Conversation with Coach – Mike Mischler, Erie Cathedral Prep @PrepRamblers @PrepVilla @cpmisch87

Tagged under: Coaches Corner, District 10, News

Phil Myers | October 30, 2019

Father and Son pose after winning the State Title together

How did Mike Mischler get to be head coach of Erie Cathedral Prep at the young age of 29?  What are his thoughts on recruiting and the general state of high school football?  When Coach Mischler talks, it is with intellect and emotion.  He comes across as confident, caring, and jovial, but was adamant with his answers and statements at times.  We chatted a long time and discussed a variety of topics including the hot button issue of recruiting.  He truly has a passion for the game and a heart for every kid he coaches.

Mischler is in his 21^st year of being head coach, eighteen of those at Erie Cathedral Prep.  He has led the Ramblers to 5 state championships and was twice runner-up.  His career record to date is 210-60, which includes a 193-44 mark at Erie Prep.  Many people don’t know that he coached at Iroquois for three years between stints at ECP.  In an interview with the Cathedral Prep magazine Mischler says the main reason for leaving Prep after the 2004 season was because he was burnt out.  “I reentered the business world and quickly discovered I missed coaching young men,” he stated.  Mischler was hired to be the Director of Public Relations and head football coach at Iroquois in 2006.  “I enjoyed my time at Iroquois and was blessed to be given another opportunity to return to Prep,” he added.  Since he came back to Prep in 2009, his record is a phenomenal 131-20.

Mike Mischler is a lifetime native of Erie and went to Cathedral Prep where he graduated in 1987.  He played football at Prep on the offensive line.  He was captain of the 1986 team that was the first Cathedral Prep team to win a District Ten football championship.  He went to college at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia and played football for a year.  He also played rugby and did track throwing discus.  He graduated from there with a degree in business management.  “It was a really good school, a really good experience,” Mischler said.

PM: “Tell me a little about your family.”

Mischler: “My wife, Mary, and I got married in ’93.  We have five kids, four daughters and a son.  Melissa is an R.N. in Pittsburgh.  She is a Penn State Main and Duquesne Nursing Program grad.  Katherine ‘Katie’ lives in New York City and works for a talent agency.  She’s a Penn State Main grad.  Michelle is a senior at the Main Campus of Penn State.  Joe is at Ohio University and Kelly attends Villa Maria in Erie which is a sister school of Prep.”  (Joe was quarterback of Prep’s 2016 and 2017 state championship teams and is a redshirt freshman QB on Ohio’s football team).

PM: “How did you get into coaching?”

MIschler: “I started helping out by coaching discus up here.  My future brother-in-law was one of the throwers.”  (Mischler was the District 10 champ in discus at Prep and qualified for states).  “Then I started coaching football in the fall of ’92 when my old coach, Mina George, asked me to come on board as a freshman assistant, which I did.  I loved it from the get-go.  I just thought nothing could be cooler.  I got the head job in ’98.  I was the head coach of the freshman team and I think one of the reasons they hired me was our ’97 freshman team was undefeated and unscored upon.”

PM: “As far as your teams go, how do you measure success?”

Mischler: “I mean to me, personally, I think you can measure success not necessarily in the season you’re on, but in life.  What we’re hoping for is guys that are going to be good husbands, good fathers, good citizens, and generally good character people.  We try to build our program around that.”

“People think because we have a cross on the wall and we’re a Catholic school we are trying to say we are Christ.  We’re just striving to live by His principles.  We all sin and we all have problems.  I define success on how good of people our kids and our coaching staff are.  Trophies are great, we’ve had a lot of success there, but it’s more about life long relationships and building memories.  Most of those memories aren’t necessarily about raising that trophy overhead.  They’re about relationships that are built and the lessons that are learned in the sport itself.”

PM: “What do you find is the hardest thing about coaching?”

Mischler: “It’s changed over the years.  Honestly, there’s unrealistic expectations.  When we first came in, Cathedral Prep had five years of non-winning seasons.  Now I’m kind of held to a standard we built here and many people act like it’s been around 100 years.  We had success under Mina in the early 90s.  Back then it was like, ‘is this the only opportunity we’re going to have to be successful?’

“I was hired in ’98 when I was 29.  We were 2-4 having just lost our 4^th straight game by getting our butts kicked in Cleveland by St. Edwards.  I remember because it was the day my sister got married, my only sister.  I went to her ceremony but couldn’t go to the reception.  It (coaching) was my new job, my occupation, I had to leave.  After the game I just thought what have I gotten myself into.  Luckily, social media wasn’t as prevalent as it is now because I don’t think I would have weathered that very well at the time.  We ended up being a play away from making the state championship game.  We got there and lost in ’99 and then won in 2000.”

“The hardest part is changing with the kids and the societal changes that are there, the struggles they have.  Just keeping up with the changes, not only in the game of football, but keeping up with societal things and the changes in kids, what’s important to them, what’s not important to them.  You have to know each kid individually.  I’m not a child psychologist, but some days you need to be.”

PM: “What’s the most satisfaction or biggest thrill you’ve got out of coaching so far?”

Mischler: “I don’t know, that’s a hard one.  I just think developing kids, seeing them push themselves and work hard and hit all their goals they set for themselves which are hopefully team goals.  That’s extremely rewarding.  Coaching them up and seeing the look on their face when that light bulb goes on when something is accomplished.  That means the most to me.”

Coach Mischler told the story of taking the team to the funeral home when a player’s relative passed away.  “We wait in line.  We kneel down in front of the casket and say a prayer and give the kid a hug.  That’s when I feel the best about what I do and what our program stands for.  There’s no better way to show it.  You can say you love a kid and you appreciate him and all that stuff, but until you show it to him by your own heart and your own actions….  When my dad passed, I felt it on the other end.  It’s a rewarding thing.”

PM: “How were you able to build that winning tradition at Cathedral Prep?”

MIschler: “First off, I hired a great staff.  I hire guys smarter than myself.  I feel strongly about that.  For example, Joe Moore was like an encyclopedia I could sponge off of.  He was my defensive coordinator my first two years.”  (Moore was a coach at Pitt and Notre Dame.  While at Pitt he developed linemen like Bill Fralic, Mark May, Russ Grimm, and Jimbo Covert).  “The other part and maybe more importantly you got to treat kids the right way.  They got to know you care about them.  It’s what you say and what you do.  Also, winning is a habit and each new group doesn’t want to be the ones not winning.”

PM: “Let’s set the record straight about recruiting, coach.”

Mischler: “I know everybody wants to talk about Catholic schools recruiting and all this crap, which are utter lies.  I’ll go to my grave knowing exactly what we do and what we don’t do up here.  I’ll stand before God Himself and know I do things the right way up here.  I follow rules, but nobody wants to listen to that, cause if you have success, it’s because you cheat.  It’s my job to run as great of a program as I possibly can.”

“Kids are attracted to come to our school.  If they want to come to our place and pay money for it, and a lot of money for it then they have a right to do that.  Everyone who points fingers and says something about us, I think it says something about them.  People don’t have mirrors.  I look in one all the time.  I’m an overweight guy with low self-esteem sometimes.  I’m always looking in that mirror at what my issues are and where I can get better and how to do things better and I’m always questioning things I do.”

“I have an incredible empathy level which I think makes me a good coach and it also makes it almost unbearable for me because I care too much about what people think.  I’m afraid I’m going to let people down and you know in this industry you’re going to let people down.”

PM: “In other words you guys do not recruit?”

MIschler: “No.  I’m so fed up with this.  We don’t have to.  I’ve never had to.  I started a youth football league when I was at Iroquois.  We had up to 700 kids at one point.  I have never one time walked up to any of these kids and said, ‘hey why don’t you go to Cathedral Prep.’  If that’s against the rules, I won’t do it.  My staff knows do not do this.  Now, if it’s a parochial kid and I have a right to talk to them and I’m legally allowed to talk to them, then yes, I’ll do that.”

Coach Mischler talked about what he says to incoming freshmen and their parents which goes like this, “You’re here without being offered anything, promised anything, guaranteed anything.  You’re here not because I said I need you here and want you here.  You’re not here because someone rubbed your shoulders or scratched your back.  You’re here because it’s the best situation for you.  That’s the kind of kid I want.”

“The kids that people think we recruit, the ones who want their butts kissed or want to be given something, those are the kids I will never win with here.”

PM: “What are the most important concepts you try to teach your players?”

Mischler: “Again, it goes back to what I’ve said, it’s outside of football.  Be a good citizen and grow up to be a good father and husband.  Be a good Christian.  Treat others like you want to be treated.  In our meetings, one of the things I say is when I go down to the lunch room, I don’t want to see a kid sitting by himself.  I encourage them to say ‘why don’t you come over and sit with us.’  They better be the ones holding a door open, being a gentleman, and treating girls the right way.  With regards to football, respect your coaches and your fellow players.  A little more on the football side is that we’ve changed tackling to rugby style and practices to 75-90 minutes.”

PM: “What motivates you to continue to coach?”

Mischler: “That’s a tougher question.  Let me think.  I just think coaches have the opportunity to affect lives of kids in a way so profound and deep and long lasting.  You are never going to make every single kid happy.  But if you can deliver the right messages to them, they need reinforced.  There’s opportunity for every coach to change a kid’s life.  What keeps me going is seeing kids go and be successful in life and they reach back to me and say ‘hey coach, I’m having a baby’ or ‘hey coach, can you come to my wedding?’  When they showed up or contacted me when my dad died, that’s the stuff football’s all about – relationships.  If I ever get out, that’s the stuff I’m going to miss.”

PM: “Is coaching football a 365 day a year job?”

Mischler: “I mean, yeah.” (Laughed).  “Every Christmas morning I’m texting the team telling them ‘Merry Christmas.’  Two years ago, when we had that outstanding class, my son’s class, we had 77 D-1 schools that came in to see my players.  It’s not just the weight room or off-season stuff, you have a little bit of a break.  Kids have to have some breaks.   I want kids to do other sports.  I highly encourage it.  The whole specialization thing is ruining kids in my opinion.”

PM: “What do you like to do with your free time?”

Mischler: “Spend time with my wife and children.”

PM: “What would your favorite meal consist of?”

Mischler: “Steak, corn on the cob, fried summer squash, with a Greek salad to start.”

PM: “What about a favorite dessert?”

MIschler: “I’m not much of a dessert guy.”  He hesitates for a few seconds and finally says, “Lemonheads.”  Then he laughs heartily.  (For anyone who doesn’t know, Lemonhead candy was first introduced in 1962.  They are a round, lemon flavored candy that has a sweet coating, soft sour shell, and a hard candy core).

PM: “What is your favorite movie or are you a movie guy?”

Mischler: “Oh, yeah.  That’s all I’m going to do when I retire.  Saving Private Ryan and Good Fellas.  I’ll watch the Turner Classic Movies too.  I’ll watch Casablanca just as much as anything else.”

PM: “If you could go back in time, who would you like to meet?”

Mischler: In a very somber tone he says, “I’d like to go back one year and talk to my dad.  My dad wasn’t always around because he was busy saving lives.”  (Coach Mischler’s dad was Dr. Forrest Mischler who was a general surgeon in Erie).  I didn’t tell him that tears started to run down my cheek when I heard that answer.

PM: “If there was one coach you’d like to sit down with and pick his brain, who would that be?”

Mischler: “I’ve met him and have talked to him and spent time at his house.  Joe Paterno would be at the top of the list.  One of the cooler things I ever saw was in 2000 when I had Charles Rush, Joe Dupree, and Ed Hinkel, I had quite a few head coaches like Larry Coker, Bob Davie, and Walt Harris to name a few lined up waiting to see me.  Coach Paterno shows up and they all let him cut in front of the line.  I just thought it was the coolest thing in the world.”

PM: “What do you want your legacy to be?”

Mischler: “Honestly, my legacy, if they mention football in my obituary, I’m going to be mad.  I just want to be known as somebody who was a good husband, a good father, and a good son. That’s really what I want.  That’s the kind of standard I want to be held by.”

“For my coaching legacy, if that’s what you are looking for, I would want for my players to know I tried my hardest for them.  I cared about them and I love them all.  Love’s not a bad word to use in coaching.”

PM: “What is one thing people may not know about you?”

Mischler: “Boy, you got some tough questions.  I love practical jokes and pranks.  I will prank my kids on April Fool’s Day.  One of the things I’ve done is I’ve dumped water on my kids from the roof when they came home from school.”  He laughs again.

PM: “Anything else you want to talk about?”

Mischler: “Yeah, the state of high school football.  The state coaches’ association only wants to talk about the separation of private and public schools.  I don’t care which side you’re on, but is that really you’re number one concern?  This sport is dying a fast death at the youth level.  The youth program I started while at Iroquois had 700 kids at one time, now there is a little over 100.  We’ve had forfeits up here and we’re worried about who gets the trophy?  It’s misplaced priorities!  We need to get the message out that our sport is a great sport and is something that should be around for a long, long time.”  Coach cited some other interesting information, but maybe that can be another article.  One thing is for sure he is passionate and got excitable when talking about this subject.

We gabbed about a few other things before the interview ended, such as relationships and caring for each other as not only teammates, but individuals.  He said, “We start every practice with prayer at the logo in the middle of the field.  We not only just say an ‘Our Father’ (the Lord’s Prayer), but we ask what’s on your hearts today or is there anything we need to pray for.  Now the team knows if a kid is having trouble or going through something and as a result can be better teammates.  Also, we coaches try to be more sensitive in practice knowing something is bothering this kid or that kid.”

We also talked about the two great games his teams had with Central Bucks West in 1999 and 2000 state 4A finals.  When reminiscing about losing to CBW in 1999 on a blocked punt, he chuckled, “That’s the ghost that follows me.”  When speaking about the 2000 win in overtime he proudly stated, “We were #2 in the country that year.”

Coach M also talked about what he did before or while coaching when he was first hired at Prep.  “I got moved to LA by the company I was working for at the end of the first season and was there for a year before I got laid off a week before I got married.  After our honeymoon, which was out west, we packed up my stuff and drove cross country in a budget truck.  Literally I drove the truck onto the practice field and told my wife I was going to practice.  She kind of knew what she was in for at that point,” he laughed and then continued, “I’ve done a bunch of things, been in international sales and been to about 45 countries before I came back to Prep in ’95 as an administrator.  I’ve also worked 50 hours a week Monday through Friday delivering beer and then on Saturday and Sunday I would work double shifts from 7 in the morning to 11:30 at night at a hospital.  Did that for about a year.”

Coach Mischler seems to be the type of coach who not only knows the game, but tries to get to know his players as individuals.  That is a winning combination in football and especially in life.  While it may be disappointing to Rambler opponents that he plans on being around awhile, the Erie Cathedral Prep community has to be thankful they have a man like Mike Mischler as their football coach.

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