Veteran high-school coach stresses student-athlete development.
By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
Fenton’s new football coach has some history in the program.
Matt Lynch, who replaced Mark Kos as head coach, was the Bison’s defensive coordinator under former coach Mark Carmen in 2003.
Lynch comes to Fenton after a 10-year head-coaching stint at Marengo High School in McHenry County. Lynch’s Marengo teams made playoff appearances in 2015 and 2016. His 2015 team started off 12-0 and advanced to the state semifinals, the school’s best showing since 1997.
Lynch also was an assistant coach at Dundee-Crown and Conant high schools. He’s a 1991 graduate of Dundee-Crown and went on to play linebacker at Illinois State University.
“I loved working at Fenton with the kids, the staff and the community,” said Lynch. “It’s a familiar place to me. I enjoyed my time there (previously).”
When Lynch was an assistant at Fenton, he was working in the insurance industry as a life-insurance underwriter.
“The reason I left is because Mark Carmen convinced me to get my master’s degree in education and go into the education field,” he said. “I left the business world and haven’t looked back. I love working with young adults. It’s been extremely enjoyable to me. These last 21 years have been tremendous.”
Lynch said Fenton rolled up its sleeves during the summer contact period.
“What didn’t we do?” he asked. “I will tell you this: This is a great group of young men. I came in here and completely flipped the program on them with the way we’ve done things. They have never expressed any disapproval. They have taken things in stride and turned things up. They have a lot of heart and accountability. They have been nothing but tremendous from the first day I met them to the practice we had today. They are fantastic. I have no complaints.”
Lynch said his main focus is on developing this year’s group of players.
“Every team, no matter what school or who the coach is, every year is a rebuilding year,” he said. “That’s high-school football. With us, we’re starting from square-one and we are trying to move the pegs up the mountain one-percent every day.”
Lynch also is not concerned with wins and losses as the ultimate end result. “I’m 100 percent pro kid,” he said. “I view coaching and teaching as it is my obligation to give them what they deserve to have. We are all in here 100 percent in terms of what that kid needs to grow as a human being. I view that as my responsibility. We don’t measure success on wins and losses. We measure it on the experiences these kids gain.”
Lynch said it’s too early to tell where the Bison will excel on the field this fall.
“I can tell you we will compete every time,” he said. “Every team I’ve been a part of has competed. I look at competing differently than most people do. I think about competing in life where you have high expectations in the classroom, at home, in the hallways and on the field. You do everything you possibly can to better your life. This has always been bigger than football. Football just happens to be the byproduct.”
Lynch also has been thrilled with the group’s work ethic. “They have a willingness to work and get better,” he said. “When I tell you this is a great group of kids, I mean the seniors are no different than the freshmen and the freshmen are no different than the seniors. This is a brotherhood here. It’s family. We have to do everything we can to make sure our brothers are OK. From the time we start until the time we end practice, there is no one individual in the program. It’s all about the team.”
Lynch, who will teach special education at Fenton, knows the Bison will again be tested in the competitive Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division.
“It’s a very competitive conference with great teams and great coaches,” he said.
Fenton will hold its annual Blue and Orange Scrimmage night this Friday at the high school. The freshmen and sophomores will take the field at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity at 7:15 p.m.
