Minnetonka gets some sage advice

As the offensive linemen from Minnetonka High School worked on the blocking sled at practice Wednesday, two voices directed the drills.

One coach said, "Stay low! Keep your butts down!" The other chimed in, "Work on your punch technique with quickness! Elbows down! Good! Way to fire those hands!"

The teenage players were under the tutelage of a couple of veterans -- men who were born in the 1930s, graduated from high school in Minneapolis in the 1940s, and might form the oldest duo of assistant coaches in Minnesota.

Roger French is 78. John Mattox is 79. And the Minnetonka Skippers love them both.

"They really connect well with us," said senior lineman Billy Bob May. "We have a lot of fun with them, and they do a great job of coaching."

French walks with a cane, thanks to hip and knee trouble, and he and Mattox usually traverse the practice field on a golf cart. They have known each other since high school; Mattox went to Minneapolis West and French to Minneapolis Central.

French, who joined the Minnetonka staff this season, is a football lifer. He was a three-year letter-winner with the Gophers, graduating from Minnesota in 1952. He began his coaching career a year later as a Gophers graduate assistant before his career took him to Memphis, Wisconsin, back to the Gophers and then 20 years at Brigham Young. He also coached in Europe and the Canadian Football League, as well as at Bloomington Kennedy (where Mattox was also on the staff) and Maple Grove. For the past five years he was the head coach at Minneapolis Patrick Henry.

French was at BYU when the Cougars won the 1984 national championship, and among the players he helped develop were BYU's Steve Young, Ty Detmer, Jim McMahon and the Gophers' Tony Dungy. He has been inducted into the BYU and the Minnesota Football Coaches Association halls of fame.

Mattox coached youth teams in several sports and coached high school football at St. Louis Park, Blake and Bloomington Kennedy. He also had a stint with the Arena Football League's Minnesota Fighting Pike. He has been at Minnetonka since 2002.

"Ever since I've been coaching, I've been talking to Roger," Mattox said. "If I had a problem, I'd call Roger and he always had an answer."

Both French and Mattox (also known as "Mad Dog") help Minnetonka head coach Dave Nelson with the offensive line.

"They both bring a little something different," Nelson said. "Our players love Mad Dog; he gets involved with them, he brings them over to his house for lineman feeds. He's a character and the kids just love him. And Roger brings an unbelievable amount of knowledge and experience and wisdom. He's been great and the kids really like him, too."

When the Skippers play at Eden Prairie tonight in the Class 5A, Section 6 championship game, the old-time coaches will be in their usual positions -- Mattox on the sideline and French in the press box. In this world of instant video and computerized scouting, French works with a pencil and a legal pad during games.

"I'm looking at the defenses and trying to analyze what defenses they're using and how they're using them," he said. "Looking for alignments, blitz situations and things like that."

The Minnetonka players might not be old enough to fully appreciate their old-time coaches' résumés, but they know football wisdom when they see it.

"They just have a sense for the game," said senior tight end Tucker Pearson. "You can ask them a question about any position and they know what you're talking about."

For Mattox and French, being together on the football field means everything.

"I've always set a goal that I was going to go as long as I could go, coaching and trying to help kids get better in some way," French said. "It's a lot of fun. You've got to have enjoyment in your life, and football's my enjoyment."

Mattox added, "I don't know where I'd rather be. I hope the kids get something out; I get a lot out of it. It keeps you young."

John Millea • jmillea@startribune.com