Old-school coach: Hilliard Davidson's White isn't one who worries about being fashionable
Steve Blackledge
Nov. 24, 2006--
To heck with the police chief, the fashion police, political correctness and what everyone else regards as conventional logic.
Exhibiting the stubbornness of Bill Belichick and the old-school idealism of Jim Tressel, Hilliard Davidson football coach Brian White does things his way.
White is not averse to running up the middle on third down and long. The reason? He has enough faith in his line and running game to go for it on fourthand-short anywhere on the field.
In some games, Davidson won't attempt a single pass.
An advocate of ball-control offense, White likes to seize the lead and shorten games. Even in the most frigid conditions, White wears shorts on game night. Often seen clutching a stopwatch, he motions to his quarterback just before the play clock expires.
"I guess in this day and age, I'm considered old school," White said. "The trend is to see points scored and throw the ball all over the field. I just do things the way I was taught.
"Fans can be fickle. They always know more than the coach. When we were down (20-7) against Dublin Coffman Friday, my wife (Jill) had some words with some fans who were questioning my coaching. The next day, the chief of police told me I should throw the ball more, that this style won't ever win a state championship. I don't want to sound disrespectful, but I don't really care what parents, fans or anybody else think. I just want to give our kids the best chance of winning that I possibly can."
No one can argue with White's track record. Under his leadership, Davidson has been central Ohio's premier bigschool program in the 2000s, compiling a 68-18 record with back-to-back regional titles, four regional final appearances and four conference titles.
The Wildcats (13-0) will face top-ranked Cincinnati Colerain (13-0) in a Division I state semifinal at 7 p.m. Saturday in Welcome Stadium in Dayton.
Unlike most Division I state powers, Hilliard Davidson rarely produces college prospects. White does it with undersized, overachieving program players who buy into a system emphasizing a keen attention to detail, fundamentals, work ethic and character.
"Brian will be the first guy to tell you it's not his goal to win a state championship," Davidson assistant Chip Abele said. "It might sound corny, but the biggest thing with him is producing top-notch kids. He preaches all the time about how good things happen to good people, and the kids believe that."
A native of Wheelersburg, Ohio, and a Capital University graduate, White was weaned at DeSales, where he assisted Bob Jacoby for seven seasons. He served one-year stints at Dublin Scioto and Groveport before landing at Davidson in 1999.
"I didn't come here with any grand, long-term plan," White said. "It was a good program when we got here, but the split took its toll for a few years and we had to re-teach the kids how to win.
"For the first few years, we operated on cycles where we'd take a step back every three or four years and rebuild again. I'd like to think we've got things where we want them now, but we've got a large senior class and it's hard to say what next year will bring. I tend not to look too far in advance, anyway."
Davidson's players clearly have bought into White's philosophy.
Senior linebacker Brad McKinley spoke passionately about the influence White has had on his life.
"I grew up without a dad and got into trouble a lot, but Coach took me under his wing and set me straight," McKinley said. "He's been like a father figure to me. He's all about respecting people.
"During one game this year, I screwed up on one play and was down on myself. When I came over to the sideline, Coach looked me straight in the eye and told me he was so proud of everything I had done here. I'll never forget that moment, because no one's ever said that to me before. It's hard to describe, but when I'm out there on the field, I always want to impress him and make him happy."
Senior offensive lineman Blake Saul said Davidson's program is built on mutual respect.
"Every little detail, from our pregame stretching exercises to attendance at off-season meetings to film study, is important to coach White," he said. "He wants us to feel like we earned everything that came our way."
White's way is well-established. But what about those shorts?
"The last time I wore pants was when I coached at DeSales, and we lost the state championship game," White said.
"I'm not trying to prove my toughness or manhood or send out any kind of message to the other team. The simple truth is my wife's superstitious and she won't let me wear pants anymore. Whatever works, you know I'll keep doing it."
[email protected]
Nov. 24, 2006--
To heck with the police chief, the fashion police, political correctness and what everyone else regards as conventional logic.
Exhibiting the stubbornness of Bill Belichick and the old-school idealism of Jim Tressel, Hilliard Davidson football coach Brian White does things his way.
White is not averse to running up the middle on third down and long. The reason? He has enough faith in his line and running game to go for it on fourthand-short anywhere on the field.
In some games, Davidson won't attempt a single pass.
An advocate of ball-control offense, White likes to seize the lead and shorten games. Even in the most frigid conditions, White wears shorts on game night. Often seen clutching a stopwatch, he motions to his quarterback just before the play clock expires.
"I guess in this day and age, I'm considered old school," White said. "The trend is to see points scored and throw the ball all over the field. I just do things the way I was taught.
"Fans can be fickle. They always know more than the coach. When we were down (20-7) against Dublin Coffman Friday, my wife (Jill) had some words with some fans who were questioning my coaching. The next day, the chief of police told me I should throw the ball more, that this style won't ever win a state championship. I don't want to sound disrespectful, but I don't really care what parents, fans or anybody else think. I just want to give our kids the best chance of winning that I possibly can."
No one can argue with White's track record. Under his leadership, Davidson has been central Ohio's premier bigschool program in the 2000s, compiling a 68-18 record with back-to-back regional titles, four regional final appearances and four conference titles.
The Wildcats (13-0) will face top-ranked Cincinnati Colerain (13-0) in a Division I state semifinal at 7 p.m. Saturday in Welcome Stadium in Dayton.
Unlike most Division I state powers, Hilliard Davidson rarely produces college prospects. White does it with undersized, overachieving program players who buy into a system emphasizing a keen attention to detail, fundamentals, work ethic and character.
"Brian will be the first guy to tell you it's not his goal to win a state championship," Davidson assistant Chip Abele said. "It might sound corny, but the biggest thing with him is producing top-notch kids. He preaches all the time about how good things happen to good people, and the kids believe that."
A native of Wheelersburg, Ohio, and a Capital University graduate, White was weaned at DeSales, where he assisted Bob Jacoby for seven seasons. He served one-year stints at Dublin Scioto and Groveport before landing at Davidson in 1999.
"I didn't come here with any grand, long-term plan," White said. "It was a good program when we got here, but the split took its toll for a few years and we had to re-teach the kids how to win.
"For the first few years, we operated on cycles where we'd take a step back every three or four years and rebuild again. I'd like to think we've got things where we want them now, but we've got a large senior class and it's hard to say what next year will bring. I tend not to look too far in advance, anyway."
Davidson's players clearly have bought into White's philosophy.
Senior linebacker Brad McKinley spoke passionately about the influence White has had on his life.
"I grew up without a dad and got into trouble a lot, but Coach took me under his wing and set me straight," McKinley said. "He's been like a father figure to me. He's all about respecting people.
"During one game this year, I screwed up on one play and was down on myself. When I came over to the sideline, Coach looked me straight in the eye and told me he was so proud of everything I had done here. I'll never forget that moment, because no one's ever said that to me before. It's hard to describe, but when I'm out there on the field, I always want to impress him and make him happy."
Senior offensive lineman Blake Saul said Davidson's program is built on mutual respect.
"Every little detail, from our pregame stretching exercises to attendance at off-season meetings to film study, is important to coach White," he said. "He wants us to feel like we earned everything that came our way."
White's way is well-established. But what about those shorts?
"The last time I wore pants was when I coached at DeSales, and we lost the state championship game," White said.
"I'm not trying to prove my toughness or manhood or send out any kind of message to the other team. The simple truth is my wife's superstitious and she won't let me wear pants anymore. Whatever works, you know I'll keep doing it."
[email protected]