O'Quinn commits to help with FC football program

A familiar coaching face will be on the sidelines helping with Franklin County High School football during the 2022 campaign with Rickey Van O’Quinn lending a hand with the varsity squad.

For O’Quinn, who is best recognized these days as leading the Meadville institution’s highly successful boys and girls basketball programs, a return to the gridiron seemed like it would be a good fit after being asked to lend his expertise to the Bulldogs’ cause this season.
“(Head Coach) B.J. (Smithhart) had been asking me to come out and help with some things, and I have developed a good rapport with the kids,” O’Quinn said of his decision to broaden his coaching horizons. “Along with praying about it a great deal, I was convinced to try to help where I could and I am really looking forward to this opportunity.”

During the spring, O’Quinn spent time with the football program working with the defense and said he will jump in wherever he is needed most during the campaign, which begins this week with a preseason jamboree played at West Marion High School in Foxworth.

“I think with this being a small school where a lot of our guys play both ways and with a small coaching staff, I will probably be working a little bit with the defensive backs and some with the receivers,” he continued. “I’ll jump in pretty much where I can be the most help in seeing the football program move forward with the other coaches.”

O’Quinn said his familiarity with the student-athletes in his charge is a real plus coming into the football season as he knows their strengths and they understand his coaching style and philosophy.

“That basically comes down to familiarity between all of us because many of these guys I’ve known since they were in elementary school, and have watched them grow as athletes and young men,” he continued. “When it comes down to coaching them, they know I want to be out there doing what I can and teaching what I can to help them be successful.”

The coach said FC’s football players have a reputation of working hard and have shown a lot of promise in the time he has spent with them – factors that bode well for the future of the program.

“I know they’re still a fairly young group, but the underclassmen and juniors are building a foundation to have something special through their commitment to getting better,” O’Quinn added.

“The keys to success will come down to things like attitude and focus – with how they practice and come prepared to play at game time. Discipline is also important to the effort, and I feel like we’ve made strides in that area, too.”

O’Quinn said he understands student-athletes must balance their priorities between academics and sports, and he also faces similar challenges in balancing his new football involvement with his regular duties in heading the Bulldogs’ basketball programs.

“I’ve coached multiple sports before, but not while being in the head coaching capacity for basketball,” he went on to say.

“It could be tough later — say around mid-October — when basketball really gets rolling and players start staying over for that. But even with that, I am excited to be able to do some things that I haven’t done in a while and help the football program out in the process.”

O’Quinn’s passion to be involved in athletics – this being his 18th year in the coaching profession and 13th year as a head coach — comes from his overall love for sports that began during his formative years.

“My brothers and cousins — from the times I can remember years ago — were all in love with sports and playing together … it was all I knew,” he said.

“I went to college and got a degree in business and worked at a bank for three months and realized that wasn’t for me. At 22 years old, I went and got my (education) license and got into coaching and that’s where I’ve been ever since … I have a passion for sports and teaching kids about life.

“My mentors and the people who coached me had a tremendous influence in what I’m doing today, and I hope to impart the things they taught me to future generations in hopes these young people I spend time with will chase their dreams, too.”

O’Quinn said his teachable moments focus on key character elements like personal values where sports can impart life lessons about handling wins and losses, the value of teamwork and the importance of family and relationships.

“It might sound cliché, but a lot of what you do in school and sports will help with things like perseverance and toughness because you will face tough times … things won’t always be easy,” he continued.

“The reality is that you might not win a state title every year, but you want to be as competitive as you can, be responsible, work through adversity and commit yourself individually and as a team to giving your all in what you are trying to accomplish and showing pride in that.”

In terms of the best advice he ever received in regards his coaching career, O’Quinn said he was told in his first year of coaching to do things his way and be thick skinned — as long as what he does is in the best interest of the youth in his charge.

“Coaching is a profession where you get the blame pretty much for everything, and it’s not about pleasing others every time,” he added.

“The best coaches are the ones that tune out the noise and focus on helping their kids become quality individuals on and off the court or field and take what you teach them a long way through life.”