New Head Coach: Chance to Lead Fox Lane Football a 'Golden Opportunity'

It isn’t easy to give up what you love but sometimes in life that has to be done.

That was the case for Bill Broggy, who has coached the Fox Lane football squad the last 12 years, including an appearance in the Section 1 Class A championship game against Ossining in 2007.

He also coached 12 seasons at Dover before coaching at the Bedford-based school. There at Dover he won two sectional championships, including 1997 when Dover won the Class C state championship.

That season Broggy was named state coach of the year.

Those 24 years at the varsity level are in addition to the three years as being a JV coach at Kennedy Catholic before starting at Dover in ’87.

Though Broggy is stepping away from his post as head coach of the Fox Lane football team, he'll  remain head coach of the girls lacrosse squad, a team that has in the last two years been a sectional finalist and a state finalist.

Replacing him on the gridiron sideline is Fox Lane assistant coach Steve Quinn.

Broggy said that he made the decision because of the enormous amount of time that being a football coach took away from his time with his two daughters and the students he teaches in  advanced placement history courses at Fox Lane.

Coaching any sport at the high-school varsity level can be an all-encompassing job—but there is nothing like the time commitment of a head varsity football coach.

“In football, you are always thinking about preparing for the next game,” Broggy said. “When you are at practice, for those three hours every day, you are thinking about that week’s game. When you go home, you are watching film and thinking about that week’s game. Then there’s prepping for four different AP courses.”

Two things really hit home for Broggy in making his decision, he said.

One was when one of his two daughters, his oldest, during the lacrosse season asked him if he could believe that she is going into high school next fall. That Broggy said really hit him in the heart.

Another was a discussion with his students about being afraid to make a big change. He thought about himself during their talk.

One reason why making that change was so tough for Broggy is because of the players and coaches that he has worked with. A coach spends a lot of time with his players and staff, to the point that they become family.

“I am going to miss the kids and the staff, that made the decision even more difficult,” Broggy said. “I loved working with them and they really worked hard for me.”

One of those who had worked hard for him was Quinn. Broggy is very confident that Quinn will keep the Fox Lane gridiron program going in the right direction.

“Steve is a hard worker, a great position coach, he’s going to do a good job,” Broggy said. “Having him will keep up the stability in the program.”

Quinn is excited

Quinn is excited about being the varsity head coach after being an assistant varsity coach the last two years and the modified coach for five years before that.

“It’s a big deal,” Quinn said. “I have been part of the program for the last seven years now so to be the head coach now is huge. I envisioned at some point taking the head position, it came a little bit sooner than I expected.”

Quinn said that the chance to be the head coach at Fox Lane is “a golden opportunity.”

“It’s a pretty stable coaching staff,” Quinn said. “Everybody works for the district at different levels whether it’s elementary right up to the high school. Working with Bill Bates (an assistant coach) has been great the last couple of years and he will be staying on.”

Quinn, a Fox Lane Middle School guidance counselor, said his goal as head coach at Fox Lane is to build on what already is there.

“We have had a pretty solid program for the last two years,” Quinn said. “We certainly want to maintain that, keep that going. We moved up to Double AA two years ago and we want to be as competitive as possible against the schools that are significantly bigger than we are.”