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Conversation with Coach – Joe Headen, Susquehanna Township

Tagged under: Coaches Corner, District 3, News, pfn

| September 9, 2024


Joe Headen has been the Susquehanna Township Indians’ head football coach since 2003 and has chalked up 124 victories.  He is well-known in the central part of Pennsylvania for his willingness to help kids and his love of the game of football.  But he is famous for giving one of the most inspirational pre-game high school football speeches ever.  It is called the ‘Hold the Rope’ speech.  What was the inspiration for that nugget of a pre-game talk and did the team respond like he wanted them to?  Those answers and much, much more are covered in my one-on-one interview with Mr. Headen.

Joe Headen is one of three children born to Joseph and Ann Headen.  Sadly, one of his two sisters passed away during Covid.  Headen’s father was a Steelton guy and was very active in the community.  His dad and mom were well-respected and knew lots of people in their community.  His dad also coached football and influenced quite a few lives.

Joe met his future wife, Susi, in the 6th grade.  To say she was a childhood sweetheart is an understatement.  “We’ve been lifelong friends.  No doubt about it, the love of my life,” he happily stated.  Joe and Susi have three children, two daughters and a son.  “Gabriella is a 10th grader in high school, Dominique teaches in Tampa, Florida, and Joe Joe (who played college football at Old Dominion) is on the football staff at Texas A&M,” said Headen.

Coach Headen attended Bishop McDevitt High School where he was a running back on the Wing-T offense they ran and a cornerback/safety on defense.  He graduated in 1990 and went to Bloomsburg where he played linebacker on the football team.  He tore his ACL as a freshman but was able to come back and play his junior and senior years.  Coach Headen received his college degree in secondary education comprehensive social studies.

This year will begin year 28 as a social studies teacher.  He says he comes from a long line of teachers, “My grandmother was a teacher.  My great grandmother was a teacher.  My uncle was a professor at Columbia.  My auntie was a teacher.  It was something I was meant to do.”

PM: “How did you get into coaching?”

JH: “It’s kind of a corny story.  I’ve told it a couple of times before.”  He then told of the time when he was 12 or 13 years old and his playground basketball team in Edgemont was to play another team from another playground.  He then had to organize and coach the team because someone didn’t show up that day.  The Edgemont team won and he thought, ‘that was pretty cool.’  Because some of the older kids listened to him, he also thought, ‘hey I really think I like this.’  As he got older, he absolutely enjoyed coaching.

He had learned a great deal from his football coach at Bloomsburg, Danny Hale, who is one of the winningest coaches in D-II history.  His defensive coordinator at Bloomsburg was another legend, John Devlin.  Both were very influential in his life as was his high school coach, Tim Rimpfel.  “In 1995 Rimpfel gave me a job at Cumberland Valley coaching the jayvees.  From Cumberland Valley I went to McDevitt where Four Chapman gave me an opportunity to coach with him.  I went to Harrisburg with Coach Chapman for three years and then went to Susquehanna Township where I’ve been ever since.  It was a cool feeling, right at the end of his coaching career, that I got to coach against the guy I admired the most,” he said of Rimpfel.

PM: “Coach, what inspired your ‘Hold the Rope’ speech?”

JH: “So, let’s go back.  That was almost 11 years ago (fall of 2013).  We were getting ready to play Hershey and at the time we needed to beat Hershey.  We needed to win two of our last games to make the playoffs.  We were just looking for something pre-game to motivate the kids.  I looked at some speeches on YouTube and was doing research.  We always went to camp at West Virginia.  Coach (Bill) Stewart, who passed away years ago, had said some things that resonated with me.  It wasn’t ‘hold the rope’ though.  There’s this cliché about holding the rope, staying on board, keeping everyone together.  Honestly, I just started speaking from the heart.  It was just one of those things.  I said what I was feeling.  I wanted to get the point across to the team.  I got the rope for a visual.  We put together a great game plan.  Both our running backs rushed for over 150 yards that game.  And we won.  We came together and had a nice run that year.”

“After that game, Michael Starling, who does all the Raw Sports stuff, said to me, ‘what you just did tonight, it’s going to live on forever.  It’s going to change some people’s lives.’  It’s gotten over one million views almost 11 years later.  I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me and said they’ve watched the video.  In fact, there’s a business man from Australia who still keeps in touch with me to this day.  That Australian business man has the words ‘Hold the Rope’ on his board room table.  It’s been pretty humbling to know that some words that you thought could inspire some football players ended up inspiring people well outside that realm.  It holds close to my vest to know that it was able to inspire not only a football team, but other people.”

PM: “How does that make you feel knowing you’ve inspired so many people?”

JH: “It was really humbling to have that video played as part of the pre-game to the Super Bowl.  People still watching it after 10 years means it’s still relevant and will hopefully be part of my legacy.”

PM: “Your answer leads right into one of my questions.  What do you want your legacy to be?”

JH: “I just want to be known as a guy that cared about kids and loved people.  I just want to leave them with something that they can pull in their lives from what we do and have a positive affect on people.  I love being around people.  My wife says I should have gone into politics.  I just want to leave a legacy that he was a guy who cared and wore emotion on his sleeve, a guy who tried to leave everyone better than when they met or when he found them.”

PM: “What is the biggest thrill you’ve gotten out of coaching to date?”

JH: “To see my former players be successful.  That, more than anything, more than championships or being Coach of the Year, that’s what it’s all about.  When I can see the players I coached 15 or 20 years ago, and they got families or I can see them successful with businesses… There’s no better feeling.  I try to treat these kids like I treat Dominique, Joe Joe, and Gabriella.  I’m going to treat them just like my kids.”

PM: “What is the most important concept you try to teach your players?”

JH: “You know what? I try to trick my kids into thinking I’m teaching them about football when I’m teaching them about life.  I tend to use an acronym with my kids to keep it R.E.A.L.  I want to teach them to be responsible.  I want them to know the most important thing they are doing right now is receiving an education.  I want to teach them to be accountable.  I want to teach them to be leaders.  We have enough followers.  The acronym R.E.A.L. stands for responsibility, education, attitude, and leadership.  We talk about it all the time.  So, to answer your question, I want to teach them to be responsible young men, get a great education, be accountable, and be leaders.”

PM: “How do you keep focused from year to year because not every year has gone the way you would have liked?  Also, how do you maintain the program at the level you’ve gotten it to?”

JH: “Wow!  That’s a good question.  I think a lot of it is, I hate to be cliché-ish, but is reminding the kids to keep trusting and respecting the process.  You learn a lot from these college coaches we’ve had in our lifetime, the Joe Paternos, the Bear Bryants, and the Nick Sabans.  I think high school football is cyclical for our public schools more than our private schools.  You’re going to have some tough years, years you struggle.”

“Three years ago, we were 0-10.  As silly as it sounds, that was probably the year I learned the most as a coach.  I learned it’s very important to keep kids focused and not let them quit.  The one thing I say about that year, was every Monday every kid still showed up.  We didn’t have one kid quit that year and they constantly worked.  We lost some future players because of that.  I told them we were going to get back to being successful.  And we definitely have.  We made a great run last year.  I think we have a good group this year.”

“Year in and year out, our kids are always competitive.  We play some of the best teams in Pennsylvania.  The one thing I am most proud of is our kids get opportunities to go to college.  I tell the kids and the parents, ‘you want to play college football and get a good education we will find a school.  It may not be the school you want, but you’ll get a great education and a chance to play football.’  It’s not just about wins and losses with our coaching (staff), but we’re going to make those young people turn into productive men.”

We changed gears and talked about the 2009 District Three championship game that turned out to be one of the greatest games I ever saw.  Susquehanna Township lost a heart breaker 35-29 to Manheim Central with 38 points being scored in the 4th quarter.  Township’s quarterback, Ben Dupree, was one of the best high school athletes I ever saw.  If you had the privilege to see him play, you know what I mean.  In fact, Dupree went on to play college ball at the Citadel and did very well.  “I remember that game clearly.  That was a heck of a football game,” said Coach Headen, “Dupree had that run near the end of the game….  I will say this, Ben Dupree was the best athlete I have ever coached.”

PM: “We talked about this a little earlier, but how would you define success in your opinion?”

JH: “We want to win as many games as we can and that’s definitely success on the gridiron.  But, in general, I think about my kids graduating and finding their niche.  College isn’t for everyone.  Graduates finding their niche in life.  That’s success off the field.  We always talk about the 50-year plan.  Life is short, but it can be long and difficult if you make the wrong choices.”

PM: “Is there anything about the high school game you’d like to see changed?”

JH: “I think our state does a really good job with the way they handle all they have to deal with in high school football.”

He then said that football is down some and believes it is not as popular and gets a bad rap by some.  “But I honestly believe that we help our young men to become better fathers, uncles, and workers by keeping them involved in football,” he stated.

PM: “What motivates you to keep coaching?”

JH: “Wanting to be successful.  We’ve never won a district championship.  So, from a pure coaching perspective that is definitely a driving force.  If that (answer) was 1A, 1B would be having a positive affect on someone’s life.  I love people.  My grandmother said find a job you like and you’ll never work a day in your life.  I don’t consider what I do, work.”

PM: “How long do you see yourself coaching?”

JH: “I try to take it on a year-to-year basis.  But I enjoy coaching.  I don’t know how long.  I know my wife enjoys getting me out of the house every now and then when I start sitting around here too much.”  (We laugh.)  “I really enjoy what I’m doing.  I don’t see myself calling it quits anytime soon.”

We talked some about the landscape of college football and how it’s changing with the advent of NIL.  He was recently asked by a coach for the number of one of his kids.  Headen thought the coach was talking about the kid’s phone number.  So, when he gave the coach the kid’s number the coach said, ‘no I mean the kid’s monetary number.’

We broached the topic of transfers and elite football schools like IMG Academy.  With all the elite high schools like IMG, St. Joes Prep, De Soto, Don Bosco, and so on he foresees a national high school league at some point.

PM: “If you could sit down with any football coach, past or present, who would it be?”

JH: “There’s two.  Living would be Nick Saban.  Deceased would be Eddie Robinson.  I think these two really stand out as program people but also the fact they produce good men.”

Mr. Headen then expressed his thoughts about Manheim Central’s legendary Hall of Fame coach, Mike Williams.  “Wherever he spoke, I would be there because he was epitome of local high school football,” said Headen, “it was neat to play against a guy who you wanted to model your program after.”  Coach Headen told of a playoff game in 2012 near the end of Williams’ career, that Susquehanna Twp. had won yet Williams spent a lot of time after the game talking football to Headen.  “That was so classy since his team had just lost,” he stated.  “He’s on my list of most influential people.”

PM: “What do you do with your spare time?”

JH: “I love going to the beach.  I love spending time with my family and friends.  My family is really, really close.  And I love cooking.  I also do carpentry.  I have a little shop in my garage.  When I want to get away, I just go there and start making stuff.”

PM: “How important is family support to you as a head coach when you are putting in all that time?”

JH: “It means everything.  I try to make sure in the summer that I spend as much time with my family as I can.  One thing I try to do is get my family involved with our program.  If there’s an event happening in school, my wife will be there.  My daughter will help.  So, it’s been a blessing.  I am blessed with a wife that gets it.”

Coach Headen tells the story of his wife having six sisters, coming over from Italy and sports not being a big thing.  When they got married, football was new to her but she learned the aspect of being a coach’s wife.  “I couldn’t ask for a better wife,” he said.  “Sometimes I get on her nerves, but she’s a keeper,” he added.

PM: What would your favorite meal consist of?”

JH: “Oh, man.  I would have to say my mother-in-law’s homemade gnocchi.  She passed away.  Those homemade gnocchi with her red sauce, that was my favorite meal.”

PM: “To top it off, what’s your favorite dessert?”

JH: “Oh, no doubt.  Apple pie with ice cream.”

PM: “Do you have a favorite movie?”

JH: “Yeah. Remember the Titans would probably be my favorite movie.  I love Star Wars too.  But probably 1 and 1A would be Remember the Titans and Rudy.”

PM: “Do you have a favorite TV show?”

JH: “Oh my goodness.  I love the old school comedies.  Any of the 1970s sitcoms like Sanford and Son, Good Times, or Archie Bunker (All in the Family).”

PM: “What is one thing most people don’t know about you?”

JH: “That I’m a closet soccer fan.  I enjoy watching international soccer.”

PM: “Anything else you’d like to comment on?”

JH: “No.  You asked some very good questions.  Some questions I’ve never been asked or rarely asked. I think we covered everything.  You really got me thinking today.”

Even though we were introduced by a mutual friend back in 2008, we had never talked since then.  But after conversing with Joe Headen for this article, I came away impressed with his caring about kids.  I also came away from this interview feeling like I’d just made a friend.  I felt the compassion this man has for the kids, for people, and for his goal of winning a District 3 crown.  One of these years, I just know his team will come together and hold the rope on their way to that elusive district title and possibly a state championship.

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