EDMONDS — Minutes after grunting and groaning their way through a grueling weight-lifting session this week, three grinning football players plopped down on a bench.
Instead of sitting side by side they arranged themselves like train passengers, with their legs straddling the backless bench. The guys in the middle and rear seats briefly imitated monkeys, pretending to pluck bugs from the head of the closest teammate.
Then came train noises: Chugga-chugga-chugga! Woo-woo!
By then several dozen players had gathered to listen to John Gradwohl, head coach of the Edmonds-Woodway High School football team. Gradwohl slowly scanned the goofy group as one of the train-mimickers asked, “Do you want us closer, coach?”
“No!” Gradwohl barked before smiling. “I don’t want you any closer.”
Gradwohl, E-W’s 12th-year coach, quickly shifted gears from fun to intense focus. Players adjusted and listened intently to his message, which centered on preparing for tonight’s big game against unbeaten Kamiak.
It was a telling snapshot from another enjoyable but productive week for E-W. The Warriors are 5-0, have outscored foes 243-73 and are ranked No. 4 in the WashingtonPreps.com Class 4A poll. They’ve done it with an effective mix of silliness and concentration that starts with Gradwohl.
“He’s just a cool guy. He knows how to relate to us and keep us focused,” E-W quarterback Kyle McCartney said.
“We can joke around,” McCartney added. “But we know that when he gets his game face on we really have to focus and get down to business.”
Business has been good for the Warriors. Last season they won 12 straight games before losing to Bothell in the 4A state semifinals. It was the best season in team history and another step forward under Gradwohl, who has turned a program that once struggled with low turnout into a consistent winner.
After spending five years as an offensive coordinator at two California high schools, Gradwohl, a 1983 Woodway High graduate, returned home and got his first head coaching gig. He applied for openings at Mountlake Terrace and Edmonds-Woodway. His interview for the E-W position came first, and he quickly accepted the job offer.
He set out to restore at E-W the strong football tradition he enjoyed at Woodway, which won league titles in 1982 (Gradwohl’s senior season), 1984 and 1989.
It wasn’t easy. Despite the merger of Woodway High and Edmonds High, E-W’s football program wasn’t attracting enough student-athletes and was stuck near the bottom of the division.
Gradwohl’s first team went 1-8. He started devoting more time and resources to local youth programs, aiming to cultivate the valuable depth that the area’s top squads had.
Slowly but surely, it worked. Following a few seasons in which E-W had just 10 or 11 seniors, the number grew to 19 by 2000. The Warriors went 6-3 that year and have had just one losing season since. They’ve won at least a share of the past three Western Conference South Division titles.
Gradwohl isn’t satisfied but said, “I feel good about where we’ve gotten.”
It might not have happened without a life-changing experience in college. Gradwohl played football for legendary coach Frosty Westering at Pacific Lutheran University. It changed Gradwohl’s life.
“He’s the reason why I’m a coach today,” Gradwohl said, noting that all of his coaching philosophies and team-building techniques came from Westering, who compiled a 305-96-7 record in 40 seasons as a college coach.
Gradwohl, a hybrid tight end/receiver at PLU, played for Westering from 1987-1989, helping the Lutes win the NAIA Division II national championship in ‘87. Gradwohl said he learned that a positive attitude, close bonds and unselfishness can help a team overcome physical limitations.
E-W has plenty of talented players — like McCartney, running back/linebacker Tony Heard and receiver/defensive back Antoinne Wafer — but it takes more than talent to win. And winning should never come at the cost of having fun, Gradwohl said.
“Isn’t that why we’re all involved in this? The bottom line is having fun, and that’s what we try and do,” he said.
It works, largely because Gradwohl connects with E-W players on many levels.
“He’s a person who wants to get to know you and wants you to be a part of the team. He goes out of his way to help you,” said Wafer. “He’s more of a student/coach, like one of us. He’s kind of like a player, but he’s calling the plays.”
Said Heard, “He’s the one that gave me confidence in my ability.”
Gradwohl’s caring but demanding nature makes him more than just a coach who rebuilt E-W’s once-lowly program.
“He’s like a father to me,” Heard said. “I can talk to him about anything.”
Contact Herald Writer Mike Cane at mcane@heraldnet.com. For more high school sports news, check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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