- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,195,499
- Reaction score
- 59
Tatum Pew knew she did not know a lot about football.
But she probably had to figure she was as qualified as anyone in Conneaut to take on a girls flag football program.
Though Pew never played or let alone coached the game, she had plenty of coaching experience as a girls assistant basketball coach, and she had grown up as a football coach’s daughter.
So, when the Conneaut Athletic Director Tony Pasanen was looking for someone to get the Spartans program started, Pew had to figure she’d be getting a call.
“He knows it’s hard for me to say ‘no’ to him,” Pew said with a laugh. “So, I went for it.”
This past season, she even coached with a new family addition on the way.
Pew and her husband, Tyler Pew, Conneaut’s track and field coach, welcomed Posie, their first child, into the world May 1.
A year ago, Pew took on the challenge as the school’s first flag football coach. Mike Sanford, her dad, coached football for the Conneaut Area Youth Football League.
This year, with a baby on the way, Pew returned to the sidelines, and Conneaut take another step in the newest high school sport to hit Ohio.
The Spartans went 4-6 this season, paced by juniors Alexis Warner and Anna Ring and freshman Arabella Goudge.
For her efforts, Pew was selected as the Ashtabula County Co-Coach of the Year, sharing the honor with Edgewood’s Olajuwon Cooper, as voted on by the other county coaches.
“It’s just an honor,” she said of the award. “It just means that all the work that I put in during the season the things that I had to do helped the team.”
Conneaut’s 4-6 record was a little less than what she had hoped.
But she said the second year of the program was a lot like starting over again due to the loss of a few key players, and a lot of new ones giving the new sport a try.
“Everybody was new to the game last year, and this year we had a whole bunch of new girls again, so we were kind of starting out fresh,” Pew said. “Obviously, we wanted to do better, but we all got much better throughout the season.”
Passanen acknowledged Tatum has a hard time saying “no,” especially when it involves giving players another chance to compete.
“I can’t thank her enough,” he said. “It just goes to show what kind of person she is. We had several girls that wanted to do flag football ,and Tatum, she’ll do anything for the kids.
“She agreed to do it and she’s learned a lot. This year, she was coaching while she was seven, eight, nine months pregnant, so that was just incredible.”
Twelve girls made up the Spartans team this year.
Pasanen said they really embraced the opportunity to compete in the new sport.
“They absolutely love it,” he said. “Now, it’s going to be an OHSAA [Ohio High School Athletic Association] sanctioned sport next year. It’s getting bigger and bigger and I can’t believe how much the girls enjoy it.”
Pew said she has enjoyed it as well, and is excited to see the sport flourish.
She also looks forward to the possibility of contests being played at the newly-turfed Joslin Field at Ricaurte Stadium.
“Absolutely, I am,” Pew said. “We’re looking forward to having home games and all that sort of thing.”
Continue reading...
But she probably had to figure she was as qualified as anyone in Conneaut to take on a girls flag football program.
Though Pew never played or let alone coached the game, she had plenty of coaching experience as a girls assistant basketball coach, and she had grown up as a football coach’s daughter.
So, when the Conneaut Athletic Director Tony Pasanen was looking for someone to get the Spartans program started, Pew had to figure she’d be getting a call.
“He knows it’s hard for me to say ‘no’ to him,” Pew said with a laugh. “So, I went for it.”
This past season, she even coached with a new family addition on the way.
Pew and her husband, Tyler Pew, Conneaut’s track and field coach, welcomed Posie, their first child, into the world May 1.
A year ago, Pew took on the challenge as the school’s first flag football coach. Mike Sanford, her dad, coached football for the Conneaut Area Youth Football League.
This year, with a baby on the way, Pew returned to the sidelines, and Conneaut take another step in the newest high school sport to hit Ohio.
The Spartans went 4-6 this season, paced by juniors Alexis Warner and Anna Ring and freshman Arabella Goudge.
For her efforts, Pew was selected as the Ashtabula County Co-Coach of the Year, sharing the honor with Edgewood’s Olajuwon Cooper, as voted on by the other county coaches.
“It’s just an honor,” she said of the award. “It just means that all the work that I put in during the season the things that I had to do helped the team.”
Conneaut’s 4-6 record was a little less than what she had hoped.
But she said the second year of the program was a lot like starting over again due to the loss of a few key players, and a lot of new ones giving the new sport a try.
“Everybody was new to the game last year, and this year we had a whole bunch of new girls again, so we were kind of starting out fresh,” Pew said. “Obviously, we wanted to do better, but we all got much better throughout the season.”
Passanen acknowledged Tatum has a hard time saying “no,” especially when it involves giving players another chance to compete.
“I can’t thank her enough,” he said. “It just goes to show what kind of person she is. We had several girls that wanted to do flag football ,and Tatum, she’ll do anything for the kids.
“She agreed to do it and she’s learned a lot. This year, she was coaching while she was seven, eight, nine months pregnant, so that was just incredible.”
Twelve girls made up the Spartans team this year.
Pasanen said they really embraced the opportunity to compete in the new sport.
“They absolutely love it,” he said. “Now, it’s going to be an OHSAA [Ohio High School Athletic Association] sanctioned sport next year. It’s getting bigger and bigger and I can’t believe how much the girls enjoy it.”
Pew said she has enjoyed it as well, and is excited to see the sport flourish.
She also looks forward to the possibility of contests being played at the newly-turfed Joslin Field at Ricaurte Stadium.
“Absolutely, I am,” Pew said. “We’re looking forward to having home games and all that sort of thing.”
Continue reading...
