On Nov. 6 it was announced that GlenOak football coach Scott Garcia had won the 2023 Federal League Coach of the Year. This comes off a year where GlenOak finished third in the Federal League with a 5-2 record and 7-5 overall.
This is Garcia’s fourth time winning the award; his previous three are from ‘09, ‘11 and ‘14. He also won the Stark County Coach of the Year in 2009.
“The award represents many people including our players, coaches, parents, teachers, administrators, booster clubs, etc,” Garcia said. “Without the collective effort of all these people success would not be possible.”
The ‘23 season has been Garcia’s most successful season since coming back to the program in 2020. This season included a five game win-streak, handing Canton McKinley their only Federal League loss in an upset game, GlenOak’s first home playoff game in 11 years, and advancing to the second round for the first time in nine years.
“The senior class helped put our program back on the map. We went through some tough times but their effort and perseverance enabled us to achieve many great things,” Garcia said.
Many see the McKinley win as an upset, however Garcia and his team do not agree.
“Our team would not consider the McKinley game an upset win. We fully expected to win that game and that is the change in mindset we have been striving for,” Garcia said.
This season came with much upside, not just on the field, but off the field as well.
“Beating rivals North Canton and Jackson along with earning a home playoff game were some of the highlights of the season,” Garcia said. “Our team also achieved Academic All-Ohio honors this year. Our average team GPA was 3.23.”
The upcoming 2024-25 season may seem far away right now. However, the team has lost 25 seniors which brings yet another obstacle to overcome.
“The expectation is now in place to have another successful season,” Garcia said. “We have several key players returning next year along with several talented freshmen and sophomores who had a great JV season.”
