Even 1,000 miles away, Andy Wolfrum still makes big impact on Wyo football

Odd as it may seem, it was a war that finally lured Andy Wolfrum into coaching football.

You’d think that growing up in the same household as the winningest coach in Berks football history might have pulled him in that direction, or the fact that his grandfather – and his namesake – also coached might have led him into that field.

No, it wasn’t until he was 30, and in his second tour in Iraq with the U.S. Army, that tank platoon Capt. Andy Wolfrum decided to become Coach Wolfrum.

He had gone into sales after ending his first tour, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and made a comfortable living at it. That less-than-enthralling sales experience, plus his second, unexpected, call to duty helped him decide once and for all: Yes, I want to coach football.

“It was jarring for the Army to call me back a second time into service,” Wolfrum said. “That realigned my priorities. (I thought): ‘If I’m ever going to do this, I need to do it now.’ ”

His life-changing decision to coach football took him to West Chester, to the University of Akron, to Louisville, back to West Point — where he was head coach of the United States Military Academy Prep team for eight seasons — and now to Thomasville, Ga., and a start-up program at Thomas University.

“I liked selling orthopedic implants as much as the next guy,” the Wyomissing and West Point grad joked recently, “but I didn’t want to be doing that for 40 years.”

What he wanted to do – what his DNA directed him to do – was coach football. Just like his dad Bob, now an icon at Wyomissing. Just like his paternal grandfather Andy, at George Washington High in Philadelphia.

It only made sense to make football his life, too.

“Dad says it a lot: ‘I don’t know who gets out of bed (in the morning) and says: ‘I can’t wait to sell that dishwasher today,’ ” Andy said. “ But when you look across the field and say: ‘I can’t wait to see their faces when we run that reverse.’ . . .  That’s what gets him going and keeps him going. That’s how I feel.”

His new job, as defensive coordinator for the Night Hawks, is chock full of challenges.

Thomas University’s football team is unlike any in the nation. It’s called a “military transition program” with the intention that all players have a military service background or make a commitment to serve. The roster will be comprised mostly of active duty military veterans, members of the Georgia National Guard or the Military Reserves. (That requirement is waved for linemen, who wouldn’t normally fit into military height and weight standards.)

The Night Hawks’ starting center, for example, is an Army vet who played for the Cadets against the likes of Notre Dame, Rutgers, and Navy, did a military tour, and now has returned to school – and college football.

“We’re gonna have the most diverse locker room in college football,” Wolfrum said. “You’ve got a bunch of guys who understand the value of being part of a team.”

Getting 85 players, pulled together from various backgrounds, up to speed and ready to play in the NAIA Sun Conference by Sept. 2 will be a demanding task, for sure. So will recruiting. It’s not like it is at other schools.

Parents whom Wolfrum meets along the recruiting trail love the idea of seeing their son earn a college degree without the need for a college loan (the Georgia National Guard offers to pay 100 percent of tuition and fees for those who commit to serve).

Finding high school football players who want that added post-graduate service commitment is not so easy.

“It becomes more challenging when you have to find (a person with) the right kind of mindset who finds value in service and playing college football at the same time,” said Wolfrum, who has been on the job at Thomas for more than a year and has gone through a couple of recruiting cycles.

Making Thomas University competitive on the field and maintaining the program over the long haul will be difficult; Wolfrum knows as much. Still . . .

“Professionally, this was something I couldn’t pass up,” he said. “It just seemed like a lot of the keynote facets of the program were things that my background is similar to. And working for a head coach (former Army assistant Orlando Mitjans) who knew me (was enticing).

“After eight years at the Army Prep School, a change was welcome,” he said. “The chance to get out and be a coordinator in a college football conference against people with like rules . . . this was the next career path challenge for me. I’m going to turn 45 soon. My (coaching) resume needed that recruiting background.”

Andy Wolfrum was an all-league running back and defensive back who helped the Spartans share the Inter-County League championship his senior season, 1995.  He’s had an even greater influence on their success in the decades since.

His football knowledge expanded exponentially as an assistant at Akron, Louisville and Army, and he regularly has shared that with his dad and the staff at Wyomissing.

Bob Wolfrum often observed his son’s springtime college practices and brought home ideas that have helped take Wyomissing’s program to higher levels than ever before. Wolfrum has taken his Wyomissing defensive staff to West Point on several occasions and has adopted the Black Knights’ defensive philosophies and packages.

The Spartans had the No. 1 defense in the entire Lancaster-Lebanon League last season. Andy Wolfrum – nearly three decades and 1,000 miles removed from the Wyomissing sidelines – was a big part of that.

His dad regularly calls to ask how Army would defend certain packages.

Andy’s answers have played no small part in the Spartans winning the last four District 3 Class 3A championships and making it to back-to-back PIAA championship games.

“I’m sure the guys on the staff hate when they hear from me,” Andy jokes, “because that means the ‘Old Man’ wants to put in new stuff.”

Andy’s learned plenty from the old guy, to be sure.

His biggest takeaway has been the need to, and value of, being consistent as a coach: Never too high, never too low. Win, lose or draw, always steady as a rock. That’s been a Bob Wolfrum hallmark.

“It’s that ability to be consistent, and consistently good,” Andy said. “The Army calls it ‘staying within the band of excellence’ even though you have a high turnover rate and people move around a lot. That’s the same with football: Every team is different.

“(Whether Wyomissing is) is loaded, or they’re not loaded, they’re good consistently. That’s what (dad) would say he’s most proud of. And the ability to operate at a high level no matter who’s in the lineup.

“A lot of those wins (over the years) come from the off-the-field stuff and the consistency in the program. Anybody can be good for a play; anybody can be good for a day. Can you be good over weeks, months, and years? You’ve got to come back and continue to fight the bull over and over again.”