BY KEVIN HARRIS
JEFFERSONVILLE – Brian Glesing is a man who embraces a
challenge.
Throughout his head coaching career, Glesing has been known
for turning lowly football programs into winners. He has accomplished great
turnarounds at LaVille in Northern Indiana, Clarksville and Floyd Central.
Now, Glesing faces possibly the biggest rebuilding project
in his 18-year head coaching career.
On May 1, the Greater Clark County Schools board approved
Glesing as the new head football coach at Jeffersonville High School. The Red
Devils have not had a winning season since 2015, as they posted a 4-6 record in
2016 and a 3-7 mark last season. Jeff’s last sectional championship came in
2007 and it has not captured a Hoosier Hills Conference title since 1997.
“When I started coaching in Southern Indiana, I asked some
people where the best place is to coach in Southern Indiana. A lot of people
said Jeffersonville,” said Glesing, who is a Jeffersonville resident. “It was
the right time to make a switch. I’ve always liked the challenge of rebuilding
programs.”
LaVille was the first stop where Glesing turned a struggling
program into a winner.
After the Lancers went winless in his first season in 2001
at 0-10, Glesing guided them to successful seasons in 2002 and 2003. LaVille
went 9-4 and captured a Class A sectional championship in each of those
campaigns. Prior to that two-year run, the Lancers’ lone sectional championship
came in 1982. In four years at LaVille, Glesing posted a 23-24 record.
Glesing moved to Southern Indiana in 2005 to take over
Clarksville’s football program. Glesing coached the Generals for two seasons,
compiling a 17-6 record. His best season at Clarksville was 2006 when the
Generals recorded a 10-2 mark and claimed the outright Mid-Southern Conference
title.
Before Glesing’s arrival, Clarksville went seven consecutive
seasons without a winning record.
For the past 11 seasons, Glesing has been in charge at Floyd
Central. He wound up with a 70-51 mark with the Highlanders, including a Class
5A sectional crown in 2009. Prior to taking the Floyd helm, the Highlanders
recorded three straight losing seasons from 2004-06 as they went 6-24 in that
span.
Jeff athletic director Todd Satterly says he was stunned
when Glesing expressed interest in the Red Devil coaching job, especially with
Glesing’s success at Floyd Central. But Satterly is thrilled that the veteran
head coach is on his side now.
“Yes, it was surprising to us. But after speaking with
Brian, all the things he brought to the table meshed well with us,” Satterly
said. “Brian’s track record in Southern Indiana is nothing but successful. The
attitude, the teaching and the culture he brings made him a lock for us as a
hire.”
Glesing’s first meeting with his new team came on May 7.
During the meeting, he stressed three things that he expects his players to
show every day.
“Attitude, character, effort,” stated Glesing, who has
uttered those words to his players thousands of times during his career. “We’re
going to take things slow and steady. We’ve got to make sure we’re doing things
right.”
Throughout his coaching tenure, Glesing has been known as a
person who likes to establish a power running game on offense. However, since
he took over the Jeff reins, Glesing has talked about constructing an offense
that fits his players’ strengths to move the football and put points on the
scoreboard.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes to move the football,
whether it’s running the ball or passing the ball,” Glesing said. “We’ve got to
establish the running game, but we’ve got to have a balanced attack. We’re
going to do whatever it takes to get first downs and score points.”
Probably the largest obstacle Glesing faces is attempting to
turn Jeffersonville, a city with a strong basketball tradition, into a football
town as well. He plans to get out in the Jeff community constantly and sell Red
Devil football to the Jeff faithful.
“We’ve got to make football an important part of the
community,” Glesing said. “Getting the community involved in your program is
very important, especially in Jeffersonville. They’ve had some good football
players in the past.”
Last season, Glesing battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma for the
second time in his life. He acquired the form of cancer for the first time in
1994 when he was an assistant coach at Whiteland in Central Indiana.
Glesing says he is in good health and he is ready to coach
football at full strength again.
“I’m a lot better. I’m just trying to get back in shape,” he
said. “By August, I hope to be 100 percent by then.”
Satterly said Glesing’s health was not a worry as far as
affecting Glesing’s job performance. In fact, Satterly did not inquire Glesing
about his condition when he interviewed the former Floyd Central boss.
“We didn’t ask him about it. He went ahead and shared his
health with us,” Satterly said. “It was a concern for us on a personal level,
but not on a professional level.”
