Former Marion player finds coaching success at Emporia High School
Staff writer
Marion High School football coach Grant Thierolf was in the crowd Nov. 5 for Emporia High School’s playoff game against Kapaun Mt. Carmel. He was watching his former player Dustin Delaney coach Emporia
Thierolf was sitting next to his assistant coach, Shaun Craft, when they observed Emporia’s young head coach emphatically instruct a player on the field.
Thierolf leaned over to Craft and said, “Well, it’s not just me.”
“When you put so much time into something you want to see it succeed,” Thierolf explained.
Delaney was not a stranger to success in his first season as a head coach. Emporia went 7-4 under his tutelage. The Spartans defeated Kapaun in their first playoff game before Delaney’s squad eventually lost to Hutchinson, Delaney’s former team, in the second round.
Delaney and Craft played together for Thierolf in the late 1990s. Although he moved from Wichita with his family, Dennis and Susan Nichols, his junior year, Delaney said he became a much better player under Thierolf. The former all-state linebacker said that Thierolf inspired him to become a head coach.
“Maybe we showed it’s a good family life,” Thierolf said. “We’re thrilled when any of our kids go into teaching.”
Thierolf said he saw the makings of a future coach when Delaney was a player.
“He was always very concerned about the scouting report, asking a lot of questions,” Thierolf said. “He had a good eye for defense.”
Delaney’s enjoyment of watching film and studying the game proved to Thierolf that he could handle the rigors of coaching.
“You’ve got to like the mundane things to be successful,” Thierolf said. “You’ve got to put in the time.”
Although he said the weight program at Marion was part of what made him a better player, what Delaney took away from Thierolf’s coaching was an emphasis on accountability.
“You don’t want kids making excuses; the sense that they’re accountable to their teammates is the most important thing. You don’t want to be that guy that doesn’t make that play,” Thierolf said. “Kids will make excuses when they see the head coach make excuses.”
Also, Delaney said he learned to treat players the right way.
“You can get kids to do a lot for you, if you treat them right,” Delaney said.
Even though there is more than 20 years difference in experience between the two coaches, Thierolf views Delaney as an equal. Delaney was an assistant in Clearwater before becoming an assistant for Randy Dreiling at Hutchinson High School. Delaney was an assistant coach for state champion Salt Hawk teams four consecutive years.
“We run the same offense; we ask what he does. I’m worried more about technical things. Technically, he’s a very good coach,” Thierolf said. “The four years he was at Hutch, that’s a doctorate program right there. It’d be foolish of us not to tap into that.”
Delaney said he talks to Thierolf and Craft often and he still fields suggestions from his former coach. After the Kapaun game, Delaney said Thierolf talked about the Crusaders’ tendencies when using motion.
“His kids are the same kids that we have in Marion,” Thierolf said. “Just different names.”
Although Thierolf realizes that success has followed Delaney his whole career, he was still impressed with his performance in his first year as a head coach.
“All of a sudden you go from somebody who has some input to the person who is responsible for all the decisions that are made,” Thierolf said. “We’re thrilled. We just hope he keeps having continued success.”
Delaney’s grandparents, Don and Mary-Alice Jolley, continue to live at the Marion County Lake.