Through the thin margin of a single vote, the long-suffering Skaneateles High School program just got itself, at the very least, a heavy dose of attention and publicity for 2010.
Tim Green has been chosen as the Lakers’ new varsity football coach, earning the job over Ron Doctor Tuesday night in a vote taken by the Skaneateles School Board.
The vote went 4-3. All the males on the board — Michael Card, Evan Dreyfuss, Keith Krieger and Gary Robinson — went for Green. The three females — Kate Cogswell, Catherine Reilley and Irene Stafford — supported Doctor.
So ended a long search process for Skaneateles following John King’s departure at the end of a 2009 season where, again, the Lakers finished at the bottom of the Class B West division.
Green publicly made known his intentions of wanting to coach at Skaneateles, a contrast from how the process is usually handled — which led to criticism in some circles. This stemmed from Green’s long-time public notoriety throughout Central New York. His career is well-chronicled, from a multi-sports star at Liverpool (including a state wrestling title) to All-American success at Syracuse University and a pro career with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
When his football career was done, Green came back to Central New York and maintained his high profile as, among other things, a best-selling author and television personality. He had also coached the revived wrestling program at Skaneateles.
Meanwhile, Doctor, the long-time varsity boys lacrosse coach at Skaneateles, had also expressed interest at returning to football, where he had led the Lakers to its lone Section III championship in 1992.
The choice has been made, though — and since football practice does not begin until mid-August, Green will have plenty of time to assemble a staff, try to bring players (new and old) into the fold and get people in Skaneateles excited about Laker football again.
