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Sports

Pikesville Football Coach Hoping to Prepare Players for Success Both On and Off the Field

Jamie Willis is entering his fourth season as Pikesville High School's football coach.

It wasn’t long after his playing career ended that Jamie Willis realized he wanted to get involved in coaching.

“I knew that I wanted to stay around the game,” Willis said. “Most of all, I wanted to be able to serve as a mentor to kids.”

Willis, a former tight end at Youngstown State University (1987-91) is now entering his fourth season as Pikesville High School’s football coach. Prior to taking over at Pikesville, Willis had coaching stints at Brea High School (OH), his alma mater, as well as at Youngstown State, Bowling Green State, Otterbein College and Long Reach High School in Columbia (MD). As a player, he was a part of Youngstown State’s national championship team in 1991.

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And while Willis hopes to one day be able to bring a championship to Pikesville as well, he hopes even more to be able to prepare his players to achieve success off the field, saying, “I just want to see kids better themselves.”

“I want them to learn that what happens on the field can actually translate to what goes on in their everyday life,” Willis said. “Everything’s not going to be pretty, everything’s not going to be easy. But if you’re willing to work, you’re going to make things better.”

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And as he says, “I may yell and scream at times, but my players know if they need anything at all, regardless of what it is, they can come to me.”

Forced to overcome a considerable amount of adversity growing up, including having his mother, grandmother and grandfather all die during a span of just three years early in his childhood, Willis said he was fortunate to gain mentors through football that ultimately served as "father-figures” to him. One in particular, Bob Cistolo, who was a freshman football coach at Brea High School when Willis was there, played perhaps the biggest role.

“His home became like my second home,” Willis said. “Anytime I needed something, I could go to him.”

Now, Willis hopes to be able to be a similar role-model for his players at Pikesville, noting that “I’m a better person for what I’ve been through, and it gives me the drive I have to wake up, go to work every day and talk to, encourage, and try to better these kids.”

“I’ve always known I wanted to do something with kids,” Willis said. “Not having a father-figure growing up, but having coaches step up and fill that role for me, I’ve always wanted to be able to give back and be able to do the same for somebody else.”

Panthers quarterback Julian Barnes said, “He’s a really outgoing person and will help you when you’re in need.”

Willis also has lofty goals as a football coach as well, though, saying, “I want to be the best coach I can possibly be.”

And although Pikesville has qualified for the playoffs just four times in school history, Willis hopes to be able to deliver the program’s first-ever state championship. Two of the Panthers’ four playoff appearances have come under Willis.

“Our goal is to eventually win a state championship,” Willis said. “Our goal every year is to win the county championship, go to the playoffs, win the regional championship and eventually the state championship.”

He added, “We’ll continue to strive for those goals, and work every day to reach them.”

Read more about the team:

, a story from last season.

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