UMHS Football Head Coach Steps Down

Adam Beach has put together six successful seasons as the head coach of the football team at Upper Moreland. 

However, the 37-year-old Beach decided it was time to step away.

Despite turning Upper Moreland into one of the top programs in the area, Beach had concerns about being able to keep up with the hectic schedule of a head football coach while balancing the rest of his time as a teacher, husband and father.  He resigned as head coach of the Golden Bears earlier this month.

"There are a lot of factors," said Beach. "There are so many different things that went into this. You just can't point to one, two, three, four or even five things. What it basically comes down to is that with everything in my life right now, I can't run the program the way I want to run it. I can't commit the way I need to commit. If I can't do that, it's time for me to step aside," Beach said.

Beach is a man who always puts 100 percent into every part of his life.  He made it clear to his players that he couldn't continue as head coach unless he could provide the time and energy needed to keep the program at a high level. 

"That's what I told the kids," Beach said. "I can't do this halfway. I can't do it partial.  I'm either all in or not. I owe it to the kids and owe it to the program to step aside and let someone come in who can."

Head coaches in all types of sports are often sucked into a time-consuming vacuum of work that allows little time for the rest of life's endeavors. Football is arguably one of the busiest sports for a head coach.

"There's a lot of moving parts in football," Beach said. "You have the positions and the formations and the schemes, and just the flow of the game. Every play and every formation has certain details. We take pride in preparing ourselves, and our team, to play. To do it right, it takes time."

Beach put together an impressive resume as the Golden Bears head coach. Upper Moreland went 45-24 during his tenure and endured only one losing season. He led the Bears to a conference title in 2006 and shared another championship in 2008. 

The success came despite the small size of Upper Moreland compared to the other programs in the Suburban One League.

"We're very proud," Beach said. "I think the commitment of the kids and the coaches really proved that you can win at Upper Moreland High School. It's a small school, and there was a time when it was really getting beat a lot. We wanted to change things. The kids' commitment to the weight room and the off-season training program is the reason why [we were] where we were."

Beach will miss much more than the thrill of victory on the football field. A football coach often doubles as an advisor in both life and academics for his players. 

"The bond that I make with the players and the mentoring that goes on is the number one thing I'm going to miss," Beach said. "The kids understand who cares about them, and they understand what you are saying to them to make them better as a person, as a student and as an athlete."

Beach has not ruled out coaching again in the future.  He could return to the sidelines somewhere as early as next season.

"I still want to be involved in athletics," Beach said. "I still want to have those bonds with the students.  That's what I feel is part of my role as a teacher and an educator. I just can't be their football coach right now."