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Backspin: Mark Stotts, Lebanon 1984

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1:45 PM Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Mark Stotts was a standout two-way football player for the Lebanon Warriors in the early 1980s.

Today, Stotts is sharing his knowledge with the youth of Lebanon as a coach in three sports.

Varsity days

Stotts earned three varsity letters at Lebanon High before graduating in 1984, two in football and one in baseball.

A two-time all-Mid-Miami League selection in football as both a linebacker and an offensive lineman, Stotts set three school records — most tackles in a game (23), most solo tackles in a game (15) and most tackles in a season (137).

“I remember how playing under coach Tom Hoverman it was very disciplined,” Stotts said. “You knew exactly what you had to do week to week to prepare for a game and what the coaches expected of us from the big things all the way to the little things.

“One of the main things I learned in my career was the big emphasis of how you don’t have to carry the ball to make an impact. Everybody wants their kid to be a wide receiver, a tailback or a quarterback, but there’s 22 positions. I learned early that you do whatever you can just to get on the field and be part of the team.”

Today

After graduating from Lebanon, Stotts began working in commercial construction and today he owns Precision Commercial Contractors, Inc., with two other partners.

He and his wife of 20 years, Pam, have three sons — Nick Alex and Sammy.

All three boys play sports and Stotts has had a hand in coaching all of them.

Stotts is secretary of the Lebanon Warrior Youth Football League and has been a board member for eight years. He currently coaches the third grade maroon team.

Stotts has also coached in Lebanon Youth Basketball for seven years and has been a youth baseball coach in Lebanon for 12 years. Last year, he coached the U8 Lebanon Warrior travel baseball team.

“I put the time in just to make an impact on the kids and help them get ready for their junior high and high school careers,” Stotts said.

After coaching them in their younger years, Stotts now enjoys watching his older sons play for other coaches. Nick, his oldest, is a junior and two-year starter on the offensive line for the Warrior varsity team.

“A lot of people wondered if I’d be okay to not coach my boys anymore,” Stotts said. “But I realized that I could focus more on what my kid does instead of focusing on the entire group.

“I really enjoy it. I don’t know if Nick does, but I can fully concentrate on what he does on the field.”

Quotable

“There are times when you don’t agree with everything a coach does, but you learn to give the same respect to those coaches that you wanted from others when you were a coach.”   — Mark Stotts

— Scott Hayes, Staff Writer

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