terms of our staff, it’s unbelievable. Yesterday we had nine coaches at our after-school weightlifting workout and I don’t know of anybody else who is doing that.”
He was asked how much seeing the game from the QB’s perspective matters in getting Carroll back on track.
“I do think it’s important because when you’re the QB you have to wear all the hats on the offense. You have to understand what the O-line is doing on every single play vs a certain kind of front. You have to understand a reciever’s depth on routes vs a certain kind of alignment, everyone is looking at you for what to do.”
Carroll has one winning record season since 2007 (7-6) and many think Honick is starting from ground-zero, he begs to differ.
“I don’t want to say that we’re starting from nothing because there are a lot of talented kids in this program right now and truly mean that. There are kids here that if they put the work in, we can’t do it for them, they will be very, very, very popular recruits.”
This job won’t be easy for Honick, but the coach’s messaging is one that seems perfect for what is being asked of him.
“Our motto is H.A.R.D. Everything is going to be H.A.R.D. If we want to go from here to there, we can’t keep doing the same things expecting different results. We have to master the H.A.R.D. and so what does that mean? To us, it means Honesty, Accountability, Respect, and Discipline. If we can master those four aspects of the H.A.R.D., we’re going to win a lot of football games and produce a lot of well-rounded young men.”
Can Honick, just the second alumni head coach since the school opened in 1967, make Carroll competitive again?
He certainly seems confident enough to do just that. *
Find the full interview with Head Coach of Archbishop Carroll, Steve Honick, on the February 26th Episode of Footballstories Live on the Footballstories Magazine Facebook page.
Email Matt at m.santoleri13@gmail.com
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