Learning from one of the best
Nobby Wirkowski lends expertise to son’s Iona squad ‘They know me as the coach’s dad and . . . I like it’
Rookie football player Richard Whyte wondered whether the elderly man watching his first high school practice was just out for a leisurely stroll from the local retirement home.
It didn’t take long for the 16year- old to be told that the man in question just happened to be Nobby Wirkowski, a legend in the Canadian Football League, and the father of his coach at Iona Secondary School in Mississauga.
“ I thought he was a spectator, a senior citizen when he came over and said I made a nice play,” recalled Whyte, a 6- foot- 2 linebacker.
“ I never knew the extent of his football knowledge.”
Wirkowski, who will celebrate his 80th birthday next August, has had a passion for the sport since he started playing — at the same age as Whyte — back at Crane High in Chicago. A quarterback, he would later accept a scholarship to play at Miami of Ohio University and join teammates Ara Parseghian and Bo Schembechler — now icons in U. S. college football — and be coached by the legendary Woody Hayes.
While Wirkowski never made it to the NFL, he did lead the Toronto Argonauts to a Grey Cup win in 1952 and played in an exhibition game at CNE Stadium against the NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals. After his CFL playing days in Hamilton and Calgary, Wirkowski later returned to Toronto, but as a coach.
Wirkowski left the pros after being asked in 1967 to start up a football program at York University. He spent 12 years as coach and also as a professor before retiring. But when his son Norbert, a popular teacher and reputable coach, asked him five years ago to help with scouting, there was no hesitation.
“ I figured we could use some help and with his knowledge, you can’t go wrong,” said Norbert, whose Dolphins take their 5- 1 record against Bramalea on Friday in a Region of Peel Tier Two playoff game.
“ He’s our scout, watches opponents . . . and puts together some great material — it’s pages and pages, and just like a pro scouting report.”
Iona quarterback Krzys Telesz, in his graduating year, said he’s had his best season and points to the veteran for his tutelage.
“ He’s helped me improve lots of the fundamentals, like the way I throw the football, my footwork, grabbing snaps,” said Telesz. “ I thought I had things down right, but his advice was right on the money.” While the older Wirkowski likes to talk to players about key responsibilities, he’s quite adamant that the coaches are in charge.
“ I enjoy it and I’m helping my son, you can’t ask for anything better,” he said. “ I’m not forceful, just give him recommendations because it’s his team.”
Wirkowski, who also teaches golf, shuffles off with a pair of binoculars, mini- tape recorder and notebook to check out opposing teams. “They now know me as the coach’s dad and that’s just the way I like it.”