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Jun 12, 2023

Herzog had legendary coaching career

(EDITOR’S NOTE - This is the final in a series of articles that have appeared in the Times News during the summer, highlighting former area coaches and athletes as they reflect on their careers and

(EDITOR’S NOTE - This is the final in a series of articles that have appeared in the Times News during the summer, highlighting former area coaches and athletes as they reflect on their careers and discuss their current endeavors.)

Passionate, meticulous, and also the ultimate teacher and disciplinarian.

They are some of the “buzz” words usually associated with former Northern Lehigh coaching legend Todd Herzog.

A four-year letter-winner, and 1986 graduate of Northern Lehigh, Herzog compiled a phenomenal coaching resume over his 18 years at the helm of the his alma mater. Herzog resigned from his post in 2013, and recently retired from his 32-year teaching career in the district in June.

During his time, he coached 49 league champions, 35 district champions, 20 regional champions, four state champions, 63 state qualifiers, 43 state medalists, five NCAA All-Americans and 18 wrestlers in the 100 wins club. He also recorded 17 consecutive winning seasons.

While it has been 10 years since Herzog was last on the mat, there are still plenty of lingering effects.

“Not only did he instill intense passion and determination in us which he could feel, but he also used it as motivation,” said Corey DeBias who was a state champion. “He also had a way of listening to his athletes’ words and their bodies, adjusting workouts and training when we needed to do it.

“Coach was so instrumental in getting so much out of so many, I’m forever thankful for having him in my corner.”

Yet, it all began humbly for Herzog when he took over the reins from longtime legendary head coach Bob Kern. Herzog’s team produced an 8-10 record his first year, and that was enough to kick everything into high gear.

He also geared his expectations to the limit.

“I had a losing record my first year, and it really annoyed me,” recalled Herzog. “It wasn’t good enough. I knew I had to make some major changes. There were some wrestlers that didn’t quite fit what I was looking for at the time.

“I wanted to build a state and nationally-ranked program. We were a small school, but I was convinced that I could do it. I brought up a big freshman class, and they were very hungry. You could see the passion and how they wanted to succeed.

“I knew that I was headed in the right direction.”

Fortunately for Herzog, he was right. His team posted a 16-2 record the following season with league and district championships. The Bulldogs’ program found its way back to the elite end of the Lehigh Valley wrestling scene, and it was ready to clear a few more hurdles under Herzog.

It was the beginning of a program that was embedded with the simple working blocks of hard work, determination, humility, and character.

Like any great teacher, Herzog wanted to learn his craft from his most-recognized peers. He molded his program after Kern, as well as high-profile coaches such as Nazareth’s Ray Nunamaker, Northampton’s Don Rohn, Easton’s Steve Powell, and Wilson’s Dave Crowell, the latter with whom he recounted many numerous battles. Herzog communicated with all of them as much as possible.

There were also some unusual parts as well. Just take any Thanksgiving Day morning during his stay. Herzog assembled his team for a sunrise workout. Their motto became “create an unfair advantage for yourself while your opponent was still sleeping on Thanksgiving morning.”

“Every Thanksgiving morning, we would trail run and workout with rocks on the side of the Appalachian Trail,” he stated. “We would grind out a few miles and then spring up the mountain side. Then the guys would pick up the biggest rock they could find and do squats and presses with it. Then we would run back as a team before the guys returned home for their family gatherings.

“We would be done working out by the time our opponent woke up.”

Herzog believed in team bonding and created as many opportunities as possible throughout the year. He also worked to strengthen ties with the families. With the influx of individual and team championships, the old adage of winning is contagious soon rose to a new level.

Satisfaction became a never-ending goal.

“We managed to perpetuate it,” noted Herzog about his program’s success. “The kids believed in themselves, and they truly believed they would win every time they went out there. There wasn’t any fear or anxiety around.

Once we reached a level of winning a league title, we wanted more. A district title wasn’t enough. We were always constantly looking to improve. We never wanted to become complacent and satisfied with where we were. We strived to maintain the passion in the kids.”

Herzog recalled the fiery showdowns with rival Northwestern over the years, and witnessed the passion instilled in his grapplers.

“Those were great matches,” he gushed. “At times, it was indescribable. It was the excitement in the crowd, and the electricity in the building. This was a backyard battle, but in the end, the kids respected each other, and they could hang out with one another. The kids got the message that we were trying to send them.”

Former wrestler Adam Hluschak – the school’s all-time wins leader with 160, and the only Bulldog wrestler to record four medals at states - has not only seen the fierce competitor in Herzog, but also another side.

“Coach is like a hungry lion with a heart of gold,” offered Hluschak, who was a district and regional champion along with a runner up at states. “He only knows one speed inside the wrestling room, and that’s 100 m.p.h. On the flip side of that, he cares deeply about the kids he coached and those close to him.

“To this day, I know I can always count on him for advice and a good heart-to-heart talk. That side of him is often overshadowed by the intense side. He pushed us to the limit every day, and we were never going to be physically broken by anyone due to the training regime he had us on.”

Hluschak has transformed his wrestling days into his current lifestyle.

“Those workouts stick with me to this day,” he added. “When I’m having a tough day at work or at home with my kids, I just think to myself that it’s not as tough as coach’s practices.”

He also reflected on a time when he and three other senior wrestlers rode with Herzog to regionals and states.

“We really got to bond with him off the mat during those drives,” stressed Hluschak. “He’s a great guy, and has a wealth of knowledge about music, movies, sports, history, etc. It was the ride of a lifetime, and I’d do it again if I had the chance.”

Current Bulldogs head coach Scott Snyder wrestled for Herzog, and appreciated the foundation that was laid for him.

“Todd was goal-oriented, and an excellent motivator,” he said. “He encouraged wrestlers to set high goals with the idea that if you didn’t accomplish your goal, you ended up in a much better place than if you would have been without it. He was very intense in the wrestling room, and was not afraid to call wrestlers out for not doing what they were capable of doing.

“Individuals who bought into his ideas were successful, and I will never forget the journey he guided us through, and the relationships that were formed along the way.”

The connections also hit close to home, as Herzog’s son, Ty, wrestled for him and produced 95 wins before he graduated in 2013. It also was Herzog’s primary reason for resigning, so he could see his son continue his career at Roger Williams University.

Their relationship was purely business, yet there was a close bond.

“We never really discussed things as coach and wrestler at home,” said Herzog. “It was a father-son thing, but we knew what lines we could cross. I wanted to be there for him and watch him wrestle in college.”

The younger Herzog understood his father’s overall approach, and it all came together when he became an All-American.

“His intensity was omnipresent, day in and day out in the room,” said Ty. “But I will never forget the feeling after stepping off the mat at nationals my senior year of college after winning in the round to become an All-American. Sharing that moment with my dad and mom was one of the most profound moments of my life.

“It’s like all these memories are swirling through my head - all the freezing cold gyms at 6 a.m., all the missed meals to make weight, all the third periods where you are dead tired; but you’ve got to keep wrestling, all the wrestle offs against fellow teammates, all the traveling to offseason tournaments though elementary and middle school, even the extra summer and holiday workouts we put in - it all culminated in that moment right there.

“I was obviously happy to share the moment with my college coaches also, but my dad being there to have the perspective of a literal lifetime of progress really made it special.”

Herzog’s brother, Brent, knew Todd looked for every advantage.

“Todd was always seeking knowledge of new ways to train, and he was an innovator in conditioning and nutrition,” he said. “He did not like kids starving themselves, and he always felt if you trained properly with proper nutrition, you would be healthier.

“His passion was not just during the season, but he was always thinking about wrestling and learning new things to better himself as a coach and in turn, making his athletes better. We would be at family gatherings during the offseason and family members would say to us, ‘Hey guys it’s summertime. Why are we talking about wrestling?’ ”

Like every success story, Herzog has experienced some difficult times. He still has vivid memories about the day he learned of the death of former wrestler Duane Lucien, who was killed in a car crash in July 2000. Lucien, a 1999 graduate, was a district and regional champion, and had continued his career at Bloomsburg University.

And like any great teacher, Herzog learned something from him.

“He was so unorthodox, it drove me crazy,” said Herzog. “He usually did the opposite of what I told him. I never saw a district and regional champion coming from him.

“He taught me that sometimes you can put a round peg in a square hole. He also made me a more flexible coach. I took off on that.

He changed my life, and I’ll never forget him. I gave the eulogy at his funeral, and it was the toughest thing I ever did.”

Recently, Herzog returned from Montana, where he was a camp counselor at Explorations - a boarding school where troubled students are encouraged and directed to make healthy choices in their lives. Some of the adventure skills are rafting, canoeing, mountain biking, and back-country hiking.

It’s yet another chapter about a man who truly has found his calling to motivate and mold in the only way he can – through passion and discipline.

“I have been doing it for five summers, and it has been amazing,” said Herzog. “I am glad I have had the opportunity to work at it. It has been a great experience to do my part to help make these kids’ lives better.”

For Herzog, it isn’t anything new.