Father no bother as Taylor piles up yards
Heading into each new season, Carmel Catholic football coach Andy Bitto meets with the parents of his players.
He explains rules, expectations and his "open door" policy, which is very open, by the way.
Bitto encourages parents to visit not only his office whenever they have concerns, but to visit practice anytime they like as well.
"We've had parents come and watch practice - definitely," Bitto said. "I just never thought I'd have anyone come and watch every day."
And Bitto means every day.
John Taylor not only watches practices each day during the season, he'll come to summer workouts and both sessions of two-a-days during the preseason. He rarely misses. Ever.
He figures it's time well spent with his son - and his other "sons."
Taylor spent much of his time in recent years working tirelessly as both a coach and an administrator for the Grayslake Colts youth football program.
Seven players who are currently starters at Carmel played football for the Colts under Taylor, including son Mike, who has been one of the Corsairs' biggest stars in their 7-1 campaign.
Taylor values being able to stay closely connected with his son and former players such as Pat Lyons, Sean Griffin, Steven Lester, Ryan Hrabak, Jack Berg and Pat Cox. And as the owner of his own construction and home building business, he's got a job that affords him the time to do so.
"I think people who know I do this (attend practices daily) think I'm a way out there kind of person, maybe a little bit odd. And I guess I am kind of odd, a little bit eccentric," laughed Taylor, who even plans his doctor's appointments around Carmel practices. "But I really enjoy being there everyday. I like the analytical part of football and watching what goes into (a game plan) during practice.
"The other thing is that I just have a lot of loyalty to these kids. I spent a lot of years with this group. Those kids are like sons to me. I guess this is my way of still supporting them. I think they kind of like the fact that 'Hey, there's someone watching how I do even in practice.'"
When Taylor watches his own son in particular, he can't help but smile extra wide.
Mike began the season as a running back for the Corsairs but, due partly to injuries to others, he was moved three weeks later to fullback, the premier position in Carmel's option offense.
Taylor, who worked tirelessly with a personal trainer over the off-season to increase his speed and strength, seems to have found his comfort zone. So far this season, he's rolled up 13 touchdowns and 967 yards on 126 carries - numbers that have caught the attention of all kinds of college recruiters.
"I'm short," laughed the 5-foot-8 Taylor, when asked why fullback seems to suit him so well. "It's harder to see me under the piles and behind our big linemen.
"I think my vision helps a lot, too. I have pretty good vision and can get to the holes."
Speaking of vision, what does Taylor think about seeing his dad in the stands every day? Most teenagers like their independence and don't want their parents always hanging around.
"He's been to everything of mine for awhile now, so this is really no different for me. I'm used to it," Taylor said. "I really don't mind it. When I was a lot younger, he worked for someone else and he was gone a lot and always at work and now that he has his own business and can make time for something like this, I think this is kind of his way of making up for being gone so much. And if that makes him happy, I'm fine with it."
And so are Mike's teammates. Those who played for his dad in the old days still call him "Coach Taylor" when they see him at practice each day.
"My friends on the team love my dad," Taylor said. "They don't mind him being around either. Everyone knows he just likes to be up-to-date on what we're doing and that he just really likes being out there."
It helps that "Coach Taylor's" involvement ends there.
Mike says that his dad doesn't use his knowledge of what happens at practice to critique his every move at the dinner table later that night. If he did, Mike says that he might not be so agreeable to his Dad's "routine."
"Sometimes he'll mention something-more like 'What were you guys doing on that play?' Stuff like that," Taylor said. "He knows that it would make me mad if he were (critiquing everything). So most of the time, he doesn't say much."
And "Coach Taylor" says even less to Bitto and the other Carmel coaches during practice.
"I don't think he's ever said a word," Bitto said. "He just likes watching what we're doing, watching his son."
Passing on the passion: Interestingly, John Taylor never played football in high school.
But two of his best childhood friends did. And Taylor believes that by showing passion for the game and supporting the young men who play it, he's honoring his friends the best way he knows how.
That's what has motivated him all these years to be extra involved with the Grayslake Colts and Carmel.
Taylor was a student at Warren in the late 1970s and was good friends with football stars Tom Schnur and Roger Siegerdt.
One September afternoon in 1978, about an hour before football practice, Schnur and Siegerdt were driving in north Libertyville when their car was hit broadside by another car. Siegerdt, a wingback for the Blue Devils, was pronounced dead shortly after the accident occurred. Schnur, the team's star running back, fell into a coma and died 26 days later.
The 30th anniversary of Schnur's death was Wednesday.
"I have never forgotten those guys or that moment or what they meant to me," Taylor said. "The entire thing had such an affect on me as a high school senior. I don't think I've ever told anyone just how much. It was devastating to me and I've carried that around my entire life. I've been grieving for 30 years.
"One of the reasons I got into coaching football in the first place was that I saw that as such a tribute to (Schnur and Siegerdt). I wanted to teach kids how to play football like they did, and how to be the great sports that they were. To me, coaching has been kind of like therapy."
pbabcock@dailyherald.com