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North tabs Beck as football coach photo by Bob Pennell Former assistant coach promises to keep things the same direction By GREG STILES More than a decade ago, John Beck was offered a head football coaching job. He turned it down, the time wasn't right and he wasn't ready. On Monday afternoon, the 40-year-old Beck sat between his wife, Judy, and incoming North Medford principal Doug McKenzie in front of a bank of television cameras at Spiegelberg Stadium as he was named coach of the Black Tornado. After 16 years as an assistant coach, the time and opportunity were right. "Deep down, this is always something I wanted to do since I was a little boy," said Beck, whose father was a coach and athletic administrator. "You always want to be like your Dad." Beck succeeds Rod Rumrey, who he served as defensive coordinator for the past three seasons, and is the third head coach since the 1986 North-South split. "We know coach Beck will continue the strong tradition of the Black Tornado," McKenzie said, citing his leadership skills, representation in the community, staff relationships and classroom demeanor. Beck turned down an opportunity to coach The Dalles, instead he went to Barlow High in Gresham where he became head softball coach, while assisting in football and wrestling. "I was 20-something, I wanted to be a head coach, but I knew I wasn't ready at the time," Beck said. "I went to Barlow and was really successful there." The success came in several areas. During his tenure at Barlow, he met his wife, coached Barlow's softball team to three state playoff appearances in five years and also developed a relationship with Rumrey via softball and summer football camps. That connection eventually led him to the Rogue Valley. When Rumrey brought Beck aboard, he noted there was a chance that the head job could one day be his. "I knew that was a possibility," Beck said. "But that wasn't the driving force for coming down here." Judy Beck attributed the 1998 move to her husband's competitiveness. "The whole reason he moved down here is that this is such a competitive conference," Judy Beck said. "He could've got a head job in Portland or maybe the Mount Hood Conference, but he wanted to play with the best, hand-picking the time to become a head coach." Beck is well aware of the talent on hand. He's also aware of the expectations after last December's state runner-up finish. Beck said he wanted to meet community expectations head on. "There's no bigger challenge, because we're not building," he said. "The key is how to improve." Beck's first tenure in the Rogue Valley came after he graduated from Molalla High in 1979 and enrolled at Southern Oregon. "I went in as a business major," Beck said. "I wanted to make a million dollars. But that got a bit boring. I didn't want to spend my life crunching numbers. I'm a people person and decided I wanted to teach and coach." Beck played collegiately for Southern Oregon under Chuck Mills. When it came to shaping a coaching philosophy there were many mentors, including Rumrey and former Ashland and Barlow coach Jerry Williams. "My father (John Beck,II) was my biggest role model as a high school coach," Beck said. "At times, he told me it was the worst profession and it was a thankless job. You have to work hard all the time and he said it was rough on Mom." But there was another side of the equation that drew Beck to coaching. "The relationships you develop and the excitement that surrounded everything." And what will Beck expect of his players? "That they play their hearts out and that they're a class act," Beck said. "To play 100 percent from snap to whistle and to cheer for our teammates, not against opponents." Beck doesn't expect major turnovers in the varsity staff. Offensive coordinator Brent Barry, a finalist for the job will stay on. The day after Rumrey resigned, Beck, Barry, Chris Parnell and Mike Schaan met with Rumrey. Beck and Barry said they intended to stay on. "The bar's been set high," Beck said. "We want to get over the bar and raise it in general." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4483, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.