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Coaches' Corner: Paul Ingram

Paul Ingram knows football, that's for sure.

The offensive guru was a quarterback/punter at Falmouth High School before going on to play those same positions at Springfield College. After his playing days ended, a burning desire to want to teach the game to aspiring football players was formed within Ingram, so he began coaching on the Gloucester High School staff after graduating from Springfield in 1971.

His coaching career later blossomed into a 10-year stint at Danvers High School before returning to the Gloucester staff in 1991. Currently the 58-year-old Biology teacher at Gloucester High School is in his fifth year as the head coach for the Fishermen.

1. What brought you to the North Shore?
"My former high school football coach, Bob Yates, got a job as the Gloucester head coach. So he hired me in 1972, a year after I graduated from Springfield College, to help coach the offense."

2. Do you live in Gloucester?
"I lived in Gloucester for a while, but we currently live in Ipswich."

3. How much football did you play growing up?
"I played football, basketball and baseball at Falmouth High School. I had really good coaches at the high school level and I was able to earn a scholarship to Springfield College, which was Division 2."

4. What positions did you play in football?
"I started at quarterback in my senior and punted as a junior and senior. As a quarterback I did a little bit of everything. I ran and passed."

5. What do you enjoy most about coaching high school football?
"I just really enjoy working with the kids. It's great to get new kids every year and teach them your own system. In high school football you get to teach the kids the whole package and be involved in the entire system."

6. Your system is very run-oriented. Are you not a fan of a passing offense?
"In a perfect world we would have a perfectly balanced offense. But the way our offense is, we never seem to lose ground. I think as long as you can stay on schedule in high school football, you'll be fine. A lot of time finesse plays cause you to lose yardage. I think our offense builds an inner toughness in the kids."

7. Do you prefer college football or the NFL?
"College football, hands down. The college game is not predictable and it's just so much more fun to watch because things can change at any moment. College football just doesn't get promoted enough around here."

8. Do you agree with the Bowl Championship Series, or would you prefer a season-ending tournament in college football?
"I would like to see it in end with a tournament. But you would really be risking injury with that. It takes a while to get prepared for a game and the bodies need time to recuperate. That would be a lot more games for amateur athletes."

9. How much longer do you see yourself coaching?
"I'll probably retire in the next couple of years. I would never want to go anywhere after Gloucester and I wouldn't have the energy to."

10. How difficult has it been to coach in this community, where fans expect excellence all the time?
"This is my fifth year as a head coach here, but I've been a part of this for a long time so I know about the pressure. We do well on the field and I think we do a lot for the kids in the offseason that the fans don't see."