Nothing can keep Strath Haven, Clancy down

His face had a discolored, purplish hue. He was missing a front tooth, and he kept putting his bandaged right hand into his pants pocket, so his players and assistant coaches wouldn't notice. Strath Haven High coach Kevin Clancy looked more like a fighter than a high school football coach that Friday night in October.

But there was no place he would rather be - and there was no keeping him off the Panthers' sideline, neither the terrible spill he endured from a bad reaction to medication the day before nor a battery of tests and a cache of doctors who wanted to poke and prod him some more.

Clancy has always coached by a simple, yet powerful mantra of being persistent, being precise and correct, and never letting adversity discourage you.

He lives, and coaches, by those values, and that never-quit, unrelenting attitude has filled this season's Panthers. A curiosity 3 months ago, the Panthers have rebounded from a 5-5 season to reach the PIAA Class AAA quarterfinals against arguably the best high school football team in the state, undefeated Archbishop Wood, which meets the Panthers Friday night at 7 at Coatesville High.

Wood is fast, large and athletic up front, and deep.

Opposing the Vikings, however, is Clancy, arguably the best coach in Pennsylvania, certainly the most accomplished of active coaches in Southeastern Pennsylvania today.

Only you won't hear anything from the coaching veteran who has made Strath Haven a perennial power in his 20 years there, and consistently led Archbishop Carroll to the Catholic League playoffs before that. Clancy doesn't like to talk about himself and his achievements. He'd rather meld into the woodwork, because he's an old-school traditionalist who will be the first to tell you it goes beyond the head coach.

"It's about the kids you coach, the coaching staff you work with, the community that supports you, and the great family support you get at home - and I've been blessed to have all of that," said Clancy, the father of nine, ranging in age from 8 to 25.

"It's never about the head coach, nor should it be. Coaching is about a commitment and dedication to young people. You instill in them the values my parents instilled in me."

So you won't hear Clancy mention anything about being the only active coach in Southeastern Pennsylvania with two state championships, or the 11 District 1 Class AAA titles he's won in 20 years, winning eight straight from 1996 to 2003, or the most coaching victories in Delaware County or 11 Central League championships.

"Kevin loves his players, he lives and breathes Strath Haven football, and for him, the game is for the kids; that's the way he's always looked at it," said Alexia Clancy, Kevin's devoted wife of 26 years. "You can bring up all the wonderful things he's done, but you won't ever hear him talk about it, or himself. That comes from Kevin's parents, and the way he was brought up. You work hard and stay humble."

Clancy's dedication and commitment were pushed to the limit on Oct. 14, when he collapsed and fell on his face because of a bad reaction to medication. Alexia was just about to board a plane with her parents to attend a family wedding when she received a call from her son Patrick. She wanted to turn around, but Kevin said, "No." He would be fine. His main priority was getting to the Panthers' Central League showdown with Garnet Valley the next night.

Clancy left the hospital and traveled right to the game Oct. 15, making it just at halftime. Strath Haven was down at the time, 20-7, and struggling. The Panthers were there physically, but somewhere else mentally that first half.

"We were all thinking about him, coach Clancy," said senior linebacker/tight end Alex Geosits, who made some huge plays in that game. "You didn't realize it at first, trying to put your focus into the game. But it was hard. We found out fast missing that one constant that's been there for all those state titles and the success coach Clancy has had. We woke up at halftime, and he didn't have to say anything."

The Panthers surged back to beat Garnet Valley, 21-20.

"We've kind of become like coach Clancy this year," Geosits said. "He's very methodical in his approach, and I think we're the same way. He emphasizes that we all execute together as 11. If someone doesn't do their job, the play isn't successful. Coach Clancy didn't take a play off - he could have stayed in the hospital that night. But not him - if there's one place he wants be on a Friday night, it would be at a Strath Haven football game."

An excellent Wood team will be the biggest challenge this season for the Panthers, who use nine players both ways. But Strath Haven does have tremendous team speed and the X-factor - Kevin Clancy - on its side. *

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