Josh Perkins will be on his second tour of duty as the Caldwell Reskins varsity football boss when the season kicks off in August.
The 1993 CHS graduate first had the reins from 2001 to 2004. During that span, the 'Skins posted a 13-27 record.
Back in March, Perkins received a one-year supplemental contract to coach the 2011 Redskins football team from the Caldwell Exempted Village Board of Education.
Perkins will be succeeding mentor and legendary coach Mike DeVol, who stepped down from the helm earlier this year. DeVol, incidentally, is also a Caldwell grad (1967), and also guided the Redskins on the gridiron on two separate occasions.
It happens more often than you might think, where a former student/athlete returns to his high school alma mater to teach and coach. Not every grad bolts for the big city and bright lights after earning first their prep and then later college diploma.
There's something very appealing - magical even - about the small, rural town and the slower pace of life. Of course, economic opportunity is always a big consideration. You go to where your job leads you to - and many times that may be in large urban areas like Columbus or Charleston (W.Va.).
Fortunately, though, many high schools in this area have had its share of "returnees" - and several individuals come to mind.
At Marietta High, for instance, Larry Burke (co-baseball skipper), Todd Morris (boys soccer coach), Ron Kidder (volleyball), B.J. Mayer (boys track), and Mollie Schramm (girls track) are all former Tiger student/athletes.
At Warren, there's Nathan Evans (golf coach).
At Frontier, Roger Kirkpatrick (AD and boys basketball) and Todd Bradford (football) are both former Cougars.
At Waterford, Jerry Close (girls basketball) was an ex-Wildcat football and boys basketball player.
At Fort Frye, Eric Huck (football) once competed on the Cadet gridiron.
Across the Ohio River, Scott Sauro (boys basketball) once starred on the Williamstown hardwood, and Jodi Mote (football) was a punishing running back at St. Marys in Pleasants County.
Kristen Schreiber (girls soccer) was an all-stater on the pitch at Parkersburg High, and Don Reeves (football) is an ex-Big Reds quarterback.
The list probably could go on and on.
To their credit, all of the aforementioned coaches "returned home," so to speak, to where it all began.
In this day and age, prep student/athletes really don't have to look any further than their own teachers and coaches as role models, especially the ones who once strolled the same high school corridors.
When Perkins played at Caldwell back in the early 1990s, he was a standout on the gridiron. Very fast, very gifted.
Last year, Caldwell was 9-1 and didn't even qualify for the playoffs. The Redskins took a graduation hit (Doesn't every school?), but still return a nice nucleus of players.
Maybe Perkins can get them over the hump and back into postseason play.
You just know that he's going to give it his best shot.
Ron Johnston is the Marietta Times sports editor and can be reached at 376-5441 or at rjohnston@mariettatimes.com
