Stroh Scares Up Another Contender
Few people would dare pick a fight with Jory Goldberg, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound tackle from Granada Hills High. Heâs so big and strong he could stuff a sportswriter in a trash can with one arm tied behind his back.
But there is one person who makes Goldberg tremble--Darryl Stroh, the 59-year-old Granada Hills co-coach.
âIâm scared of Coach Stroh,â Goldberg said. âI know what he can do. Iâve seen it happen. I donât want to do anything to [anger] this guy.â
The legend of Strohâs antics and accomplishments have been passed down from one graduating class to the next since his arrival at Granada Hills in 1964.
There was the time Stroh brought his baseball team into the locker room, told them they stunk, then reinforced it by flushing a toilet.
There was the time Stroh stood behind quarterback Jeremy Leach on the practice field as Leach tried to pass the ball and yelled, âIf I took you into the gym right now, you couldnât hit a ball off the wall.â
Even John Elway, a former Granada Hills quarterback, has been on the receiving end of a Stroh tirade.
âHe probably got it less than anyone else,â Stroh said.
Stroh retired from coaching football after the 1993 season and gave up coaching baseball following the 1996 season. His friends and former players got together for a retirement party complete with gifts and a videotape.
He was supposed to ride off into the sunset, content with his teams having won seven City championships.
Except Stroh felt miserable.
âRetirement is highly overrated,â Stroh said. âI donât play golf. I had nothing to do. I couldnât find anything, so life gets very boring and thereâs no passion, no reason for getting up in the morning.â
Stroh also couldnât accept watching the demise of the once powerful Granada Hills football program. The team went 3-27 in three years under Coach Brad Ratcliff. When Ratcliff resigned last November, Stroh approached his former coaching partner, Tom Harp, about returning.
âHe got tired of sitting on the couch,â Harp said. âAll he did was watch soaps.â
Harp gave up coaching football after the 1994 season. He was burned out.
âIn football, the daily squabbles, the daily hassles wear you down,â Harp said.
Like Stroh, he had been an elite coach, having guided Granada Hills to three City volleyball titles. He was reluctant to return to coaching football--unless Stroh joined him.
âI was trying to get him to come back on his own, and he wouldnât do it,â Stroh said.
Finally, the two agreed to return as a duo last spring but few expected them to immediately turn around a program that had fallen on hard times.
Surprise, surprise.
The Highlanders are 3-0.
âIâm really proud of our kids,â Stroh said. âWe have a bunch of kids who play hard. If we get them in the right spots, we have a chance.â
Said Harp: âThree things are necessary to be successful in football--organization, discipline and some good players.â
Stroh is the one who provides the discipline. It goes beyond not allowing earrings or long hair. Itâs a matter of demanding focus from his players and offering the chance to be successful as a reward.
âThe practice field atmosphere has to be a learning experience,â Stroh said. âYou canât be screwing around. You canât be standing at the back of the line not paying attention. You have to be focused on what weâre doing full time or weâll run your butt off.
âDiscipline puts an order to whatâs going on so the kids have a chance to succeed.â
Harp is a master organizer and offensive guru. Heâs the one who maintains a link to Granada Hillsâ passing tradition. Many of his former quarterbacks have ranked among the City Section passing leaders. This season, heâs trying to tutor junior quarterback Jason Winn, who will be a key player if Granada Hills expects to challenge Taft and El Camino Real in the Northwest Valley Conference.
Strohâs defense has allowed only 21 points this season. The best defenders are backs Peter Gunny and Gerald Jones, linebacker Adrian Padilla and linemen Goldberg and Robert Garcia. But Strohâs passion is what rubs off on his players.
âHeâs just a great leader,â running back Jon Humphrey said. âHeâs brought so much back at the school.â
Goldberg met Stroh when he was in junior high and came to watch his brother, Josh, pitch for Granada Hillsâ baseball team.
He had heard the stories of Stroh lecturing his brother, but then Josh would tell him what Stroh was really about.
âHe told me, âIf you donât give your all, heâs going to really chew you out,â â Goldberg said.
Goldberg remembers coming up to Stroh at a baseball banquet and asking, âWhat do you look for in a football player?â
âHe said he looks for discipline and a player who doesnât quit,â Goldberg said. âThatâs why I decided to play football.â
Strohâs first decision after coming back was to show highlight tapes of Granada Hillsâ glory years.
âWe really sold them on the past, on Elway,â he said. âThis is the way it ought to be done; this is how it is done.â
Asked what heâd do for Stroh, Goldberg said, âAnything he told me to do, and youâd get the same response from everyone on the team.â
After Granada Hills upset Royal, 17-7, last week at the newly named John Elway Stadium, Goldberg took a moment to reflect on what the team had accomplished.
âThe feeling after I looked up at the scoreboard was totally amazing,â he said. âI was never so proud of the team and never so proud of the coaches we had.â
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Eric Sondheimerâs local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422.
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