Still, despite the sweat and the fatigue and the aches and pains, most of us lucky enough to play football for the Los Gatos Wildcats in the decades of the 1960s and '70s have fond memories of our experiences in orange and black--and not just under the lights on game night.

There was a guy on the football coaching staff during that period who always made the game fun. Paul Juhl.

Sure, I'd likely get some arguments from those guys in the line who he worked hard on the seven-man sled while those of us in the backfield were over catching passes from Larry Matthews and Pete Denevi. But despite the hard work, Coach Juhl always took the edge off of practice with a wise crack, a story or just a wry smile.

Unfortunately, we lost Coach Juhl last month when he passed away in his Santa Cruz home. And even though I hadn't seen him in the more than 35 years since I graduated from high school, I miss him--and I'll bet I speak for the hundreds of Los Gatos football players who played for him before and after me.

He was just a special guy. And no one knows that better than his buddy and coaching colleague Larry Matthews.

"We got along great," says Matthews, who joined the Los Gatos faculty with Juhl in 1959. "I worked side-by-side with Paul for 25 years, and we never had an argument or a disagreement. He was just a great guy."

"What was remarkable about him was how he could relate to the kids, especially the kids having trouble in school," adds his coaching partner. "He wanted all of the tough classes. He just had a knack with kids."

There's little doubt he was a player's coach.

"He made the game fun," recalls my brother, Max, a star on the 1961 Los Gatos squad. "He just enjoyed being one of the guys."

"He was the coach, and we respected him," adds Max, "but he had fun with you. He taught us the game and when the time came to play he let us know, but he could laugh with you too. He was just a great man."

And, take it from me, he wasn't just that way with the great players like my brother. He touched the lives of the third-string players just as fondly as the all-leaguers.

Coach Juhl was a varsity football assistant for both Matthews and Denevi, and he was also the head basketball coach at the high school for a few seasons. He ended up teaching at Los Gatos from 1959 until well into the 1980s.

Paul Juhl came from a sports-minded family in Santa Cruz. He played football, basketball and baseball at Santa Cruz High School and went on attend San José State University.

"He was a pretty good athlete," says Matthews of his pal. But it was what he did after college that might surprise many of us who played for him.

Juhl went on to flight school and flew fighter planes off of aircraft carriers. And among his fellow fliers at the time was a guy who went on to make aviation history.
"He flew with John Glenn," says Matthews. "I saw his log, and there was John Glenn's name. That's quite unique."

But, then, that should come as little surprise ... because Paul Juhl was pretty unique. And he'll be missed by those of us whose lives he touched.

Want to talk? Call me at 408.354.3110, ext. 31, or drop me a note at dsparrer@svcn.com.