New Middletown H.S.North Football Coach Is Inspired By His Father

NEW MIDDLETOWN NORTH HEAD COACH STEVE BUSH ACQUIRED HIS PASSION FOR FOOTBALL FROM HIS FATHER

By Mike Ready

 MIDDLETOWN – Steve Bush was raised a ‘Football Brat.’ When Steve was five years old, his father Harry accepted the head coaching job at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. It was a position the elder Bush would hold for 23 years (1965-1988).

 “Some of my earliest memories as a kid are talking football and watching film with my dad, “Bush recalled. “He would bring home game film and we would talk about play calling and work on new plays. I learned a lot at an early age. I went to every game and the players treated me as if I was part of the team.”

 Harry Bush led his Ridge High School football teams to six conference championships, had 12- consecutive winning seasons (1969-1981) and had 20-straight regular season victories (1976-78). In 1987, his team won the state championship and he was named Regional Football Coach of the Year. He was inducted into the Ridge High School Hall of Fame in 2004. Bush coached football for 50 years at both the high school and college level, including Dickinson College, Hofstra University, Lehigh University and Princeton University.  Harry Bush passed away at the age of 87 June 13th, 2012.

 Steve Bush was a starting outside linebacker for his father during the 1977-78 seasons and was a part of the 20-game regular season winning streak. He was selected All-Somerset County and All-Area first team linebacker and was awarded a scholarship to Southern Connecticut State College.

 “It was something very unique playing for my father,” Bush said. “My father was a great person and was blessed with an incredible football mind. Football allowed us to bond in a way that was very special to both of us. But it was tough at times too, fans could be pretty rough on him as coach, and I heard it all growing up. And when he yelled at my friends in practice that could be rough too. But it was worth every minute, I learned so much from him and have such fond memories.”

 As a player for the Southern Connecticut State Owls, Bush was a defensive back and captained his team during his senior season (1981). Bush still holds the schools record for interceptions in one game with four.

 While at Southern Connecticut, Bush played and coached under head coach Kevin Gilbride, former San Diego Charger head coach (1997-98) and long-time offensive coordinator of the New York Giants. On that same staff was current University of Connecticut head coach Paul Pasqualoni, Bush’s offensive coordinator his junior and senior seasons. This began a long string of brilliant football mentors that shaped Bush’s way of thinking football strategy.

 Bush left his graduate assistant post at Southern Connecticut in 1984 to become the defensive coordinator of Springfield College. Two years later he was hired as the defensive coordinator/linebacker coach at the University of New Haven where he coached under head coach Chris Palmer. Palmer is the former head coach of the Cleveland Browns (1999-2000) and most recently offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans (2011-12). He has 40-years of coaching experience, 20 in the NFL.

 Former Miami Dolphins head coach and current Oakland Raider asst. head coach Tony Sparano was offensive line coach on that staff at New Haven.

 Palmer left to become head coach at Boston University and brought along his two young assistant coaches, Steve Bush and Tony Sparano. Bush was defensive coordinator/secondary coach, while Sparano took over as offensive coordinator.

 After two seasons coaching at Boston University (1998-99) Bush felt he needed to spend more time with his family (wife Maria, and four children, Kacey, Kevin, Leah and Shane).

 “I had four children, three very young at the time,” Bush remembers. “I wanted to continue to coach but I wanted to be more involved in my kids’ lives. College coaching is very demanding with travel, recruiting and there is no off-season. High School coaching gave me a chance to see my kids grow up.”

 Bush stayed in the Boston area becoming head coach at Longmeadow (MA) High School (1990-92). There he won 22-straight games and the Western Mass. Championship.

 When the Manalapan High School head coaching position became available in 1993, Bush decided to accept the job at the struggling program and move his family back to New Jersey. In six seasons at Manalapan (1993-99), he guided the Braves to a 36-30-1 record, three conference championships and three state playoff appearances.

 In the 1996 NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV playoffs his Manalapan squad was defeated by his current team Middletown North, 27-24.

 “I remember that game well,” said Bush. “We were up by 10 entering the fourth quarter; we fumbled twice and ended up losing by three points. While I was at Manalapan I remember those North games always being really hard fought and their player's being extremely tough and physical. So I know what type of program North can be.”

 In 2000, former coach and then Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni offered Bush the job of defensive back coach for the Orangeman and Bush and his family were off to Syracuse. In 2001 he became quarterback coach tutoring Orange quarterbacks R.J. Anderson and Troy Nunes, whose names still appear in many of Syracuse’s top 10 career records.

 Pasqualoni and his staff were let go after the 2004 season and Bush decided to take on another struggling high school program.

 West Genesee High School, in Camillus, New York had already gone through two coaches in five years; had not won a sectional title in nine years and had never won a state title in school history.

 After going 8-10 in his first two seasons at West Genesee (2005-06), the Wildcats went 11-1 in 2007, winning their first sectional title in nine years and the school’s first-ever state title.

 The following season (2008) Bush made the rare jump from the high school ranks to the professional ranks; stepping down as Wildcats coach to accept new Miami Dolphin’s head coach Tony Sporano’s offer to become offensive assistant coach.

 Sporano, the Dallas Cowboys assistant head coach at the time decided to take Pasqualoni , the Cowboy’s linebacker coach, along with him to Miami as their defensive coordinator.

 Sporano knew that Pasqualoni and Bush worked well together from their Syracuse days and all three had experience coaching together in some capacity, so the fit was there.

 While with the Dolphins, Bush worked under offensive coordinator Dan Henning, former San Diego Charger and Atlanta Falcon head coach, whose 45 years of coaching experience was an invaluable asset in Bush’s growth as a coach.

 “I learned so much from Dan,” Bush said. “He’s a wealth of football knowledge and I was very fortunate to coach with him.”

 When Sporano and his staff were let go after the 2011 season, Bush still had one year remaining on his contract with the Dolphins and spent the time refocusing on what he and his family’s next move might be.

 “We really wanted to get back up to the Northeast near family and friends,” Bush said. “My parents were aging and we’ve always loved this area. From my past experience in Manalapan we knew we wanted to come back to Monmouth County someday. I recruited in the area; it’s centrally located and just a great place to live. When the Middletown North job opened up there was no question that’s what I wanted to do.”

 Faced with the task of once again rebuilding a struggling high school program, Bush is up for the challenge.

 “You have to get the players to buy into the system and believe in it,” Bush said. “You’ve got to build up their confidence, let them understand that they can win and will turn it around. They need to believe in each other and themselves. The biggest thing is regaining confidence in themselves, their teammates and their coaches. Get them to firmly believe in their abilities and what they can and will accomplish.”

 “Like I said, I know what type of program this can be, we’ve got the talent; the question is whether they’re willing to take whatever steps are necessary to get there. We have the support of the school administration, the students and parents. There is no reason why Middletown North can’t compete for a title year-in and year-out. The kids are extremely excited and working hard, they want to turn it around  more than anyone.”

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