Spieler embracing coaching challenge at South Fayette
Marty Spieler is the new head football coach at South Fayette.
Marty Spieler has played for and coached under renowned football coaches so he embraces challenges such as assuming the reins at South Fayette High School.
The Mt. Lebanon resident and Woodland Hills graduate kicks off his first season as head coach when the Lions entertain Chartiers Valley at 7 p.m. Aug. 23 in the post-Joe Rossi era. During his 17-year tenure at South Fayette, Rossi compiled a 157-43 record and guided the Lions to four WPIAL championships and two PIAA titles.
“I was aware of how tough it is to follow guys who are a legend and there are legends in the game,” Spieler said. “There are big shoes to fill with Joe, especially how humble he is and how much he has done for the community.”
Spieler has done his share for a variety of football fraternities.
For starters, he helped the Wolverines win a WPIAL title in 1999. He split quarterback duties with Shawnee Spencer, who went on to play defensive back for Pitt and then in the NFL. Additionally, Spieler’s coach was George Novak, who posted a 306-139-3 career record complete with six WPIAL championships.
After playing at Allegheny College, Spieler embarked on his coaching career at Georgia Southern. When he returned to Allegheny, he recruited a player from Riverview, which ironically was coached by Rossi at the time.
After a stint as a graduate assistant at the University of Cincinnati, where he coached tight end Travis Kelce of Kansas City Chiefs fame, Spieler took on a series of college jobs at Buffalo, Florida A&M and Missouri State before returning to Western Pennsylvania. He coached under Bob Palko when Mt. Lebanon won a WPIAL title as well as a state championship in 2021.
Noting Palko, LSU’s Brian Kelly and Jeff Quinn as mentors, Spieler developed his commanding, yet compassionate, presence.
“Those guys were very demanding inside the white lines but whenever you saw them leave the field, they were always loving up the kids,” he said. “You yelled at them for 90 minutes but you never let it go into the locker room. They had a great rapport with the kids. So they knew that you were going to be demanding but at the same time you were going to look out for them and do anything you could to make sure that you were there for them.”
Spieler expects to be a guidance counselor on the field and a father figure off the gridiron. There is a morality in both aspects.
“You can’t change what is right and what is wrong inside the white lines. Same thing off the field,” he said. “You can’t change what is right and wrong but you have to help those kids learn that off the field as well.
“Everything we do is designed to win championships and get kids ready for their next step in life,” Spieler explained. He noted that student-athletes used to graduate and just go to college. Today they have more options. They might go into a trade, a profession or the service.
“We are going to find out whatever is important to that kid. We are going to win and get them ready for the next step in life.”
The Lions will not be coddled, but they will be led in an educational manner. Spieler said that South Fayette athletes deserve an explanation not a vocal reprimand.
“A lot of coaches, especially at the young level, just want to yell at kids and the kid wants to know why,” he said. “You have to teach the kid first, then demand a lot from them.
“If you haven’t taught them what’s expected first, you can’t demand a lot if they don’t know what you are asking. Teach them the why and then you can demand excellence out of them.
“It’s never a situation where they asked ‘why do I have to do this?’ and the answer is ‘because I said so.’ That’s not why. Teach them why. Then demand excellence from them.”
As a parent, Spieler is excelling. He and his wife, Angela, who is a personal childcare provider, are nurturing four children. Bryce, 14, is a cross country and track runner as well as a drummer. Riley, 11, is a gymnast. Chance, 11, plays soccer and football. Kinsley, 9, is a dancer.
His parenting philosophy is akin to his coaching strategy. He hopes to bring out the best in his proteges.
“My focus is just to make sure these kids in 2024 have a great experience,” Spieler said. “And, we are going to approach every single year to make sure they get the most out of their God-given ability to do the best that they can.”