By: William Looker-Fenn 

     Over the years, the J.P. McCaskey High School football team has become notorious for losing. This is exacerbated by the fact that they have had a losing record for the past 14 seasons, with their last winning record being an impressive 7-4 in the 2010-2011 season. However, the 14 straight seasons of losing could not be ignored and this would end up culminating in a bold decision to open the team’s coaching position to try and find a coach that could spark change in the program, which has begun to enter a transition phase, going from graduating talent to promising young talent. McCaskey would then begin the tedious search for a new coach, which would end up landing them the 3-time Lancaster-Lebanon league coach of the year, Todd Mealy, who also goes by Dr. Mealy. 

 Dr. Mealy has built a consistent reputation for constructing winning teams in the Lancaster-Lebanon league. This is one of the reasons he was the right pick to turn around the football team. In the past, Dr. Mealy has led teams to success. At Penn Manor, he overtook a team that finished with a 1-9 record and built them up to achieve an impressive 9-3 record the next season. During his tenure at Penn Manor, Dr. Mealy consistently led his team to the playoffs, displaying his reliability as their coach. Dr. Mealy also had a brief coaching stint with Lancaster Catholic, where he went 10-1 and led the team to the playoffs one season, which added to his already established record of accomplishment as a coach. This record of success would culminate in Dr. Mealy being the choice to lead the McCaskey football team. 

     During an interview, Dr. Mealy goes into detail about the ways he will try to rebuild the fallen McCaskey football program. To start, Dr. Mealy said that he wants to change the player and student culture at McCaskey. He wants the football team to play and act like winners, on and off the field. As a coach and a teacher, Dr. Mealy cares deeply about helping students achieve these goals, showing the care that he has for these students. However, Dr. Mealy noted that students and the school do not take the football team seriously. He wants to change that as he believes proper community support can help brew a winning culture at McCaskey. He went into detail about how the students, the administration, and the school as a whole have not taken the team seriously. On the bright side, Dr. Mealy said that if the school and the team surround themselves with the right people, McCaskey football could become one of the most respected and competitive teams in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. Dr. Mealy believes he may have the right people, as shown by his mention of confidence in a group of young players on his team. Rocco Schenk, one of these young players, commented on Dr. Mealy as a coach. The sophomore varsity tight end/linebacker stated that he believes Dr. Mealy is doing an excellent job coaching the football team.   

 Dr. Mealy would also talk about the challenges he has faced in his first year coaching the McCaskey football team. He would mention the fact that a bad team needs a good offseason to rebuild properly. After making note of this, Dr. Mealy would talk about how he has had his worst offseason as a coach in 25 years. In addition to this already bad news, most of the star players on the varsity team have graduated, moving on to bigger things in their lives. These challenges will make the already difficult rebuild Dr. Mealy is trying to pull off even more difficult. Dr. Mealy made note of this fact, saying that these challenges will result in little to no change in the win column this season. Dr. Mealy would make mention of the importance of buying into his new system as well. He said that for any meaningful change to occur with the football team, the players, coaches, and even students need to buy into his system to help build a winning team and strong culture. 

   While Dr. Mealy is an intriguing choice to coach the McCaskey football team, there is more to him as a person than being a coach. Dr. Mealy is also a teacher and a mentor to his players and students as well, both of whom he cares deeply about. Dr. Mealy puts an emphasis on trying to make his players and students better people. He mentioned that foul language was a big issue with his players, as in his words, it could “result in penalties on Friday night.”  Dr. Mealy would also put a large emphasis on good academic habits. He would then go into detail about how good academic habits and responsibility are important qualities he looks for in his students and players. On the teaching side of things, one way he encourages positive academic behavior among his players is by making them sit in the front of the classroom, which helps improve their focus and overall academic performance. Dr. Mealy would also add that the privilege of being able to help students and players grow as people was a big reason why he took the job at McCaskey. 

   McCaskey would also unofficially confirm that McCaskey is entering a new era of football by announcing the construction of a new football stadium. When asked about the stadium, Dr. Mealy would talk about the effects the new stadium may have on athletes. The new stadium will boast in-facility classrooms and weight rooms. He mentioned these additions will help his players grow academically, physically, and mentally, which aligns with his goals for the team. Dr. Mealy would put a large emphasis on the in-facility classrooms, as he believes the classroom sessions that will be hosted in them will help him achieve the goals he has set for his players. Dr. Mealy also highlighted the new turf, which is going to be much safer than the old field, as it had divots and aged poorly. 

     

  

 The bold decision to hire Dr. Mealy is one that has been intriguing to the McCaskey community. Dr. Mealy has shown a clear goal with the football team. He wants the McCaskey football team to finally be taken seriously after 14 straight losing seasons. Dr. Mealy has been highly disciplined in his journey to achieve this goal, laying out clear requirements and goals for his players. Dr. Mealy deeply cares about his players and students as well, as he tries day after day to help them improve as people. Dr. Mealy would also give some final words he wants everyone to hear. He said that the football team will need continued support if the school wants the team to start winning and acting like winners. Put simply, he wants heavy and continued support from the McCaskey community. In the end, Dr. Mealy is a unique coaching prospect who has laid out a clear plan for the monumental task of rebuilding the McCaskey football team. His plan brings hope to the program, which may end up finding itself in a winning situation sooner than later with proper support.