How Troy Moritz And His Simple Love Of Football Influenced His Life

High school Football Coach Troy Moritz has experienced an extensive road to this point in his career. Growing up in Madison, Wisconsin, Moritz became a demon on the field. By the time he was 12 years old he became a major force on his Pop Warner team’s defensive line. In high school he led his team’s defense to a school record number of shut out games and was recruited by major Division I college football programs. Nebraska, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Notre Dame came calling as did Texas, Oklahoma and UCLA. Moritz decided to stay in his hometown and become a Wisconsin Badger.



While at Wisconsin, Moritz set a school record for the number of sacks on the opposing team’s quarterback. He was a beast on the field and a gentle giant in the classroom where he double majored in Psychology and Education. Moritz was the heart and soul of the Badger team, preparing projects for team members to visit sick children in the hospital and dealing with all the administration to get senior citizen alumni to football games. A man of significant character alongside impressive athletic ability, Moritz was known in his undergraduate days to be somewhat of a Renaissance man.



His dominating presence on a Division I, Big Ten football team was perceived as an edge heading into the NFL Draft. Pundits had Moritz being drafted in the third round and prognosticated about the defensive lineman’s future NFL career being long and prosperous. Everyone who knew (and knows) Troy Moritz said that all of this good fortune couldn’t happen to a better guy. Moritz’s fortunes took a crash when he was significantly injured in a car accident that prohibited him from playing football professionally.



That was all twenty years ago and today, Troy Moritz says that not making it in the NFL was the most beneficial thing to happen to him. Within the course of the months following his vehicle accident, he managed through many rough days of physical therapy that strengthened him in ways he never thought possible. Thankful that he was diligent about his education Moritz set about to look for a teaching job and learned his college sweetheart was also teaching. In the back of his mind though, he thought he may always live with the sorrow of what could have been but was pleasantly surprised when he found he loved teaching - it empowered him in a way football never had. "Football is one thing I did mainly because I was good at it," he is fond of saying. "Teaching is something I do because I love it."



Moritz married his college sweetheart Cheryl and the couple has four teenage children. His sons play football, which makes their father proud. He has coached the high school football team at his school for a decade. When asked if he could ever see himself coaching at the collegiate level, a sparkle took over his eyes. "It’s not out of the question; I would love to do that."