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Bradford
coach Curtis Enis runs his players through a drill earlier
this week. Enis has come full
circle in the football ranks, coaching in
the conference where he started, the Cross County Conference.
CNO Photo
by George Starks.
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Enis comes full circle
By George Starks
BRADFORD - When it comes to football, Bradford coach Curtis Enis has
done it all.
Playing his junior high and high school football at Mississinawa
Valley, his college days at Penn State under Joe Paterno and a short
pro career with the Chicago Bears, Enis is right back, coaching in the
Cross County Conference, at Bradford, giving back.
“That‘s all you can do is give back,” said Enis.. “You take your life
lessons and do whatever you can to help kids out. I tell people it’s
not about me but about my experiences and using them to help these kids
out and giving them an opportunity.”
In one of his final games as a Blackhawk, Enis was injured and
transported to Wayne Hospital after the game. That game was at
Bradford. So how ironic is it that the best running back to ever come
from Darke County, ended up coaching at the school that could have
ended his career?
“I really don’t believe in irony. Things are what they are,” Enis said.
“For some, it’s a story. For me, it’s a blessing just to be here
coaching and share with kids that come from the same type of background
that I come from. I really don‘t know what I‘ve given them but maybe
somewhere down the road in their life, who knows. I don‘t know what
they will take from me after they leave here but I hope there‘s
something they will use in life as they go down life‘s road.”
In two short years, Enis has taken a football program that was in
disarray to one of respectability. It’s no longer, Just Bradford!
“As a coach, this is what you try to do,” Enis stated. “You want other
teams to respect your program. You want your kids to play the game with
heart and passion and make a commitment to it. When you make a
commitment, you hope something good will come out of it and that’s what
the coaching staff and the community does as a whole is teach our kids
what commitment is about. I love it here and the kids. Bradford is a
great fit for my family and me. I am fully committed to this community
and the program to get it back to the way it used to be.”
While progress in sports is measured by wins and losses, Enis measures
it differently.
“I measure progress by the academics and how well they do in the
classroom and how well they apply themselves,” said Enis. “Football
will take care of itself by what the kids put in to it. We want our
kids to be productive members of society. That’s what we try to do
here.”
Most new coaches will give themselves a timeframe to get things on the
right track.
Not Enis.
“There are three things you can’t control,” said Enis. “The weather,
people and time. I can’t control the weather so why worry about the
rain. I can’t control the time, so why should I put a limitation on how
this program progresses? What we can control is our attitudes and the
way we prepare ourselves and get ready for Friday nights.”
When Enis played, he played with the heart and passion he tries to
instill in his players.
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