New St. Joseph’s football coach Murray Fetzer bringing high-energy approach

Murray Fetzer can laugh now as he recalls suffering bumps and bruises in his first year on the St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy football coaching staff.

Fetzer and the rest of the Wolves coaches served as scout-team players last season, taking some hits most weeks while preparing their team for the next opponent. It was a unique experience that took Fetzer back to his high-school playing days and revealed the type of creativity required to coach football at a small school like St. Joseph’s. The Wolves’ staff broke down the opponent’s favorite plays in “half-line” drills, showing the team what to expect on the right side of the field before moving to the left side because they didn’t have enough players to give the full view.

The experience prepared Fetzer to take over as the Wolves’ head coach in 2017; he was hired in June to replace former coach Steve Guthoff. Fetzer understands how to adapt to St. Joseph’s small roster after spending last season as an assistant, and he knows what to expect from his players after watching them run through those “half-line” drills.

“You see that the kids are willing to learn under whatever circumstances,” Fetzer said. “They’re willing to go out, put the time in and learn it. You kind of get a real good feel for the kinds of kids that are at St. Joe’s — they’re dedicated, they’re smart, and they have a burning desire to compete.

“And they love the game of football.”

Fetzer jumped at the opportunity to lead the Wolves when Guthoff decided to step down after guiding the team to a 3-5 record in his lone season. Fetzer wanted to continue working with the returning players and to build the program, which is heading into its fifth season. Numbers will remain a challenge for Fetzer and the Wolves, who currently have 17 players on the roster. The first-year coach said he’s hoping to add a few more players heading into his second stint as a head coach.

Fetzer started his coaching career at his alma mater, Tyrone, as a co-offensive coordinator from 1990-92. He returned to coaching in 2000 as an offensive coordinator at Moshannon Valley and spent one year learning under John Franco at Tyrone before becoming the head coach at Moshannon Valley. After leading Moshannon Valley from 2006-11, Fetzer joined Guthoff’s staff at Tyrone before taking two years off to watch his daughter as the drum major at Moshannon Valley.

Guthoff then called to ask him to join his staff at St. Joseph’s, where Fetzer made an impression on his new players with his “high-energy” approach. He was always running around and offering words of encouragement. The job also called for Fetzer and the coaches to participate at practice, too.

“It really demonstrated how much the coaches cared about us that they were willing to go out there and maybe get a few bruises just so we could get better,” senior quarterback Brendan Robinson said.

The coaches didn’t wear pads, but they were going full speed — “As fast as we can go,” Fetzer said with a laugh — to simulate what the players would see Friday nights. Fetzer likened the experience to his days running the scout team against the varsity team during his sophomore year at Tyrone. More than three decades later, after years spent instructing rather than playing, Fetzer stepped in at quarterback to run the scout team against the Wolves.

“At 50 years old, doing those things is quite different than it was at 18,” Fetzer said.

But every now and then, the coach surprised his players.

“Sometimes he’d line up at receiver when we were doing our defensive sets, and if you weren’t ready, he’d burn you,” junior Zac Sechler said. “He’s got some juice in there still.”

Fetzer bonded with the players last year, so they’re looking forward to him leading the program this season. Robinson said he was “super-hyped up” after learning Fetzer would be the team’s new head coach. (Fetzer mentored him last year, talking with him one-on-one and going over reads in his first season as the starting quarterback.) Sechler appreciated the positive and energetic approach of Fetzer, who greets mistakes like drops or fumbles with a clap and reminder to focus on the “next play.”

The coach wants his players to have a short memory on the field, and more than anything this season, he wants them to have fun while they compete. He aims to build a foundation this season for the program’s future, with hopes to see the team’s numbers grow — ideally to 25 or 26 players.

“In the next two, three years, I really want to build a solid foundation of expectations,” Fetzer said. “You expect to win, you expect to compete, expect to have fun and build something that’s bigger than the single person — build a program that they’re proud to be part of.”

This story was originally published July 29, 2017 at 6:57 PM with the headline "New St. Joseph’s football coach Murray Fetzer bringing high-energy approach."