Coach Alexander: history teacher by day, football coach by Friday night. I got the chance to interview Coach Alexander, and I really got to ask some amazing questions that got some amazing answers. He has had a lot of previous coaching experiences, which is definitely one of the reasons that the Cowboys are having a great season. Coach Alexander was previously an assistant coach at Park Ridge High School and at Oneonta High School in New York, but the his first head-coaching job was with the Cowboys here at Pascack Hills. Coach Alexander played football at the University of Oklahoma, a Division I college. Coach was a tackle in high school and then went on to play tight end at Oklahoma before he injured his knee. I think I can safely say that Coach Alexander is definitely fit to lead the Hills football team for many years to come.
This year, many of the football team’s starters are seniors. Seniors are generally known as the leaders of the team and as the “player captains.” I asked Coach if he thinks this year’s juniors (as next years seniors) will be able to lead the team next season. Coach Alexander says, “They have no choice, they have to.” Coach Alexander is really an all around sports guy; it’s not just football that he likes. He said he likes baseball, basketball, and golf. He also went on to say that golf is not a sport.
The Cowboys are off to a great start this year, and it has not gone unnoticed. When asked what the difference was between this year’s great start and seasons in years past, Coach Alexander said that the Cowboys have had great starts in years past, but this year the outside is just taking more note of it. I then asked Coach Alexander if the team has any good luck traditions on game day. He said yes. What the team does on game day is they like to score more points than the opponent. He also wanted me to point out that he is undefeated in his tenure with Hills when they score more points than the opponent.
Coach Alexander knows as well as anyone else that the Cowboys’ running attack has been great this season, and I asked Coach why he thinks this is the case. He said that the running backs have been having a great season because they are bigger, they have matured, and they have just been going out there and playing.
Every single coach has a philosophy on football. Whether it’s a “defense first mentality”, or an “offense has to score constantly” mentality, they all have their own ideas. I asked Coach Alexander what he prefers and he said that it is much more valuable to have a good defense than a good offense. I also asked him if he prefers a run heavy or pass heavy offense, and he said he likes both- he just prefers whatever is working best at the time. Before games, Coach Alexander likes to motivate the team by telling them that they have an obligation to represent Pascack Hills in a positive way.
Lastly, I asked Mr. Alexander what I consider the best question of the entire interview: “Why were so many people amused when I said I was going to ask you for an interview? Do you consider yourself a scary guy?” He said that people were amused because, “I am an amusing person”, and he says that he considers himself to be a kind, gentle, and caring soul.
I would like to thank Coach Alexander for taking time out of his busy schedule to do this interview with me. I can officially say that Mr. Alexander is the single most awesome human I have ever met in my 15 years on this earth.
