By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Every coach has been inspired by someone along the way.

This new weekly series on Portage Sports will celebrate the stories and people who influenced today’s high-school coaches in the county.

Today is the story of who inspired Rootstown High School football head coach Tom Hannan, who wrote his own narrative:

I graduated from Brookside High School in 1978 and had the privilege of playing football for Coach Tom Kaiser all four years of high school.

Looking back, his influence on me went far beyond football.

During that time in my life, things at home were not always easy.

Sports became an outlet for me and gave me a place where I felt a sense of purpose and belonging.

Coach Kaiser provided structure, discipline and guidance when I needed it most.

He taught me lessons about hard work, accountability, teamwork and how to handle challenges.

More importantly, he showed me just how much of an impact a coach can have on a young person’s life.

In 1982, just four years after graduating from Brookside, I began my coaching career.

The lessons Coach Kaiser taught me became part of the way I approached my own athletes.

I understood that you don’t always know what a young person is going through away from the field — and sometimes a coach can be one of the most important positive influences in their life.

Over the years, I’ve tried to give my athletes some of what Coach Kaiser gave me: A place to belong, someone who believes in them and lessons they can carry long after their playing days are over.

Coach Kaiser didn’t just teach me football.

He helped inspire me to become a coach and, in turn, gave me the opportunity to positively influence generations of young people myself.

That’s a legacy that means more than wins and losses ever could.