Vince D’Adamo: Be it as an student/athlete, coach, and broadcaster what have you enjoyed most about being involved in athletics?
Kent Fry: Coaching has brought out the greatest satisfaction. I loved the competition as a player, to prepare through practice, to excel and do the very best you can was very satisfying. Broadcasting is fun as you remain neutral in watching teams. You watch the execution of game plans and individual assignments and then convey that to the listeners.
Coaching though is special. You get to be involved with young men on the field to teach and develop skills, teamwork, ethics, hard work, strategy and confidence within themselves.
Being a wide receiver coach, I always had 10 players for two positions. The Top 4 were definitely going to see the field and playing time. No. 5 would see some but 6-10 would see maybe a few minutes every other game. My goal was to teach those 6-10 the confidence that they could compete and excel on the football field from start to finish so that when their number was called in the game or on the practice field, they knew where to line up, they knew their assignments and they knew how to execute the skill. That was my personal thrill, watching those kids gain confidence in themselves.
D’Adamo: It is often said that athletics and academics coexist, how much have you found that to be true?
Fry: Athletics and academics go together. First, there are standards that the section and/or league has that each student must maintain to compete in sports. Then, each high school may have standards that are higher than the league or section. Each school is different. From the beginning, each athlete knows that he or she must maintain a certain GPA, attend class, do homework, etc. If the athlete cannot maintain these standards, they come off the field. In both the classroom and the field, you must be prepared, you must have studied your game/lesson plan, then you must execute the skills. The hard work you put in studying and practicing will give you great rewards. You must earn the rewards, it will not be given to you. It will be the results from your individual efforts.
D’Adamo: You had the opportunity to be on Coach Les Franco's staff at both Napa and Vintage, what stood out most about him as a leader?
Fry: I spent most of my coaching career with Coach Les Franco and it was a wonderful, fantastic experience. Les, first and foremost, was a teacher. He teaches down to the detail. He, in my opinion, always made the kids his first and top priority. He wanted the kids to excel and he led by example that through hard work and preparation in practice, you could excel in the sport you were playing on and off the field. Les always let his coaches coach. He would never second guess you. That is because Les would teach his game plan to the coaches first and then we as coaches would teach the kids in our specific area. He would always let us coach.
Les would never get rattled in a game or practice. He would remain calm and make great football decisions on the field. Another thing I remember about coaching with Les is that he always wanted his teams to play the successful teams in the area. Elk Grove, Pittsburg, Antioch and Nevada Union are examples. It always made our teams better by playing high caliber opponents. Les’ only blight is he is an LA Dodger fan. I just cannot forgive him for that ….
D’Adamo: From a broadcaster's perspective, what do you most hope listeners get from hearing you?
Fry: Broadcasting is fun. It keeps me involved with “Friday Night Lights.” I know that is why you, Vince, continue to cover high school football. It is just a unique emotion to be involved somehow, some way with high school football. I try to paint a picture for the listeners so they can understand what is happening on the field. Not just use the comment “he ran for eight yards” but to convey what play was run …. Counter, dive, option drive, zones, pass routes, etc.
Of course it helps when you can get as many of the kids names on the radio as possible. Everyone likes hearing their name on the radio, especially parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, etc.
D’Adamo: Within your family, who have been the most influential people?
Fry: My family was and is a close family. They were always there to support me in my playing days. My older brother by five years would always have to take me along to play ball in the neighborhood. He taught me how to throw, catch, tackle, shoot baskets, etc. I was always competing against kids five years older than I was. It taught me confidence within myself. Mom still listens to the radio via the internet on game nights. My father, who has been gone for nine years, was a very special man. He was definitely influential in shaping my mind and beliefs. My father was a man’s man.
D’Adamo: Name a historical figure, dead or alive, in or out of sports you would most like to meet. What would intrigue you about meeting him or her?
Fry: There are so many historical figures that I would want to pick their brain. President Lincoln, Admiral Chester Nimitz, and Commander Richard O’Kane. These are just a few of the historical figures that fought hard battles head on.
I can say though that one of my biggest thrills was sitting in the Giants clubhouse in Scottsdale, arizona, for two hours with my childhood baseball hero, Willie Mays. Listening to him tell us about his coming up to the big leagues, his practice routines, the toughest pitchers he faced, talking about players in his era compared to the modern day players and his love of the game. Let me repeat that, his love of the game. That by far was one of my highlights in my coaching days. Go Giants!
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