Post by wingt74 on Jul 23, 2008 14:59:05 GMT -6
I wish I could have met this coach...sounds like my kind of guy.
www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=774728
A void in their hearts
Posted: July 21, 2008
Art Kabelowsky
This was supposed to be a golden year for Clifford “Rich” Bessert.
After spending more than three decades coaching high school football, Bessert landed his dream job in April. He was named head coach at his alma mater, Ashwaubenon, after having served as an assistant there since 1999.
“He was like a kid on Christmas morning who had gotten his favorite present,” said Mitch Klapper, a senior who will play linebacker for the Jaguars this fall.
“He wanted to talk football all the time. He was constantly asking me what I thought about this and that.”
At that point in the interview, Klapper had to stop talking. He was crying.
Many tears have been shed in Ashwaubenon over the past few days. The football team, the school and the greater Green Bay community lost one of its favorite people when the 57-year-old Bessert died Friday morning of heart trouble.
“We’re all in shock. Everything about this has been a shock,” said Ken Golomski, who retired in February after 25 years as the Jaguars’ head coach.
“He was a great guy, a coach’s coach. A film nut. A hard-working guy. He was the kind of guy who could just chew you out but you still knew he loved you. I’m at a loss for words.”
Bessert spent most of last week working a football camp at UW-River Falls.
“He was real happy with what everyone did at camp,” Golomski said.. “Everything was moving forward, all systems were go, and then this thing happened.”
After returning from camp, Bessert complained of shortness of breath and wound up going to the hospital late Thursday.
“There were no symptoms up until Thursday night,” Golomski said.
It’s clear that Ashwaubenon loved Bessert as much as Bessert loved Ashwaubenon.
“The happiest I have ever seen Rich was the day we told him he would be our next head football coach,” Ashwaubenon principal Mark Sheedy said in a statement published on WFRV-TV’s Web site. “He threatened to kiss me, but I convinced him a bear hug would do.
“While Rich was only our head football coach for three months, he went at it all-out. It is sad that he won’t be able to see the fruits of his labor. . . . He contributed so much.”
“I’ve prepared for this for a number of years,” Bessert told the Green Bay Press-Gazette in April. “Most of my adult life has been in coaching, and I’ve been trying to get this position. It’s exciting to reach a plateau you’ve set for yourself.”
Klapper heard the news of Bessert’s death at an emergency team meeting called late Friday morning.
“The first thing that came to my mind was that I wouldn’t be able to see him again,” Klapper said. “That was really hard for me. He always brought a smile to my face and was a great guy to talk to, whether it was about football or anything else.”
A 1969 Ashwaubenon graduate who attended UW-Stout, Bessert returned to Ashwaubenon to begin his teaching and coaching career. He went on to work at Green Bay Premontre, De Pere (where he was head coach for four years) and Green Bay Notre Dame before returning to the Jaguars in 1999. He was part of four state championship teams at Ashwaubenon and De Pere, and had been nominated for 2009 induction into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Bessert was known for his trademark giant sideburns and his love of NASCAR, hunting, fishing and the old-time rock ’n’ roll of Roy Orbison.
“Sometimes when he’d put on his glasses, with those sideburns, we’d call him Orbison,” Golomski said. “But when you needed to get his attention, you’d call him Cliffy. Because even though his real name was Clifford, he liked to go by Rich.”
A wake was held for Bessert Monday night, and services are scheduled for 11 a.m. today at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Green Bay.
However, Bessert’s past and present players have been remembering him all weekend, and will continue to remember long afterward.
“After our meeting (Friday), a few players started a flower memorial on the 50-yard line (of the school’s football field),” Klapper said. “Throughout the day Friday and Saturday, a number of players and coaches came and put flowers out.”
Said Golomski, “Rich’s wife, Kay, and his children (Steven, an assistant coach at Ashwaubenon, and Andrea) went to the field and met with some of the people there.”
The players had a banner made: “Coach Bessert, We Will Never Forget.”
“We’ve already talked about what we’re going to do this season,” Klapper said. “We’re not giving up. It’s going to make us stronger. We’re going to play this season for him and do our best.”
Send e-mail to akabelowsky@journalsentinel.com
www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=774728
A void in their hearts
Posted: July 21, 2008
Art Kabelowsky
This was supposed to be a golden year for Clifford “Rich” Bessert.
After spending more than three decades coaching high school football, Bessert landed his dream job in April. He was named head coach at his alma mater, Ashwaubenon, after having served as an assistant there since 1999.
“He was like a kid on Christmas morning who had gotten his favorite present,” said Mitch Klapper, a senior who will play linebacker for the Jaguars this fall.
“He wanted to talk football all the time. He was constantly asking me what I thought about this and that.”
At that point in the interview, Klapper had to stop talking. He was crying.
Many tears have been shed in Ashwaubenon over the past few days. The football team, the school and the greater Green Bay community lost one of its favorite people when the 57-year-old Bessert died Friday morning of heart trouble.
“We’re all in shock. Everything about this has been a shock,” said Ken Golomski, who retired in February after 25 years as the Jaguars’ head coach.
“He was a great guy, a coach’s coach. A film nut. A hard-working guy. He was the kind of guy who could just chew you out but you still knew he loved you. I’m at a loss for words.”
Bessert spent most of last week working a football camp at UW-River Falls.
“He was real happy with what everyone did at camp,” Golomski said.. “Everything was moving forward, all systems were go, and then this thing happened.”
After returning from camp, Bessert complained of shortness of breath and wound up going to the hospital late Thursday.
“There were no symptoms up until Thursday night,” Golomski said.
It’s clear that Ashwaubenon loved Bessert as much as Bessert loved Ashwaubenon.
“The happiest I have ever seen Rich was the day we told him he would be our next head football coach,” Ashwaubenon principal Mark Sheedy said in a statement published on WFRV-TV’s Web site. “He threatened to kiss me, but I convinced him a bear hug would do.
“While Rich was only our head football coach for three months, he went at it all-out. It is sad that he won’t be able to see the fruits of his labor. . . . He contributed so much.”
“I’ve prepared for this for a number of years,” Bessert told the Green Bay Press-Gazette in April. “Most of my adult life has been in coaching, and I’ve been trying to get this position. It’s exciting to reach a plateau you’ve set for yourself.”
Klapper heard the news of Bessert’s death at an emergency team meeting called late Friday morning.
“The first thing that came to my mind was that I wouldn’t be able to see him again,” Klapper said. “That was really hard for me. He always brought a smile to my face and was a great guy to talk to, whether it was about football or anything else.”
A 1969 Ashwaubenon graduate who attended UW-Stout, Bessert returned to Ashwaubenon to begin his teaching and coaching career. He went on to work at Green Bay Premontre, De Pere (where he was head coach for four years) and Green Bay Notre Dame before returning to the Jaguars in 1999. He was part of four state championship teams at Ashwaubenon and De Pere, and had been nominated for 2009 induction into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Bessert was known for his trademark giant sideburns and his love of NASCAR, hunting, fishing and the old-time rock ’n’ roll of Roy Orbison.
“Sometimes when he’d put on his glasses, with those sideburns, we’d call him Orbison,” Golomski said. “But when you needed to get his attention, you’d call him Cliffy. Because even though his real name was Clifford, he liked to go by Rich.”
A wake was held for Bessert Monday night, and services are scheduled for 11 a.m. today at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Green Bay.
However, Bessert’s past and present players have been remembering him all weekend, and will continue to remember long afterward.
“After our meeting (Friday), a few players started a flower memorial on the 50-yard line (of the school’s football field),” Klapper said. “Throughout the day Friday and Saturday, a number of players and coaches came and put flowers out.”
Said Golomski, “Rich’s wife, Kay, and his children (Steven, an assistant coach at Ashwaubenon, and Andrea) went to the field and met with some of the people there.”
The players had a banner made: “Coach Bessert, We Will Never Forget.”
“We’ve already talked about what we’re going to do this season,” Klapper said. “We’re not giving up. It’s going to make us stronger. We’re going to play this season for him and do our best.”
Send e-mail to akabelowsky@journalsentinel.com
