Cavaliers’ Zehner takes off one hat
CULVER — Culver
Community athletic
Director and head football coach Mike Zehner recently decided that one hat was enough and will relinquish the job as football coach and concentrate on his role as ad at the school.
Time management was a big part of that decision.
“It’s been something that I’ve been talking about with my wife (Brandy) for a little while,” said Zehner. “We have three little ones, and she is advancing her career. She’s an elementary counselor and going through Master’s courses right now. (Son) Zach is currently a sixth grader and (daughter) Zoe is a fifth grader and they are involved in a lot more activities. Last year Zoe played up a little due to numbers in the sixth grade and I didn’t get to see many of her volleyball games. I’ve been a father figure to a lot of young men and I’ve learned a lot from them and I hope they’ve taken a lot of stuff from
me. It makes it easier to step away so I can be a dad for a little bit, but it was still a tough decision.”
Zehner coached 11 years overall, four of those at Rochester, and has been in the sectional final with the Cavaliers three of the last four years. He was also a North all-star his senior year as a lineman and was part of the first two of Culver’s back-to-back-toback sectional titles in 1999 and 2000. The Cavs went on to win another in 2001.
“The program means a lot to me as a coach,” said Zehner. “It shaped me into who I am today. I don’t think I would be an AD or a coach if it wasn’t for Culver football. The experiences I had as a player and a student, the things that I went through with Coach (Neil) Wagner and everybody else. The influence by coaches like Tom Bendy and Jim Bendy, just a list of coaches who influenced me to be who I am and where I’m at. That’s the reason I do what I do. I want to have an influence on kids just like they did. At some point, you want to put some of that influence into your own kids and that’s where I’m at right now. Being able to play with my brother Scott on those teams was really great, but then to be able to come back and
“It makes it easier to step away so I can be a dad for a little bit, but it was still a tough decision.”
Culver AD Mike Zehner
be able to coach my nephews was special. I was the third coach in four years for them. I wanted to bring some stability to the program. That meant more to me than the wins and losses. I never had a kid regret playing for us. Their only regret is that they didn’t do it sooner. That means a lot.”
Zehner will now have to wear another hat as coach/ dad.
“I’m not sure if I want to coach my son at the high school level or not,” said Zehner. “I want to be able to talk to him after he graduates. I love him, but I let him know I have high expectations for him. It will be nice to be able to be dad too.”
While Zehner will step back to spend more time with his own family, he isn’t giving up the sidelines entirely.
“Whoever the new coach is I’ll let them know that I’m willing to help out on the younger levels,” he said. “I don’t see myself getting completely out of coaching but I’d like to take a family vacation in the summer and I don’t feel right about doing that because you take two weeks off in the summer and you are that far behind. I’m not going to do that to my other coaches. I think I need to be there for everything. Honestly, I’m going to miss that part of things. I’m going to miss that grind and preparation. It’s overwhelming to me the number of people and coaches who have reached out to me. It’s a brotherhood. You build a lot of respect and friendships and it will be hard to leave that behind.”
So far as his legacy, Zehner hopes it’s something other than wins and losses.
“I would hope people would say that I made it about the kids and not myself,” he said. “Nobody is going to say that you had to have the right name to play for coach Zehner. You want to be my favorite? Show up and work hard and it doesn’t matter what your name is or who you are. I think everybody who played for me knows that.”