Tim Engebretson is one of those coaches that everyone respects. He has influenced many young coaches. I have asked some players and coaches to share their experiences working with Coach Engebretson. A recurring theme in all of their memories is Coach’s ability to treat players and staff with respect and develop positive relationships with all.
Chris Olson
I played football for Coach E for four years at United (2005-2008)
I think the thing that made Coach E. most successful, and one of the big reasons he is still viewed the way he is, is that he is a genuinely good human being. He treats everyone with respect and is always genuinely interested in how you are doing and what is going on. To this day if you see him at an event or out in public, he always has the interest and patience to have conversations with everyone that comes up to him. Some might ask what that has to do with coaching. This single characteristic creates an environment where everyone feels welcomed, valued, heard, etc. This builds an entire network (assistant coaches, players, admin, everyone in the school building, the community) all pulling in the same direction under the direction of the leader. Coach E. will be the first to say that it takes an entire group to make good things happen. But the leader sets the tone for any of that to be possible.
Coach E. always had a steady composure about himself during big moments and big games. There was definitely passion, but he never lost control of the situation. I think this provided a confidence to the players that we were ready/prepared/capable.
Coach E. has made a tremendous impact on me, not only as an athlete, but also as the person I wanted to be following my days playing for him. I found myself in leadership positions throughout my high school sports career, and being able to observe his leadership first hand during those years helped me navigate those situations. Following high school, I always tried to work on and develop my own "Coach E. characteristics" for whatever environment I found myself in. Now that I have entered my own coaching career I have found myself reflecting on my time playing for Coach E., as well as continuing to have numerous conversations with him, as I continue to develop as a coach and human being. I was lucky to be named an IBCA Coach of the Year for girls basketball this year, and Coach E.'s presence in my life as a coach/mentor/person definitely had a part in that.
I enjoying the big wins with teammates, knowing all the work and focus all week paid off.
Toby Vallas
What stood out to you about Coach Engebretson?
- He could push you really hard and still maintain a great relationship
- He had you so well prepared for what you were going to face
- He had a calmness that kept everything in perspective
- He has a personality that attracted everyone to the team
Any quotes or methods that stood out?
Nothing specific but when he yelled you listened because it only happened once or twice a year so you knew it was important or you had screwed up bad
I work really hard at making sure every kid feels like they are important to the team and that I have a relationship with everyone of them. Coach E is so beloved by players who never played a meaningful down as well as his stars
When I was a freshman we had been 0-7. As a sophomore playing for Coach E we started out 0-6 then won our 7th game. That next monday he started practice by saying we wouldn't prepare for our next opponent (who had beaten us the previous year) but instead we would prepare for week 9 because he knew we'd win the next game anyway. This is blasphemy of course in coaching circles. But he knew we needed confidence. We immediately thought we were studs. We rolled the next 2 teams and finished 3-6. Good enough to be Superbowl Champions in our minds.
Fred Lucas
I coached against in 93-96,2006, coached with 2007-2011.
There was a humility about Coach E that made all the people around him comfortable to be themselves, both players and coaches. He worked extremely hard behind the scenes on game prep. He made an effort to communicate with people as an individual person and not just a player or staff member.
I wouldn't say there was any specific part of his practice or game structure that left an overall impression, but that how through compassion and humility he got the best out of people. Make no mistake, he still demanded the best efforts from his players, but they knew he cared about them as people first and that's why they would do whatever was demanded of them. We also shared a deep appreciation for the effectiveness of simplicity in football. As the local high school game was becoming more diverse and seemingly complex, he stayed true to the simple things that kids could understand and execute and therefore succeed on game day.
My experience with Coach E has made me try to be more mindful about the relationship with the students as a person first, athlete second. That the game is bigger than all of us and that kids don't need much to be successful if you make them feel successful first.
Honestly my favorite times with Coach E that I miss the most are when we had lunch period together after he was done coaching. That's where we shared more stories and found out the many other similar interests we had and how many people we know in common over the years.
Side note: Coach Engebretson actually student taught at Northwestern Jr/Sr high school where I was a student, but I believe it was before I was actually in that building, but we shared several stories about his experience there and all the people he remembered 30 years later.
I was an assistant coach for the Northwestern/LaHarpe coop that had some good battles with his Warren teams. We shared several memories of those days during our lunch period discussions.
Jade Noard
Head Coach at Stark County High School. Coached against him as an assistant from 2000-2004, as head coach from 2005-2011. Again while he coached as a volunteer at ROWVA-Williamsfield for a few years here recently.
Coach E's teams were always very well prepared. They didn't do anything fancy, but were so disciplined in what they did they were very hard to stop. Always a physical team, you knew you were in for a battle.
I always admired how tough-minded his teams were. I think that is a good reflection on the coach. They always believed they could win. His 2004 team was a good testament to that. To have a group of high school kids start 0-2, in a brand new school, and keep their heads up and do what they did...just awesome leadership from him and his staff.
Things that stick out about TIm were how long he held such a high level of success at a small school. I was able to watch his Warren teams compete against my father's teams before I became a coach myself. To keep that level of excellence for that long is amazing at a small school. Also, I'll just remember the pre and post-game talks with him. Not all coaches are as easy to talk to as Tim. I always looked forward to talking with him, even if it wasn't about football. He always asks about my father and the rest of my family. He is just a great person. I coached against him in my second game as a head coach in 2005. United beat us 21-19, it was a tight game, down to the wire. he told me, "nice game coach, you coach in enough games like that one, it'll turn your hair gray." He's was right, and the hair is a turning for sure! He's one of the good ones.
Jim Noonan
I was extremely fortunate to get to work with Coach Engebretson at United High School for his final decade of teaching, and the last 5 years of his Hall Of Fame coaching career. As a young coach, I could not have asked for a better mentor and role model than Coach E. He was an incredible resource who went out of his way to support our efforts to build the Red Storm basketball program. During my first season at United, he even stepped in and acted as the varsity assistant coach for the week of the LTC Tournament. To no one’s surprise, it was the best week of basketball the team played all season!
Coach E will never admit it, but the things they did schematically during his dominant career were really creative. Whether it was playing undersized guys on the defensive line known as “shooters” whose job was to be quick through the line and disrupt the timing of the offense, or lining up in the wishbone with a undersized but fast fullback’s helmet inches away from the quarterback to insure that the defense had to respect the A gaps, he did a lot of things that were unique and really smart given the type of athletes he had year in and out at the small school level.
All that being said, If you really want to know why Coach E was such a successful coach, all you have to do is talk to one of his former players to realize it had very little to do with his scheme or the plays they ran. What makes Coach Engebretson special is the person that he is. One night after practice during my first season at United I was sitting with one of our players who was waiting on a ride. Knowing that this young man was on his way to being a captain for both football and basketball, I took the opportunity to pick his brain about the football program, and what made it as good as it was. The answer was simple; it was because of Coach E. While his preparation and professionalism were outstanding, and as I mentioned before he was a great strategist, this athlete didn’t mention any of those things during our conversation. This kid spoke about the man that he was/is, and how the last thing anyone ever wanted to do was disappoint Coach Engebretson. This did not come from a place of fear or intimidation, it came from a place of love and respect. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to ask the same question to many more of his players or former players, and the answer always stays the same; “we just loved Coach E and didn’t want to let him down”.
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