Seven years ago, Jack Nolan had a problem. Grenadiers, Crusaders and Mohawks had never played together.
As the Wilkes-Barre Area School District consolidated its three high schools — GAR, Coughlin and Meyers — the boys soccer coach had to unite rivals.
“Our very first practice, I looked, and there's all the Coughlin kids sitting here. There's all the Meyers kids sitting here. There's a couple of GAR kids sitting here,” he recalled at practice last week. “I said, ‘This isn't going to work. Get up, go find somebody you don't know and sit with them,’ and we made them do that.”
BEYOND THE SCOREBOARD
An occasional sports feature highlighting the unique stories of local athletes and coaches.
With his wife, Sherry, at his side as assistant coach, Jack Nolan stressed discipline and respect. Midway through that first season as the newly formed Wolfpack, the team hit a slump. Players stopped communicating. Problems off the field made it onto the pitch.
The head coach saw an opportunity to build leaders. Logan Davison, from Coughlin, served as a team captain.
“He sat us down. And it was the five captains, and he said, ‘Listen, this is on you guys to figure out. We've done what we can. It comes from you now,’” Davison said. “And it was the best thing that ever happened to us. We came out of that practice, and we were a different team.”
That team ended the season as district champions. This fall, Nolans end their long tenure as soccer coaches. From coaching 5-year-olds in youth soccer to uniting rivals, the Nolans will retire after nearly three decades as Wilkes-Barre coaches. They’ll miss their players the most.
“They're good kids. They're funny kids. I will put my kids up against any school,” Jack Nolan said. “Sometimes we get looked down upon because we're Wilkes-Barre and because we're so diverse. But my kids are respectful ... I hope we're teaching them something, and I hope they understand that we love them.”
Becoming coaches
The Nolans never expected to be soccer coaches. But when they registered their middle son, Jason, for the South Wilkes-Barre Skyhawks more than 30 years ago, the league needed volunteers.
The parents said they didn’t know anything about the sport. The league gave them a book and said as long as they could devote a couple hours a week to practice and a game, they were qualified.
Jack Nolan remembers his first game with an eager group of 5-year-olds.
“I think we got beat 9-0 without passing midfield. And I'm saying to my wife, ‘What did we get ourselves into? We don't know what we're doing here,’” he said.
Then a boy on the team, Derek, tugged on Jack Nolan’s shirt. He asked the coach if the team had won.
“I said, ‘Did you have a good time?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I had a blast.’ I said, ‘Well, then you won. Go shake hands,’” the coach said. “That's how we started our coaching career … But we learned.”
Discipline and respect
The Nolans studied soccer by reading books, watching videos and learning from those around them. Jack, who just retired from a career in banking, eventually became president of the Skyhawks. Sherry, now retired from working in the cafeteria at Meyers, served as league registrar.
When their son Jason reached seventh grade, Meyers needed a junior high soccer coach. The Nolans took on that role. A few years later, Sherry went up to varsity to be scorekeeper. Her husband became a varsity coach the next year.
Over their 27 years as Wilkes-Barre coaches, hundreds of players have followed Jack’s strict rules or checked in at the start of practice with Sherry, who boys call the “team mom.”
Jack calls himself “an old school disciplinarian coach.”
Being part of the team requires commitment. Nearly 130 boys signed up to play soccer this year. Of those, about 75 showed up at voluntary spring and summer workouts.
The 50 boys who make the roster sign a contract that includes 25 rules, including attendance, academic grades, expected behavior and the respect that must be shown to game officials. He also requires varsity players to stay after their game to support the junior varsity team. Break the rules, and a player may have to return his jersey.
“He was so good at putting his foot down, and it wasn't ever in a demeaning way,” said Logan Davison, now an assistant coach with his brother, Matt. “It was always a ‘Hey, listen. If you don't focus, you're only hurting yourselves.’ And it was the best message we could have received.”
'She does everything'
Players filed onto the practice field last week after school, each stopping to check in with Sherry first.
Sherry communicates with the team. She tracks attendance and stats. She carries a “magic bag” filled with items the boys may need.
“She is the rock. She is the glue that holds this whole thing together,” Logan Davison said. “I don't know if anyone in the world could do what she does.”
The Nolans, married for more than 40 years, raised their three sons in South Wilkes-Barre and have five grandchildren.
It’s still rare for a woman to be a head coach or assistant coach for a boys varsity team. Jack has seen his wife sometimes disrespected by opponents, which bothers him.
“But she's fantastic,” he said. “She does everything. I've been blessed to have her with me.”
Sherry is humbled by the praise.
“I love the kids. I love being with them,” she said. “You see them come in as freshmen … and each year you see them growing a little bit more and changing. It's just nice to see them like that, and you know hopefully you have some part in it.”
Making a difference
The coaches led drills and conditioning at practice, preparing for last week’s game against Wyoming Valley West and Monday’s game against Pittston Area. The bright blue fall sky matched the Carolina blue on the turf.
Senior Michael Schneikart sat on the sidelines, icing an injury. He grew up watching his older brothers play for the Nolans, often volunteering as a ball boy for games. As a player, he appreciates their focus on academics and discipline.
“I've had respect for them my whole life,” he said.
Cleared to play, Michael scored a goal in Monday’s 4-1 victory over the Patriots. The team also won last week’s game against Wyoming Valley West.
The Wolfpack, with a 8-5-1 record, has four more games in the regular season.
It’s hard for the Nolans to imagine the extra time they’ll have without being at the field. But they may not stay away for long. Jack, who serves as the public address announcer for girls soccer games, hopes to do the same for the boys team next year.
As an assistant, Matt Davison said the lessons learned from the Nolans will guide him as a coach moving forward.
“Jack and Sherry are the two most selfless, hard-working people in this industry,” he said. “Jack and Sherry are so in tune with teaching these guys how to be productive young men, and Jack and Sherry preach that, and they live it every day.”
