Let me tell you a story…
about this guy.
Son of a coach and younger brother of a legendary quarterback, Noah Roehl grew up on the football practice field at Coupeville High School, building forts out of blocking pads and surviving off of stray orange wedges.
Later, he would go on to be a star Wolf player himself, before transitioning into his current role as a high school assistant coach in Seattle. These are his thoughts:
This column will be a little different then my previous two. This time I am going to take the chance to help promote a couple events that support a great cause!
Over a 20+ year span, from about 1984-2002, if you graduated from Coupeville High School you probably knew who coach Tom Roehl was. He was that large guy, sometimes with a full beard, sometimes with a wicked mustache, who looked like he could eat all of the food the PTA had piled into the concession stand cupboards.
He would post up at basketball or volleyball games by the northwest gym doors, talking with Ron Bagby, Vinny Sellgren and Larrie Ford. Who knows what those conversations were like — oh, to be a fly on the wall.
Many Coupeville High School alumni might only remember him as being the father of one of the Roehl’s, while others got to experience him first hand. Coach Roehl organized, coordinated, and refereed the Central Whidbey Youth Athletic Association basketball league for twenty years, was a Cub Scout leader and a little league baseball coach.
But his service to the Coupeville and Whidbey Island community went beyond just sports. He also served on the school board, the math curriculum committee and volunteered as a History Day judge. Frankly, it was probably hard to miss the guy, he was at A LOT of events and it was hard not to notice him.
While there are many great stories about coach Roehl over the years, the ones I remember most fondly are usually the ones where he transcends the title of coach and becomes more of a mentor.
For him, the lessons learned through sports and athletics were of equal importance as the lessons learned in the classroom. He also understood that the lessons learned on a Friday night could only truly be appreciated with a greater community perspective. To that end, coach Roehl was firmly dedicated to the academic achievements of athletes, as well as to the importance of involvement within one’s own community.
He had a special place in his heart for football and for football players.
His story is not one that many people probably know. He was an immigrant child, fleeing Germany with his mother post WWII. The two of them ended up in Philadelphia and his mother worked her tail off to support them both.
He was blessed with intelligence and hard work, and since he and his mother were both strong Catholics, he was given the chance to attend Joseph’s Prep School. While his education became a catalyst to open more doors down the road, football taught him how to work hard and tackle adversity. His studies were rigorous and his success on the football field wasn’t immediate.
His senior year he was able to win a catholic league championship as the center on the football team. He excelled with his education in the classroom and combined with the work ethic and teamwork in athletics, he was given the chance to attend college and expand his mind and beliefs even more.
Once he settled his family on Whidbey Island, it was his chance to give back.
It was an opportunity to give kids the perspective and guidance that he too got from others in his life growing up. However, he recognized that you couldn’t just preach, you had to give kids a chance to learn on their own, to fail, but more importantly, to be picked up so they could try again.
When the football team had suffered a hard loss on the road, he would wait a little longer before heading to the back of the bus to tell the seniors one of his slightly inappropriate jokes. He let the sting of the loss sit a little bit longer, but always picked the kids up so that they could continue to learn and grow.
This is what makes a place like Whidbey Island great and the Coupeville community special. While most kids can’t wait to get off “The Rock,” it is the learning opportunities in an environment that is supporting and nurturing that will help them succeed in their future endeavors.
The Tom Roehl Memorial Scholarship is only one of the many ways coach Roehl can continue to help students from Coupeville.
The fundraising efforts — the Tom Roehl Turkey Bowl and the Tom Roehl Round-ball Classic — not only raise money for a soon to be graduate who wants to “Get off the rock,” but it also gives the entire Whidbey Island community a chance to come together. We see faces and families that we might not see on a regular basis, and we all get a chance to celebrate values and opportunities that Whidbey Island and Coupeville High School has offered.
There are two events that are being organized this year to raise money for the scholarship. If you cannot attend one of them but would like to donate, you can still do so on the CF for CPS website or by mailing a check directly to the foundation.
Donations can be made online at: http://4coupevilleschools.org/or by mail to: The Community Foundation for Coupeville Public Schools (CF for CPS), PO Box 1500, Coupeville, Washington 98239. Checks payable to CF for CPS — please note that it is for the Tom Roehl Scholarship.
Tom Roehl Turkey Bowl:
November 23
10am-3pm
5 vs. 5 (mens) and 6 vs. 6 (coed) flag football tournament
For additional details and registration information please visit www.tjroehl.org
Tom Roehl Round-Ball Classic :
December 22
9am-3pm
5 on 5 basketball tournament
For additional details and registration information, please visit www.tjroehl.org
Coupeville Sports 