By Joseph Staszewski
Marco Battaglia remembers a time during his early years at St. Francis Prep when football coach Vince O’Connor was perceived to be unapproachable even when nothing could have been further from the truth.
“You hear of this man who is a legend, who is standing on the opposite field,” the former NFL tight end said. “He’s right there. You can go over and say hello to him, but you won’t.”
Once you did, you met a man who built his success and his legacy more on the relationships he fostered with his players than on any play or defense he installed during his 62 seasons at SFP. O’Connor, who died on Valentine’s Day at the age of 85, took the time and made the effort to connect personally with every kid who put on a Terriers uniform.
“It always came back to relationships,” SFP associate head coach Rich Carroll said. “Just make sure you have a good relationship with the kids. That will be more important than all the Xs and Os you can teach. The kids need to have those relationships.”
O’Connor built them with his quick wit, compassionate smile and soft-spoken manor. If he wanted your attention, a simple grab of the forearm and some eye contact got it and kept it because he cared what you had to say. If you came into his presence later in life, O’Connor, who won 341 games and 16 CHSFL titles, remembered you, your team and your family.
“Mr. O’Connor was always comfortable and engaging, always,” said former player Kyle Flood, the current football coach at Rutgers. “One of the most approachable people I’ve even been around, as accomplished as he was. When you were speaking to Mr. O’Connor, you really felt like you were the most important person in the world.”
That simple and meaningful connection is why approximately 200 people flooded St. Francis Prep to pay their final respects to O’Connor during his funeral Feb. 19. Hundreds more attended his wake the two days prior. Those personal talks with O’Connor inspired his kids to not only be successful on the field, but also to strive to make him proud of them as people.
“Coach always knew what was going on and the right thing to say,” senior quarterback Rob Einerson said “He would pull each guy over individually and talk to them personally to see how they were doing like we were all his family. Every time I spoke to coach he always ended up making me not only a better football player, but also a better person.”
O’Connor’s lessons will not be lost. The majority of the Terriers’ coaches are his former players, including Carroll, who has taken over many of the head coaching duties in recent years.
The face of the St. Francis Prep football program may no longer physically be with the Terriers and his name will no longer be on the roster, but O’Connor’s legacy is etched in places it cannot be erased or lost — the hearts of all of his former players and coaches.
O’Connor’s place in the program and values with which it was run will live on.
“I don’t think St. Francis Prep football will ever be without Coach O’Connor,” Carroll said. “He will always be the head coach of the program no matter who becomes titled head coach. Coach O’Connor is the father of the program. I don’t think that will ever get lost.”
