Bengals' coach Marvin Lewis grew up in a place where Friday nights meant high school football, and high school football was more than just something to do in the fall. Life lessons were doled out along with playbooks...lessons that have taken the Bengals’ coach to the pinnacle of his profession. Today, as a rising star among NFL coaches, Lewis is respected for his attitudes, his organization and his perspectives on coaching the sport that has meant so much to him. In this first installment of our exclusive interview, Lewis talks about the influence high school football has had on his life, commonalities in coaching...and the impact football and its training can have on a young person's future.

Fan File: What are some of your favorite memories from high school football?
Marvin Lewis: Growing up in western Pennsylvania, Friday nights were big. I can remember being a little kid and playing the football games outside the football games while the big kids were playing inside. That was the neatest part about growing up...going to the high school games.

FanFile: Do you still get out to see high school football?
Lewis: I try to get out to see one every Friday night. I try to take my son and took my daughter...when she was with us...to a game. I think it’s fun to go and a fun atmosphere for them to be a part of.

FanFile: Was there a coach from high school that still has an influence on you today?
Lewis: My high school coach just retired. Next year will be the first year he doesn’t coach. His name is Jim Garry, Fort Cherry High School (in McDonald, Pa.). I think in his second year in coaching there, Marty Schottenheimer was in his class. Obviously, he had a great impact on me. This is someone who taught us the fundamentals of the game, did it without ever cursing, and was a tremendous influence.

FanFile: What one lesson that Coach Garry taught has stayed with you?
Lewis: Fundamentals...and being well rounded. I think that’s important. Too often today, too many high school athletes and coaches are too specialized. The best athletes are the guys who can compete on the basketball court, in wrestling, baseball, and even lacrosse now. Those are the best athletes...the three-sport athletes.

FanFile: What would it be like to start a high school program today?
Lewis: It's no different than what we do here...with the Bengals. It’s the same. People think this is different... but it’s no different, they're just bigger and faster here. It all starts with fundamentals. It starts with people and with getting them to move in the right direction.

FanFile: How much influence does a high school coach have?
Lewis: I think one of the things that has become a problem with high school sports is a lot of coaches no longer teach at the high school. But, I don’t know how you solve that problem...and you lose a lot of the leadership and discipline in schools that the coaches bring. I can remember Jim Garry when I was in the seventh grade...seeing him in the hallways when that late bell rang. When that bell rang, that hall was cleared. And if it wasn’t cleared, he cleared it in a hurry.

FanFile: What's more important in high school sports...winning or participation?
Lewis: I think participation and learning. It’s most important just to get out there because you learn how to deal with people. Winning needs to be a direction and goal, and coaches have to identify that as a positive. Now not all athletes are going to go on and continue in sports, but they do need to be functional, productive people. If they can’t get along with people, be a part of a team and work towards a goal it’s difficult.

FanFile: If you were starting a high school football program today, and you had a choice between 40 good football players and 20 good athletes. Which do you choose?
Lewis: I don’t know that you can be a good football player without being a good athlete. You want the person who is well rounded and can go beyond. You want the athletes, because your job as a coach is to teach, to take the guy from point A to point B. If you’re doing that with the guy who is a better athlete, you’re going to have a better player.

FanFile: The best way to become that good player...concentrate on just football, or play as many sports as you can?
Lewis: I think you should play as many sports as you can. You want to be well rounded...you want an athlete. The guy who’s lifting weights...all he’s doing is hurting himself for on down the line. If he’s just lifting heavy weights, he’s fooling with the growth of his body. You want to have long levers. You don’t want to have short arms and short legs and little short muscles. You want elasticity with your body and you don’t get that if you’re not doing a lot of different things...dealing with flexibility and things like that that you get from all the other sports. Obviously there’s a lot of specialization of football skills, but there’s a lot of time for that. Again, you’d rather have the guy who’s an athlete, because that’s the guy who will excel down the line.

FanFile: With the recent revelations about steroids and big-name athletes, what do you say to the athletes looking for a shortcut to getting stronger and faster?
Lewis: Eat right and get your rest. There’s time to grow and your body is naturally going to grow. With a lot of the additives and supplements, there’s a tendency to dry out the body and that makes you more susceptible to muscle injury.

[ Part I ] [ Part II ] [ Part III ]

The Fan File

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