Coach Specht wearing his well known visor(scout.com)
Most coaches simply know the “x’s and o’s”, strategies, and conditioning drills for their players. They go home after games and practices and check out of “coach mode” or go right into planning for the next day. Steve Specht isn’t like most coaches. Specht takes a deeper approach to coaching football.
Discipline. Family. Respect. Faith. Love.
Former players Joe O’Toole, Greg Scruggs, and Nate Gerbus reiterated all these values when given the chance to talk about the impact Coach Specht had on them. It was evident these beliefs and values were important to them. They gave all of the credit to a person who, to them, was more than just their coach.
Coach Specht knew early on he wanted to be a coach. His passion and desire to become a coach came from the impact his coaches and teachers had on him, specifically Coach Steve Rasso. Specht said, “One of the things I took from Coach Rasso was to hold the men accountable which is what he did for us which helped mold us into men”.
This value of discipline is one of the many values Specht demands of his players. The first time Greg Scruggs played football was for Coach Specht. Greg said, “The biggest thing that I will carry with me is the discipline that he instilled in me. While we all have our flaws, I think that he is a great role model for a young man to have and to say, “That is how you live a disciplined lifestyle’”.
Coach Specht receiving the NFL’s High School Coach of the Year award (NFL.com)
Coach Specht is widely respected as one of the best high school coaches in Ohio having been the head coach of the USA U-19 football team and the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year. When asked about his future in coaching, Specht said, “I don’t like to look to far ahead. I like to focus on the present because the job I have now is important.”
While the job security and less pressure on wins and losses is nice, Coach Specht said he enjoys the faith driven St. Xavier job as well as developing kids into better players and men.
Wins and losses do not mean everything at St. X. “We have won 2 state championships, but I also think back to 2008 when we went 4-6 as a team. We had injuries and faced adversity, but the journey was a successful one. At the end of the season, even with all the injuries, we had a shot at the playoffs, and our guys learned you can grow from losses as much as wins,” said Specht.
“Love one another, be the best you can be, and lean on one another when times get tough.” Coach Specht reminds his players of this every day and is one of the last things he says before taking the field every game.
Teammates of Matt James came together at midfield after meeting with coaches in the morning after Matt James’ passing in 2010 (cincinnati.com)
This also applies to life because sometimes things happen for which we can’t prepare. A tragedy struck the St. Xavier community on the evening of April 2nd, 2010. Matt James, an offensive linemen for St. X, died after a fall while with a group of teammates on spring break in Florida. The news traveled fast and rocked the St. Xavier community. Almost immediately, Specht had arranged for himself and the parents to fly down to Florida. Specht said, “I had to be with my guys. I knew I had support from the St. Xavier community and coaches in Cincinnati would be with the guys that were home, but I knew I had to go down there to be with my guys. It was the most empty 24 hours of my life”.
Hundreds of students, friends, teammates and teachers held an impromptu vigil on the St. Xavier football field at 11 pm, just hours after the news spread. Losing a friend and loved one is tough for everyone, but for a group of high school kids to come together in prayer, love, and support is something that Coach Specht helps cultivate through the football team. It was obvious this lesson of love one another and lean on each other when times get tough was preached through the football program, but meant to be used in life itself.
Cincinnati St. Xavier coach Steve Specht holds up the trophy and celebrates with Nick Schneider (13) and Max Baumann (65) after St. Xavier beat Mentor 27-0 in the Division I state final football game Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007, in Canton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
The football program has been extremely successful in the recent years. Specht said moments stand out to him rather than entire games. In his mind, players make the coaches better and he said he has been impacted as much if not more by the players, than they have by him. “Signing day is fun because they are ready for their future. It’s an awesome thing to see former players come back for games and to keep in touch with down the road. Knowing I played a small role in their lives is one of the many rewards of coaching,” Specht said.
Specht makes sure they don’t get ahead of themselves and gives the players the credit. “What makes him special is that he is willing to put everyone before himself and give everyone else credit for the success of the team before he takes any,” said Nate Gerbus.
While Coach Specht loves his job, he admits, “Nothing is easy with this job, but if you love what you do like I do, it isn’t work”. He looks forward to every day he has with this team and school, which is why he takes it one game at a time, and one day at a time.
“At the end of the day, if you aren’t better than you were when you woke up, you’re worse,” Specht said. This rings true and believing it is why he drives all of his players to view every day as a great day to get better. “He really pushes you to be the best you can be and it’s always a great day to get better,” said Joe O’Toole.
Nate Gerbus said, “In the last game of my St. Xavier career, I blew out my knee. I had invested so much time but I fell short of my goal of a State Championship. Coach was there to pray with me and to remind me of the purpose of what we had worked for. He treated me like a son and I would not be who I am today without him.” Gerbus is one of the many men who have been impacted by Coach Specht. Like many before and many to come, Gerbus really bought into the culture of St. Xavier football.
Steve Specht isn’t like most coaches. Football is about more than wins and losses. He enjoys impacting many lives and molding them into men for others. Coach Specht is a St. Xavier Bomber.
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