PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio — Joe Ehrbar has walked the halls of Holy Name High School since 1977. Now in his 50th year of teaching in its classrooms and coaching on its football field, Ehrbar has built lasting relationships that span generations of students.
Eleven head football coaches have come and gone since he joined the Green Wave, but Ehrbar has remained the one constant through the years.
"The idea of teaching people that there's a greater good here, there's something bigger than us… and to be able to realize, hey, put your chip in, I mean, let's go," Joe Ehrbar said.
His wife, Joan Ehrbar, says teaching is Joe's defining characteristic — one that extends far beyond any classroom wall.
"I know he's been a teacher and a coach both, but he enjoys teaching, and he did that in the classroom, he does that in the hallway, he does that on the football field, he does that in the parking lot; He teaches. And that's his art," she said.
For Ehrbar, nearly five decades of impact comes down to this: "It's really one word: relationships," he said. "The relationships you have."
I was taught by both Mr. and Mrs. Ehrbar at Holy Name, played for coach on the Green Wave freshman football team in 1980 and continued to benefit from his coaching at higher levels.
Ehrbar will be honored at halftime of the Oct. 16 game.
