(Griswold) Tom Moore coached the Griswold Tiger football team for 23 years. He oversaw saw two trips to the Class 2A State Semifinals.
Coach Moore admits there’s a lot of things he misses about coaching football. “I miss it every day, even now,” says Moore. “I miss football, I miss the sideline, I miss Friday nights.” He adds, “You can talk about college Saturday’s and NFL Sunday’s, but I don’t think there’s anything more special than Friday night under the lights high school football. The passion and the friendships and everything that is made from those Friday nights is something special.”
Moore took pride in having his team in great shape and playing defense. “I came in with a mentality of conditioning and a mentality of defense. I wasn’t an offensive mastermind by any means. We played defense and we played it for four quarters. Probably in those 23 years there weren’t too many times we lost the fourth quarter. We may have lost the game, but losing the fourth quarter we didn’t do because we were in condition.” The team won six games in his first season, went 8-1 in year two, and made a deep playoff run in his third year with a 10-1 record.
The Grinnell native spent seven years coaching various levels at his alma mater before seeking out a head coaching gig. Even as a youngster he was always pioneering for opportunities in football. The passion for sports was passed down from his father. “When I was a 5th grader at Grinnell’s Davis Elementary School I went into the principal’s office and petitioned her that she allow us to have a flag football team and there were two elementary schools at the time. I petitioned to get them to have teams as well so we could play each other. And we did!”
He was involved in the launch of the Grinnell 7th grade football program in the mid-1970’s and eventually rose to a varsity assistant and defensive coordinator before coming to Griswold in the fall of 1981. The Tigers made the playoff in 1983, 1988, and 1989. “It’s a special thing to be able to work with young men as I did and see them grow as athletes and as young men. That was my goal. I told the guys it didn’t matter what we do or how we do it. What matters is the fact that when it’s all said and done we’ve done our best and had fun doing it.”
Previous Coaches
John Kesselring, Adair-Casey alum
Eric Maassen, (AHST grad) Sheldon
Jerome Hoegh, Atlantic grad (West Sioux)
Gaylord Schelling, Atlantic and Tri-Center
Chad Klein, Audubon Native (Kuemper Catholic and Boone)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Monte Riebhoff)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Steve Ahrendsen)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Scott Weber)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Curt Mace)
Chris Stimson, Elk Horn-Kimballton
Jan Jensen, Elk Horn-Kimballton alum
Seth Poldberg, EH-K grad and Guthrie Center coach
Trevor Gipple, (Griswold grad) SW Valley
Angie Spangenberg, Harlan and Red Oak
Eric Stein (Harlan grad) Iowa Central
Darrell Burmeister, Nodaway Valley
Lanny Kliefoth, Nodaway Valley
