Three-hundred and seven wins as the leader on the sidelines. Thirty-seven years wearing the headset. Thousands of minutes at practice, and more just watching game film. Teams from Maryland, West Virginia, and even Canada, have opposed him.
Eighteen District 9 championships, 21 appearances in playoffs, countless achievements and awards accepted. Central PA Football Coaches Association and Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Hall of Fame inductee. When one thinks of Clearfield Bison football, one name comes to mind…Janocko.
Since 1985, Tim Janocko has been the lead Bison making the calls for his team. Through the multitude of changes the game has seen in his 37 years as head coach, from helmet designs to playing styles, the one constant that Clearfield counted on was seeing Janocko lead his team onto the field.
For others, Janocko was something aside from a coach.
He was a principal, and a decision-maker. He is a husband, a father, and grandfather. He is a friend, and colleague. Janocko has been many things in his life, and now he can add one more adjective to his list.
Now, Tim Janocko is…retired.
After being part of the Clearfield Bison community for much of his life, both as head coach and principal of the Clearfield Area Junior/Senior High School, and already having stepped away from the latter position years earlier, Janocko has declared that the 2022 season will be his final one on the sidelines.
What can be said about a man that has given his life to his community? Janocko has coached multiple generations of kids in his time, showing each that what is taught on the gridiron can translate into being utilized in life. From difficult games that came down to the wire and blow out victories. He has watched his own kids grow up and be involved with football, both locally and at the highest level.
Janocko is Clearfield football.
All the while, he has not once focused on himself and his own accomplishments. With each win, he constantly made it a point to say, “I’m so proud of these kids.” This season, the Bison gave Janocko his 300th-career victory in a nail-biting 7-3 final over Bald Eagle. That night, his entire family was able to enjoy it. Not just the players, coaches, and assistants, but being greeted by his wife, Trina, his son, Andrew, his daughter, Annie, along with his son-in-law and granddaughter, they all got to be a part of such a momentous occasion.
His time on the field now will be time spent with loved ones, and giving back to the community that has given him so much.
Some of that time will be spent with his grand kids, while some could mean a visit to see his son on the sidelines at Soldier Field. He and Trina have discussed traveling the country, exploring places they have not gotten to see. Janocko is an individual that lives to coach, and coaching literally became his life.
The hours that would be spent studying game film for the next opponent now will be spent watching sunrises and sunsets. Instead of having to bundle up on a snow-packed sideline coaching his team towards a win, Janocko can bundle up and enjoy the game from a different point of view, as a fan.
Janocko has impacted everyone he has met in some way. Whether it is giving advice on an issue away from the field or giving someone an opportunity that may never be expected, his legacy is not based solely on football.
“Football’s not hard. Life’s hard,” he once said. Yet so many things that were learned on a 100-yard stretch of turf carried over into many of his players’ lives away from the gridiron.
The life lessons Janocko has provided to those he has met, coached, and mentored all these years will be forever etched as his greatest achievement.
What can be said about a man that has dedicated his life to bettering the youth of his community? No number of words could ever be enough. How do you show appreciation for an individual that has done so much for so many? The words escape even an experienced journalist.
The best way to show appreciation to someone who has given so much to the community, the school, and the people of Clearfield is to just keep it basic, but also keep it football related.
The most basic play in football comes at the end of a game, when one team knows they have won, and has nothing more to prove. The offense takes the field in “Victory Formation,” and on the snap, the center hands the ball to the quarterback, and the quarterback proceeds to take a knee. The clock hits all zeroes, and the only thing left to do is celebrate.
After 42 years as a coach with the Bison, the last 38 as the “Big Whistle” after four years as an assistant to John Wiley, Janocko has taken his final snap and taken a knee in victory.
Coach Janocko, thank you. Happy retirement.
