SPORTS STORIES:
SPORTS INFORMATION—2009
MACALLA NAMED ASSISTANT FOOTBALL COACH OF THE YEAR...
CLEVELAND, OH (May 7, 2009) - An associate head coach’s job is to advise the head coach and listen. He is the second in command and often goes unrecognized by many, but not by his head coach and that’s exactly the case with Marcus Macalla and Greg Debeljak.
Debeljak, Case Western Reserve University’s Head Football Coach, has received some good advice from Macalla, his associate head football coach and defensive coordinator, through the years and is glad his coaching partner will be acknowledged for his hard work next week.
The Northeastern Ohio Chapter of the National Football Foundation selected Macalla as this year’s recipient of the 2009 College Assistant Coach-of-the-Year Award. He will receive his prize Monday [May 11] night at the Chapter’s 21st Annual Scholar Awards Banquet at LaCentre in nearby Westlake.
“It is recognition long overdue,” said Debeljak. “If you take a look at the strength of our defenses over the last three years – they have been as good as any in the country. It comes from strong players, but there also has the be that leadership and Marcus is a guy that I trust to take care of that part of our program.”
Over the past two seasons, the Spartans have won 21 consecutive regular season games, back-to-back University Athletic Association titles and made appearances in back-to-back NCAA postseasons while maintaining a Top 25 national ranking. The 2008 Spartan defense allowed only 17 first half points all season and the overall scoring defense ranked 10th nationally.
“It’s quite an honor to be nominated by Greg and I definitely want to thank him for that,” Macalla explained. “With any individual award there is a group of people who help you achieve it. I don’t think I’d be in this position right now without the team being so successful and that’s a tribute to not only the players but my fellow assistant coaches.”
Macalla recently finished his eighth season at Case Western Reserve and his fifth year as associate head coach. He joined the staff in 2001 as a defensive line and special teams coach. The Cleveland native was named associate head coach in 2004 and defensive coordinator in 2005.
“The last two years have been unbelievable,” Macalla said with a smile. “Having gone 10-0 the past two seasons and being ranked one of the Top 20 teams in the nation has been a great accomplishment, but that’s why we [current staff] came here. We thought we could help this program gain national recognition through its success on the football field.”
MORE MACALLA … Prior to Case, he served as Kenyon College's defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator in 2000. Before Kenyon, Macalla was at Hamline University (1999-2000) where he coached wide receivers and also coached track and field. He served as an assistant coach at John Carroll University (1996-1998), where he also received a master's degree in education. At JCU, he worked with defensive ends, linebackers, and special teams. Before coaching at the collegiate level, Macalla was an assistant football and track coach at North Olmsted High School. Before coaching, Macalla played outside linebacker at Baldwin-Wallace College and earned his bachelor's degree in business administration and health and physical education in 1994.
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