Wednesday, August 27, 2003

By John E. Sacco, Tri-State Sports & News Service

Tim Garry has held just about every position in the Fort Cherry football program.

This season, he holds a post only one other person, his father Jim, has held. That's being Fort Cherry's head football coach.

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Tim Garry, 41, succeeds his dad as the Rangers' mentor and leader.

It will not be easy on many fronts, most of all on the field -- where the elder Garry coached for 44 years and found great success at Fort Cherry.

In reality, Tim Garry has been running the Rangers' football operation for a few years now. But the only person he had to answer to before was his father, who now serves as a volunteer assistant.

The increased demand on his time is not lost on the younger Garry. Now, everyone is pulling at him. He's come a long way since serving as the team's ballboy a number of years ago.

"There are a lot more phone calls, a lot more people who need your time," Tim Garry said. "Before, I could just show up and coach. All the other stuff was taken care of by my father."

Tim Garry served as his father's offensive coordinator for a number of years. He understands that he's the guy now who must field the questions from the media and take the heat from the fans.

"It's all part of the job," Tim Garry said.

"My brother told me I've sort of been flying under the radar screen. Because dad was still the head coach, I've been able to take more risks and do things as an offensive coordinator that I didn't have to worry quite as much. Because my dad was the one who had to answer the questions and be ultimately responsible, I was more free wheeling."

Tim Garry's football background is unquestioned.

He graduated from Fort Cherry in 1980 and played three years at California (Pa.) University before transferring to Waynesburg for his senior season. He served as a graduate assistant there under Bill Tornabene.

Tim Garry began teaching at Canon-McMillan in 1983 and has coached at Fort Cherry since 1988, with the exception of the 1996 season, when he was a Big Macs' assistant.

This is his biggest challenge as a football coach.

"I'm a little nervous about it," Tim Garry said. "My dad was there so long and is so well known. People come to expect certain things.

"I feel confident in my abilities as coach. At the same time, I'm going to be a little cautious. I'll coach to the best of my abilities."

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