Sault High’s Scott Menard announced late last week that he was hanging up his headset and whistle and putting down his clipboard after 19 seasons as head coach for the varsity Blue Devils football team. He received an outpouring of support and gratitude from the community, along with former players and families after sharing his decision to retire.
Menard was exposed to coaching at an early age, the son of a lifelong coach of football, track and basketball, Bill Menard. “Since my dad was a coach, I was lucky enough to be around a lot of great Sault High coaches growing up. Tony Nertoli, George Eicher, Louie Killips, and Elmo Laucks were my baseball coaches. Russ Payment, Gil Trevarrow, and my dad were my basketball coaches. Neil Anderson, Dennis Brooks, Jerry Wartella, Ralph Sarnowski, my dad, Greg Rambo, and Gary Glowacki coached me in football at various levels. Ralph Sarnowski and my dad were my track coaches. I also learned a lot from coaching under Barry Pierson in my first years back at Sault High.”
Menard has spent the majority of his career coaching a number of different sports. He started with coaching middle school basketball, track and field and varsity football in Engadine. Once he moved back to the Sault, Menard coached JV and Varsity football, and middle school and freshmen boys basketball. He was also the freshmen and assistant varsity girls basketball coach, and is currently coaching varsity girls track and field.
Coaching has evolved over the course of his career. “Coaching is different now in the ways you would think: technology, communications, etc. Scouting and game planning are easier now because of advances in technology. But, I’d also say that the style of coaching kids has changed. You can’t just yell and scream at kids anymore, like I think it might have been done 30 years ago. I think that two-way communication between players and coaches is more important today.”
When asked if there were any seasons that were more memorable than others, Menard identified a few that stood out. “My first two seasons as head coach we went to the playoffs and won 15 out of 21 games. We ended a streak of 21 straight losses in 2011, and then went to the playoffs three out of the next four years, highlighted by the 2013 team that lost to Mt. Pleasant in the regional finals. We also went to the regional finals in 2019 and 2020. But, every season is memorable in some way.” The Blue Devils made the playoffs seven times and there were 13 winning seasons out of 19 during his tenure as coach.
A number of Blue Devils have extended their football careers over the past 19 seasons as well. “We have had kids go on to play at Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech, Northwood, and Ferris State in Division 2 and CMU and Northwestern in Division 1. We’ve also had a number of players play and have great success in Division 3 football in both Michigan and Wisconsin.”
Menard shared some final reflections as he closes out this chapter of his life. “I feel blessed to have been able to coach as long as I did with such a great assortment of coaches and players. I also feel extremely fortunate that I was able to meet so many great parents who allowed me to coach their kids for 19 years. I also want to thank my wife, Tracy, and my two kids, Alex and Billy, for being such strong supporters during my 19 years as head coach. I truly could not have done it without them.”
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