My father doesn't tend to remember a lot of things. He frequently looses his sunglasses, is almost guaranteed to lock himself out of his house at least once a week, and, at one point in time, wasn't quite sure of his real name, but for all he has forgotten he easily can recall a memory about Carl Schnellenbach.

Coach Schnell, as he is fondly called, is a staple of Pennsylvania and Ridley athletics. The first and only wrestling coach in Ridley High School history, Schnell has compiled a record of 713-199-7, equating to a .78 win percentage. Since 1960, give or take a few years pertaining to football, Coach Schnell has been a constant, albeit four years roaming the Interboro sidelines, on the Ridley wrestling and football coaching staffs. He has had the privilege of working for and under legendary high school football coaches like Phil Marion, Joe McNicholas, John Waller, and Steve Lennox, and has spent the last few years of his football-coaching career by the side of current Ridley coach Dennis Decker. During his tenure coaching football at Ridley the Green Raiders have gone 386-77-6 for a winning percentage of .823.

That coaching tenure is now over. After over 40 years of service to the Ridley football program Schnell retired this past Thanksgiving. He will continue to coach wrestling, entering his fifty-second season, but will no longer be a fixture on the Green Raider sideline. He will now join the ranks, even though never a head football coach, of some of the great men he coached for and under.

In addition to working closely with extremely highly regarded coaches, Schnell has been integral in developing talented athletes and well-groomed, productive men. As both a coach and a teacher, there is little doubt that Schnell had an influence on everyone who graduated from Ridley High School from 1960 on. From former NFL players Matt Blundin, Joe Valerio, and Bob Kuberski, to the police working the Delaware County beat, teachers throughout SEPA school districts, and community leaders, Schnell has had a hand in it all. Joe Valerio, at his induction in the University of Pennsylvania Hall of Fame, stated that Coach Schnell was by far one of the greatest influences throughout his life.

"He was always colorful, and he was a tough coach to play for, but you always knew he cared about you and that his intentions were to make you a great player," Valerio said then. "In high school we were always the best conditioned team thanks to him, and he was very good at weeding out the players that didn't really care. I really respect him."

To this day a Carl Schnellenbach bobble-head doll still stands on Valerio's desk, watching over Joe and providing constant motivation.

It is more than obvious that Coach Schnell has become a local celebrity throughout Delaware County and Southeastern Pennsylvania. In 2001, the Chester County Community Foundation began awarding a yearly college scholarship, the Carl Schnellenbach Wrestling Scholarship, to a graduating and deserving Ridley wrestler. Bobblehead dolls, like the one owned by Joe Valerio, have been created in Schnell's likeness and sold through the Ridley Wrestling Booster's Association. Ridley students are frequently seen wearing Albert Einstein masks, altered to look more like Coach Schnell, at football and wrestling games, and name me another high school coach in SEPA that has been roasted? Needless to say, Carl Schnellenbach is a Ridley icon, despite what many would call a less than welcoming personality.

"You get very little praise with Schnell. He is always hard on you," Chris Johnson said. "You could win a state title and he'd say that you gave up too many points. He is never pleased. But that's what motivates a lot of people."

Johnson, a former Ridley wrestler, may have said it best and, quite frankly, that was and is Schnell. He has always permeated a tough exterior to his players and students. It's not that Carl is cold or unforgiving, but his unwillingness to accept mediocrity is fueled by his expectation that his athletes and students at least reach, if not surpass, their potential. He is a constant motivator. Even when his words have been less than politically correct, his intentions, even if questionable in his choice of phrase, have always been in a student or player's best interests. This interest in student and player success and well-being was never more apparent than at his 700th career wrestling victory. Schnell, who had been suffering from health issues, made it a point, against doctor recommendations I assume, to be there. He did not attend for his own self-indulgence, or to receive merit from the community, but for his current and former athletes.

When approached immediately after the victory by Delaware County Daily Times' reporter Terry Toohey, Schnell had one thing to say: "It's just another win. I had to be here for the kids." That short statement speaks wonders about the man's character.

The kids have always served as great motivation for Schnell, but, according to his wife Debbie, Schnell has something else pushing him. "He's crazy," says Debbie. "That's all he can be, insane." At 78-years-old and still involved with coaching, as of this past Thanksgiving just wrestling, Debbie probably isn't too far off. Honestly, I have to agree with her; Schnell is definitely a bit off his rocker. From myths and rumors about his teaching antics, to a basement filled with thousands upon thousands of golf balls, Coach Schnell is a bit nuts, and thank God for that. His insanity is the best kind there is: A blind devotion to his students and players.

His unwavering belief in the abilities of Ridley students and athletes has helped mold the tough attitude that Ridley players and kids are known for. As a coach he has never believed in cutting players whom other coaches would deem unworthy, and he has never turned a kid away from the football or wrestling programs.

"We have good kids at Ridley, football and wrestling. I like those tough kids," Schnell told Lou Rabito of The Philadelphia Inquirer in a 2011 interview. Schnell truly believes, even if the belief could be categorized as insanity, that he can take any kid and build an athlete and a productive member of society. His pride and tradition induced madness has never allowed him to give up on anyone and, in turn, nobody has ever given up on him.

Carl Schnellenbach has been a part of the Ridley athletic tradition for over 50 years. In today's world of sport, one in which the coaching ranks resemble a carousel, that is unbelievably impressive. His coaching tenure at Ridley began before Joe Paterno took the reigns at Penn State and, without delving into reasoning, has lasted longer. His coaching career has seen the Eisenhower administration, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the construction and dismantling of the Berlin Wall, Joe Namath's victory over the Baltimore Colts in Superbowl III, the first moon landing, and the birth of the Internet, then called the Arpanet. To be so bold, Carl Schnellenbach is Ridley athletics.

Carl is biologically the father of six children and eight grandchildren, but has stood as a father figure to every athlete he has ever coached, not too mention an entire wrestling program. He has served his teaching and coaching career with a devotion that many of us could not fathom. Whether it was the wrestling mat, the football field, the classroom, or the Rocky Run Y.M.C.A. pool, where he, until recently, happened to teach swimming lessons to elementary and middle school age children, he was and is a rock of dedication. This year, in his last football game as a coach, the Ridley football team sent Schnell out in fine fashion with a 42-6 victory over Interboro. It was a win he deserved, but it in no way encompasses all that he warrants for his hard work and commitment. There are some coaches and players that transcend sport, that give back to their communities in ways that cannot be judged in wins and losses. Schnell happens to be one of those coaches.

This week five Southeastern PA football teams, La Salle, West Catholic, Pottsgrove, North Penn, and Council Rock South, continue their post-season runs. As a football fan and journalist, it was hard to ignore the temptation of touching on each of their games, but these games will occur year in and out and a chance to revisit the playoff atmosphere will continually present itself. There is only one Carl Schnellenbach, and I think it wise for each of us, as high school sports' fans, to thank him for all he has done.

On a side note and completely off topic, next week Cuck and Co. will be presenting their SEPA (Districts 1 and 12) yearly awards. We'll be presenting the following accolades, each named after a former District 1 or 12 player: