Take a Timeout with Dustin Sullivan
Guest – Coach Adams
Podcast release date – September 29, 2022
Season 1
Announcer Elaine – Welcome to taking a timeout with Dustin Sullivan a production of the Kan Du Group. Kan Du Group is a 501(c)3 nonprofit provider of day services for adults with developmental disabilities and is pleased to bring you this podcast. Today Dustin’s Guest is Stephan Adams. Coach Stephan Adams is a native of Westchester Pennsylvania, he attended Bloomsburg University receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies and a Master’s Degree in school counseling. Stephan played football while attending Bloomsburg University and was voted team captain his senior year and helped his team achieve two NCAA playoff appearances making it to the national semifinals in one of the playoff appearances. Currently he serves as a counselor in the Findlay city schools and is entering his second year as the head football coach. Stephan holds the Findlay high school record for most wins as a first year coach. Leading the Trojans to a 9 to 4 record and a regional final appearance in 2021 OHSAA football playoffs. And now I will turn the mic over to Dustin Sullivan.
Dustin – Welcome to taking a time out with Dustin Sullivan. Are you ready Stephan Adams?
Coach Adams– Dustin I think I’m ready. I got fired up off that intro, thank you. My wife think I’m cool now.
Dustin – So whatever got you into coaching?
Coach Adams – Uh you know its something that I always knew that I wanted to do. I know I look back at my family we grew up in a church so we always knew what serving people meant. So that’s all I’ve known is helping people and serving people. So athletics is just another way to be able to do it at a bigger capacity so its something I knew from day one. I knew it when I was a water boy I knew it when I was in all the programs that I was gonna, all signs lead back to coaching
Dustin – So was it kind of hard replacing a legend at Findlay and Mark Britzler
Coach Adams – Of course it is. Um Mark done such a great job he spent time he cared about the program, the kids, he’s a former alum, and the beauty is I got a chance to kinda be with him for two years as an assistant and learn from him and still pick his brain to this very day.
Dustin – So what are your hobbies other than football?
Coach Adams – Good point, I would say at this point in my life my biggest hobby is spending time with my family. I have a 14 month old monster. His name is Dax, Dax John and um he, that’s my hobby now. If I’m not at school, work or football I’m spending time with my wife and my son. I get away and do other things but I would say that’s number one right now.
Dustin – That’s awesome. What is your favorite all time movie ever?
Coach Adams – That’s on the spot, ok, lets go a, I gotta couple rolling in the brain right now. You know, wow, Gladiator.
Dustin – I like Gladiator.
Coach Adams – That has some sentimental value to me because my father has passed on, we would literally, probably, not lying to ya, probably 15 20 times a year, finds some time to watch that before football games. The night before and afterwards. So that’s definitely one that sticks with me to this day.
Elaine – Is that one you share with your teammates? Well your team actually.
Coach Adams – Well I don’t want to spoil it but this year if they hear this, we’re gonna spend some time watching some of the clips from there. I’ve done some research over the time the off season to find clips that really fit our culture and what we’re about and there’s a lot of stuff in there that I pull from. So they’ll definitely be hearing some gladiator this year.
Elaine – Ok, we’ve got another personal question.
Coach Adams – Please.
Dustin – What is your dream vacation destination?
Coach Adams – Oh man, good one, Thailand. I’ve actually since I was a kid I was always intrigued by Asian architect and culture.
Dustin – I would love to go there and try all their food.
Coach Adams – I’m with you on that too.
Dustin – You know what my other dream vacation is for me?
Coach Adams – What’s that?
Dustin – To go to Hawaii.
Coach Adams – My wife would, you guys would be best friends right now.
Dustin – I would never leave.
Coach Adams – She keeps telling me that, don’t think you’re big time, and you’re only big time if you get a coaching job in Hawaii, she says. So she would be elated to hear you say that. Yeah, but Thailand would be a dream that’s always something that I’ve wanted to go check out and see.
Dustin – What is your all time favorite restaurant and genre of music?
Coach Adams – Lets go , restaurant first would be New Haven’s Pizza. It’s in my home town of Westchester Pennsylvania. These guys have known me since I’ve been a little kid and they still work there to this day. It’s the coolest thing ever and they know when I come in their especially now when I come back home to visit to make sure my large cheese steak, fried with onions and put some ketchup on it and then make sure you have that jumbo shrimp platter waiting for me too. So that is ah, New Haven’s Pizza in Westchester Pennsylvania is my favorite restaurant. Then other question was genre of music?
Dustin – Yeah
Coach Adams – Yeah, I would say I love old school R&B. I love it.
Dustin – Like Run DMC and all that.
Coach Adams – Old school hip hop, old school rap they’re in there but I would have to say like old slow it down just good happy feel good music it like the music that truly united people. That’s my favorite.
Dustin – So one day I’ll have to, if I ever go to Pennsylvania I’ll have to try that place.
Coach Adams – I’m telling ya man, if you go don’t go without me though. I’ll be a little jealous.
Dustin – Yeah, you’re originally from Pennsylvania.
Coach Adams – Yeah, absolutely.
Dustin – I love Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.
Coach Adams – It’s a great area. Outside of it is Westchester, where I’m from it’s about 30 minutes from the city. Um, it’s a pretty cool place. The unique thing is I think they have some some kind of similarities. Westchester is know for its brick, so a lot of brick sidewalks, a lot of brick buildings and they’ve really tried to stay true to the brick, the history of the brick, yep.
Dustin – That’s a cool place, Pennsylvania is a great place for any brothers
Coach Adams – You know about that, that’s on the other side of the state more in the Pittsburg area. If you’re in Philadelphia you love going to Pittsburg if you’re in Pittsburg you love going to Philadelphia. That’s one of those things how it goes.
Dustin – Yep
Elaine – It’s a long state though, nobody realizes that.
Coach Adams – Trust me I know, when I drive across 80 and it tells me you have 300 something miles. I’m like woo it’s literally across the state.
Dustin – So what are your pregame routines that you do?
Coach Adams – Yeah, good point. I would say I have player and coach they’re a little different. As a player I literally get to the facility at the crack of dawn and I would actually work out. I’d work out I’d go through heat get some stuff done. And then I would kind of just meditate and just hang out in the locker room a little bit. That would be the game plan for as a player.
Elaine – And watch that Gladiator movie.
Coach Adams – That was cranked up the night before got it all pumped up. As a coach you know it’s kind of funny as a coach I almost gotta go, I almost am better if I am not around. Because, literally we’re in school all day long and then that time between after school to when we actually play a game is so long that like I haven’t done this in a while but I’m gonna start working out before games. Because I am not good with dead time. So I’m actually going to add my old routine as a player into what I do as a coach and start a new tradition.
Dustin – So what’s your most funniest moment as a coach?
Coach Adams – Funniest moment, um ok I got a good one for ya, this would be this year I realized that I am truly 34. I tried to celebrate one time and I got so cranked up then I came down I heard a little creek in my ankle and I’m like oh no. It hurt really bad and I really should have been walking with a limp and I couldn’t let anybody see it. So like something actually happened in my ankle but the next thing was I think I ripped a rip in my pants too. So it was kind of just a double whammy to say the least. I laughed at myself. Nobody else had to know it but I’m like man you gotta get in shape because you can’t be out there spraining ankles celebrating anymore.
Dustin – Yea, I’m joining the 30 club next year.
Coach Adams – There you go man, welcome to it.
Dustin – What was your most memorable moment as the Findlay High School football coach?
Coach Adams – You know I would say there were so many this year but I think for me with the seniors. We had a great group of seniors, you’re talking 18 guys who they had 4 coaches in 4 years. So they had freshman head coach Mark Britzler, Matt Peace, Stephan Adams. So I would say the most memorable moment was really probably the first game when we beat Anthony Wayne. Watching their happiness for me and me trying to give them my happiness for them, right. The love that those guys have for each other and that I have for them. I was just so happy for them. That was one of them I could speak on many of them but I think just the start of like, they were like hey coach that’s your first win, they were so happy for me to get my first win at Findlay that I think that was just fun all around and exciting.
Dustin – So I think you guys might have a good chance of winning this year.
Coach Adams – You know we gotta, the kids are working hard. We’re giving ourself a chance is what I always say. The guys are showing up, their accountable, um they’re working extremely hard. We ended with a great workout today. So when I think do you have everybody doing what they’re supposed to do and doing it the right way you give yourself a chance. So I’d like to say right now we’re giving ourself a chance.
Dustin – So when you grew up did you have a famous athlete you looked up to?
Coach Adams – You know this might sound crazy, I did not. My father was my everything. He was my favorite athlete my favorite person my favorite everything. You know and I always had this kind of structure of, I had the top role model at my house. You know, so I was fortunate to have that. And I know that. That’s what I never take for granted and my time with him was well spent. But I would say I never looked at those guys as bigger than life for me because I thought I had a bigger than life figure right in my home.
Dustin – So what are your things, your goals after football? What do you plan on doing when you’re done?
Coach Adams – With coaching one day?
Dustin – when you’re done coaching
Coach Adams – Yeah, uh good point. I have so many things that I think I would like to do I think when it’s all said and done probably do something that keeps me involved with people. I don’t know what that is but I’m the guy that said never a lot in my life and everything I said never to I’m doing so what I’m going to say is probably going to end up being around people in some way, helping kids, trying to make sure we really connect with our community and just try to make the community a better place.
Dustin – Does being a coach help you being a counselor at school?
Coach Adams – Yea, honestly I think being a counselor helps me out as a coach. It’s kind of this like negative connotation sometimes they say like how can a counselor be a coach because you think of everybody thinks of counselors as rainbows and skittles. You know and they think of a coach as rah rah rah rah rah when in all reality I think as a counselor in my study of communications studies back in the day when I was at Bloomsburg it allows me to really know how to connect and to pull harder or to pull away a little bit with kids and I think I have a good pulse on that. So I think in all reality my educational background helps me more with being a coach than coach helps me with being counselor.
Dustin – Cause look at the show all American. Billy Baker was a counselor.
Coach Adams – Yea, yep. No it definitely helps out a lot. I think it just helps me with my relationship with the kids and every kid needs something different sometimes.
Dustin – So what was your favorite subject at school?
Coach Adams – Music. Now I wasn’t as involved maybe as I should be once I got to high school. You know I did love English, I love writing more than anything else. I felt like it was kind of a chance to show who you are and show your personality maybe more than math and science. I wasn’t the biggest fans of but I respect it. But I say music. I just loved, I’m a big music guy so I enjoy it.
Dustin – I like all the 80’s rock. If I had to choose a favorite subject when I was in school I would probably say art because it’s soothing.
Coach Adams – Yea, absolutely. Oh and I think that stuff applies more now, maybe it did at the time too we just didn’t magnify it. Those arts, you know the arts and all they ways where students can express themselves and be a little more free I think those are huge to our educational systems.
Dustin – I do art 5 days a week.
Coach Adams – Yea I love it. I do music in general 5 days a week too.
Dustin – Since our time is almost up we need to finish with one last tricky question.
Coach Adams – Oh boy. Here we go.
Dustin – Do you consider a hot dog a sandwich?
Coach Adams – These questions always get me because I try to think to hard about it and you guys laugh and I’m trying to put the pieces… Is the hot dog considered a sandwich? No. But I don’t know why. Give me the reason I’m going to go with the no and not know why.
Elaine – I don’t think there’s a true answer.
Coach Adams – Wasn’t there a soup one too? Like is soup considered a cereal.
Dustin – What?
Elaine – No. No. I agree no.
Dustin – Because soup is hot. Cereal is cold.
Coach Adams – I think I got asked that question once and it threw me off. These questions get me every time.
Dustin – Same thing like the chicken and the egg that gets me every time.
Coach Adams – Is it a sandwich? I’m from Philadelphia so we call things differently. So, I don’t I mean its like a smaller hoagie roll but just it’s hot. We can get into the… I’m a hoagie guy. You know like cold cuts when people call it subs, sub to me is hot. That’s a meatball sub a turkey melt of some sort. A hoagie is like cold cuts. You know but that’s Philadelphia talk right there.
Dustin – Gotta get some cold cuts today.
Elaine – I think you gave us the most detailed answer to that question.
Coach Adams – Yea, I’m sorry
Elaine – no that was great
Coach Adams – I gotta figure it out. We started talking about it so…
Dustin – That was the best answer I’ve had all day.
Elaine – Well thank you for taking a timeout with Dustin Sullivan. It was nice getting to know you Coach Adams. We hope everyone else enjoyed getting to know a little bit about you too.
Dustin – That’s all folks.
Coach Adams – Thank you guys