Lansing Catholic coach Jim Ahern is no stranger to success. Current Ithaca head coach Terry Hessbrook has won four consecutive state championships, and he learned from one of the most decorated coaches in the history of Michigan high school football. Ahern coached Hessbrook and High School Sports Scene publisher Randy Miniard at Ithaca in 1984, the first year that the school sent a team to the playoffs. The Yellowjackets lost to Grand Rapids South Christian during a thunderstorm. “I’ve played that game over in my head 100 times; I would love to have played that game on a dry field.”
Coach Ahern spent 30 years roaming the sidelines for the Yellowjackets, and in 2001 he was named Michigan’s Coach of the Year.
“Most of the current staff of Ithaca’s football team either coached for me or played for me, so I’m extremely proud of the success that Ithaca is having right now.”
After leaving mid Michigan for a season, Ahern returned to coach Lansing Catholic. After a 6-5 season in 2013, in which eventual champions West Catholic knocked the Cougars out of the playoffs, Lansing Catholic started the 2014 season a perfect 4-0. “We had to change the attitude of the program here at Lansing Catholic and get the kids to buy in to our way of doing things. Winning our first game helped the team believe.” His way of doing things is the “single wing offense,” and he wrote a book on it called Coaching the Single Wing Offense. “ I have also had great people around me, including current defensive coordinator Mike Doran, who was also on our staff at Ithaca. Consistency has been part of all our teams,” said Ahern.
Good players always help make a coach look good, but Coach Ahern’s secret to coaching good players is somewhat unexpected. “Communication is the single most important aspect of success,” he said. “Even when we were at Ithaca, we didn’t have yellers, because it is important to get the players to understand why we are doing things a certain way.
“As long as we don’t screw it up, we will get a chance to face undefeated Williamston for the conference championship in two weeks,” he continued, “so I’m looking forward to that opportunity for the kids.”