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Coaches' Corner: Matt Bouchard

Wednesday, November, 21 By Alan Siegel
Staff writer

High school football is about planning, second-year Georgetown football coach Matt Bouchard said.

"Obviously, any time you start a new endeavor, you have goals," he said. "You put a plan out there. You hope your staff, yourself and your athletes can follow that plan."

Georgetown is certainly following a well-designed plan this season. If the Royals (8-1) defeat Manchester Essex (8-2) on Thanksgiving, they'll win the Commonwealth Conference Small and earn a postseason berth.

Bouchard, a Salem, Mass. native, attended Merrimack College. We caught up with him this week.

1. So what do you like most about coaching?
"One thing unique about coaching sports that's different than any other job is that you get the opportunity to work with a bunch of young people. You have an opportunity to change their lives. A lot of jobs you don't get those opportunities."

2. Has it been rewarding so far?
"Having my own program, to have the opportunity to fulfill a vision -- a philosophy -- it was something that I wanted to do. Coaching is not something you get into to just give it a whirl. It's definitely not for the faint of heart."

3. Did you attend any great sporting events as a kid?
"I remember the first Patriots game I ever went to as a youngster. I was playing Pop Warner at the time, just getting involved in football. It was brutally cold out. My father brought me into the men's room. He took my boots off and put my feet up to the hand dryer (to keep warm)."

4. Do you admire any other coaches around football?
"One person stands out in my mind is Urban Meyer. I was studying his stuff when he was at Bowling Green. ... You need your own style. But you do draw from other coaches. Any time you want to be successful, you evaluate successful programs."

5. What's the number one thing you've learned as a coach?
"You know what's funny. Every day you learn something in coaching. It's a dynamic environment."

6. Where do you stand on the running-up-the-score debate? "Obviously to each his own, everybody has his own perception on how to run a program. At my level, how I would handle that situation is a lot different. It's a tough line to walk. You've got pro athletes with get incentives to score more TDs. I think it's just a different world."