New St. Charles football coach Aaron Gordon strives for ‘small wins’ - mlive.com

ST. CHARLES, MI – Aaron Gordon claims St. Charles saved him.

Now, he wants to do the same for the St. Charles football program.

Gordon, a receiver for the Bulldogs in 1984-86, is the new St. Charles varsity football coach, taking over for Rick Weisbarth as St. Charles moves to the Mid-State Athletic Conference from the Tri-Valley Conference.

“I grew up in Saginaw the first 13 years of my life and went to South Elementary,” Gordon said. “I was not a good kid growing up. I made bad choices. Nobody’s fault but my own.

“But in my eighth-grade year, my parents move to St. Charles. This community, this school was a blessing to get me on the right path. I’ve always wanted to give back to the St. Charles community.”

Gordon, 50, lives in St. Johns and is a correctional officer at St. Louis Correctional Facility. He was the St. Charles junior varsity coach last season and has worked with the St. Charles baseball program.

“He knows the system, he knows the community, he knows the school, he knows the kids,” St. Charles athletic director Leon Larson said. “He understands the situation we’re in.”

St. Charles is coming off three consecutive 1-8 seasons competing in the Tri-Valley Conference West Division, but it will start its first season in the fall in the MSAC.

Gordon said he will expand the Michigan High School Athletic Association standards for academic eligibility.

“I’m not a fan of the MHSAA rules that a player can fail a class early in the week but can do makeup work to be eligible for the game,” Gordon said. “I have higher demands than most people do. It starts right in the classroom. I don’t want these young men and women failing at anything.

“There’s more to life than playing sports. Getting them prepared for society is more important. Build the kids in the classroom, and it will build the football program.”

Gordon played for St. Charles coach Bob Welzein in 1984, 1985 and 1986. After a 2-7 record in 1984, St. Charles posted an 8-2 record in 1985, losing 20-7 to Muskegon Catholic Central in the first round of the Class C playoffs. The Bulldogs were also 8-2 in 1986, falling to Grand Rapids South Christian in the first round of the Class C playoffs.

Gordon went on to play at Grand Valley State.

“Offensively, one of the things I believe in is balance,” Gordon said. “Keeping kids involved is a necessity, and a balanced offense is a necessity to keeping kids involved.”

Gordon played in the Central Michigan League and will see St. Charles move from the Tri-Valley Conference, where it is one of the smallest schools, to the MSAC, where it is the largest.

“I love our old roots, and I love our old conference,” Gordon said. “But we look at our numbers. We’ve got quite a few kids sign up to hit the weight room with us, but what scares us more than anything down the road is how many kids we have coming in. If we’re graduating 70-some and bringing in 40-some, that’s not a good equation.

“Things change every year though. People come into the district. People go out.”

The junior varsity team was 2-6 last season under Gordon.

“These kids have gone through the system, and they haven’t won,” Gordon said. “We have to start with small wins, things like winning in the classroom, and hope it carries over onto the football field.

“These kids have to know someone is in their corner, someone who isn’t going to blame them when something goes wrong. I believe in this community. I believe in these kids.”

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