xtremegriz
Well-known member
Very sad news for the Missoula community. What a great guy.
http://missoulian.com/sports/high-school/article_fee6f2dc-1639-11e0-84ef-001cc4c03286.html
Pat Murphy remembers the day when he and fellow Missoula Big Sky assistant football coach Aarron Arledge were running a drill for wide receivers under the tutelage of head coach Gary Ekegren.
Murphy and Arledge were showing off their arms by throwing deep passes to the Eagles' receivers.
"We were kind of young and not the smartest coaches in world," said Murphy, now the head coach at Helena Capital. "We threw one a little too far and the kid jumped up for it and landed into Coach Ek and knocked his glasses off and broke them.
"He started marching over here. I said, ‘Aarron, if he comes over here I'm going to jump the fence and run home.' He goes, ‘Not me, I'm going to try to fight him.' Ek gets about halfway there and turns around, luckily. We were dumb young coaches and he had to put up with us, I guess. Couldn't find anyone better."
Murphy and others spoke fondly of Coach Ek on Saturday, a day after Ekegren died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 70.
Ekegren stepped aside from the Big Sky job after the 2009 season. He coached the Eagles for 20 seasons, compiling a record of 93-105 and winning the State AA title in 1994 with a 39-13 win over Missoula Hellgate.
He had a record of 186-170 in nearly 45 years of coaching that took him from Havre, to his hometown of Harlem, to Missoula Sentinel, to the University of Montana, to Longview, Wash., and finally to Big Sky.
"It's interesting how many people who are home for the holidays were inquiring about Ek and wanted to go see him," said Matt Johnson, who succeeded Ekegren as head coach of the Eagles. "That alone speaks volumes. Last night we sat around and told old stories. It won't be hard to remember him and what he stood for and all the values he brought and taught. He stood by what he said and lived the same way he taught and coached.
"The biggest thing I ever learned from him was that in the end it's the life lessons you learn from all of it that outweigh the sport. The one thing he always told me was that being a football coach is just an extension of the classroom. Other big parts were believing in kids and understanding kids and trying to make a difference and standing up for what you believe in and what's right. Those are some values I really bought into and feel like I follow that as well."
Ty Palmer played for Ekegren at Big Sky before moving on to a successful career as a Montana Grizzly. He visited Coach Ek just last Wednesday.
"He was the most motivational coach I had, but he did it in a quiet manner, he didn't yell or scream," Palmer said. "He didn't have to scare people to get them motivated. He was a guy you wanted to play for and do well for just because you respected him. That's what I remember most, the quiet confidence and a guy who really knew his stuff."
Palmer was also the subject of another Coach Ek story.
The Eagles were playing either Billings Senior or Bozeman, depending on who's telling the story. Palmer twisted his ankle, was slow to get up, then headed for the sidelines.
"Ty was one of our best offensive guys, he could catch it and run," Johnson said. "A couple of times in the game Ty had to come to the sidelines for whatever reason and I knew Ek was ticked because we needed him in there. He turned to (assistant coach Dan) Nile and said, ‘I don't ever want to see him in the game again. He's done.' I'm thinking, never? Maybe two plays and we can get him back in.
"He would just get fired up because he expected a lot out of everybody and wanted the best."
That story came up when Palmer visited with Coach Ek last week in the hospital.
"He was laughing and said, ‘I don't know why I did that,' " Palmer said.
Polson head coach Scott Wilson got his start right out of college as an assistant on Ekegren's staff. Both he and Murphy consider Coach Ek their mentor.
"I had a lot of respect for Gary and he taught me a lot about the game of football and a lot about being a good teacher in the classroom," Wilson said. "A lot of those things that he taught me have helped me grow both in the classroom and as a head football coach. I used to call him all the time to ask for advice, how he'd handle certain situations. The biggest thing is he was always my mentor."
And he did things the right way, Murphy said.
"He's such a classy person, a classy coach," Murphy said. "He does everything right. He really cares about the kids and the coaching staff, that's probably the thing that stands out about him the most.
"He took a Big Sky program that was one of smallest in the state and brought it up to one of top schools in the state. That says what a great coach he is and you look at his assistant coaches - Scott Wilson's at Polson and he's had success, I'm at Capital and we've had success - that comes directly from him."
Ekegren is survived by his wife Karen, daughter Ashley and sons Shane and Travis.
Services are pending.
http://missoulian.com/sports/high-school/article_fee6f2dc-1639-11e0-84ef-001cc4c03286.html
Pat Murphy remembers the day when he and fellow Missoula Big Sky assistant football coach Aarron Arledge were running a drill for wide receivers under the tutelage of head coach Gary Ekegren.
Murphy and Arledge were showing off their arms by throwing deep passes to the Eagles' receivers.
"We were kind of young and not the smartest coaches in world," said Murphy, now the head coach at Helena Capital. "We threw one a little too far and the kid jumped up for it and landed into Coach Ek and knocked his glasses off and broke them.
"He started marching over here. I said, ‘Aarron, if he comes over here I'm going to jump the fence and run home.' He goes, ‘Not me, I'm going to try to fight him.' Ek gets about halfway there and turns around, luckily. We were dumb young coaches and he had to put up with us, I guess. Couldn't find anyone better."
Murphy and others spoke fondly of Coach Ek on Saturday, a day after Ekegren died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 70.
Ekegren stepped aside from the Big Sky job after the 2009 season. He coached the Eagles for 20 seasons, compiling a record of 93-105 and winning the State AA title in 1994 with a 39-13 win over Missoula Hellgate.
He had a record of 186-170 in nearly 45 years of coaching that took him from Havre, to his hometown of Harlem, to Missoula Sentinel, to the University of Montana, to Longview, Wash., and finally to Big Sky.
"It's interesting how many people who are home for the holidays were inquiring about Ek and wanted to go see him," said Matt Johnson, who succeeded Ekegren as head coach of the Eagles. "That alone speaks volumes. Last night we sat around and told old stories. It won't be hard to remember him and what he stood for and all the values he brought and taught. He stood by what he said and lived the same way he taught and coached.
"The biggest thing I ever learned from him was that in the end it's the life lessons you learn from all of it that outweigh the sport. The one thing he always told me was that being a football coach is just an extension of the classroom. Other big parts were believing in kids and understanding kids and trying to make a difference and standing up for what you believe in and what's right. Those are some values I really bought into and feel like I follow that as well."
Ty Palmer played for Ekegren at Big Sky before moving on to a successful career as a Montana Grizzly. He visited Coach Ek just last Wednesday.
"He was the most motivational coach I had, but he did it in a quiet manner, he didn't yell or scream," Palmer said. "He didn't have to scare people to get them motivated. He was a guy you wanted to play for and do well for just because you respected him. That's what I remember most, the quiet confidence and a guy who really knew his stuff."
Palmer was also the subject of another Coach Ek story.
The Eagles were playing either Billings Senior or Bozeman, depending on who's telling the story. Palmer twisted his ankle, was slow to get up, then headed for the sidelines.
"Ty was one of our best offensive guys, he could catch it and run," Johnson said. "A couple of times in the game Ty had to come to the sidelines for whatever reason and I knew Ek was ticked because we needed him in there. He turned to (assistant coach Dan) Nile and said, ‘I don't ever want to see him in the game again. He's done.' I'm thinking, never? Maybe two plays and we can get him back in.
"He would just get fired up because he expected a lot out of everybody and wanted the best."
That story came up when Palmer visited with Coach Ek last week in the hospital.
"He was laughing and said, ‘I don't know why I did that,' " Palmer said.
Polson head coach Scott Wilson got his start right out of college as an assistant on Ekegren's staff. Both he and Murphy consider Coach Ek their mentor.
"I had a lot of respect for Gary and he taught me a lot about the game of football and a lot about being a good teacher in the classroom," Wilson said. "A lot of those things that he taught me have helped me grow both in the classroom and as a head football coach. I used to call him all the time to ask for advice, how he'd handle certain situations. The biggest thing is he was always my mentor."
And he did things the right way, Murphy said.
"He's such a classy person, a classy coach," Murphy said. "He does everything right. He really cares about the kids and the coaching staff, that's probably the thing that stands out about him the most.
"He took a Big Sky program that was one of smallest in the state and brought it up to one of top schools in the state. That says what a great coach he is and you look at his assistant coaches - Scott Wilson's at Polson and he's had success, I'm at Capital and we've had success - that comes directly from him."
Ekegren is survived by his wife Karen, daughter Ashley and sons Shane and Travis.
Services are pending.
