Rossi a fixture at Fenwick

By David Eck

HAMILTON DEANERY — On that rare occasion, a high school coach comes along whose philosophy transcends sports and filters into daily life.

That’s the premise behind He Won the Game, a new book about legendary Fenwick High School coach and administrator John "Butch" Rossi, who encouraged his players to be yourself, be your best and bring others to Christ through your actions

The book by Mike Holweger, a Springboro High School teacher and coach and former Rossi basketball player, will be released this week.

COURTESY PHOTO

Mike Holweger, left, with John "Butch" Rossi several years ago.

Rossi, a father of 10, died in 2005 at age 70 after battling cancer.

He was a member of Fenwick’s first graduation class in 1953 and began a 41-year career at the school in 1958, serving as a teacher, administrator and coach. In 1989, he was named the school’s first lay principal.

His basketball teams were legendary as he compiled 402 wins in 31 years. As of June, he was 95th in career wins among Ohio boys basketball coaches.

He was inducted into the Fenwick and the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association halls of fame in 1995. The athletic complex at Fenwick’s new campus is named after Rossi and his friend Jerry Harkrader.

The book project actually began in 2001, but it wasn’t until 2003 that Rossi agreed to participate, Holweger said.

"I set out to write a book," Holweger said. "When I sat down and thought of all the topics, I kept coming back to Mr. Rossi. I knew him. I knew his story and knew it was a captivating story.’’

He spent hours interviewing the retired coach discussing faith, Rossi’s fight with cancer, loved ones and going through the dying process.

"We spent a lot of time at his home," Holweger said. "For me it was a great opportunity to talk and discuss coaching philosophies, life philosophies and the role of an educator.’’

Other materials came from Rossi family members and those who knew or played for the coach. He influenced students, Middletown, the Catholic community and players, Holweger said.

"A lot of the book comes from letters and comments from people that he influenced," Holweger said. "That’s definitely one of my favorite parts of the book. Anyone who knew coach knew he had a great sense of humor, boundless energy and great stories. I think those are prevalent in the book."

Holweger, a 1989 Fenwick graduate who played for Rossi, is now forging his own coaching career. He was an assistant at Springboro for three years before taking the head coaching job at Lebanon in 2005. He returned to Springboro as an assistant in 2006.

He has also coached at Fenwick, Fairmont, Capital University and at Hamilton Township near Columbus.

Rossi’s philosophy continues in the lessons Holweger learned and is applying to his own coaching.

"I always try to emphasize the importance of becoming a team," he said. "I want the players to understand that the team is more important than any one individual player. I also want the athletes to understand that I care about them as people, not just as players."

He Won the Game was published by Find Your Fairway Publishing, a company Holweger started. He will be signing copies of He Won the Game at the Best of Butch celebration at Fenwick High on Jan 27 from 1-3 p.m.; at Campioni’s Restaurant in Springboro Jan. 28 from 6-8 p.m. and at Stefano’s Restaurant in Middletown on Jan. 30 from 6-8 p.m. The book will be available in stores in February.