Marine Corps veteran brings professionalism, life lessons to Newman’s football team

STERLING – Newman Central Catholic assistant football coach Todd Messer turned to the Marines to help him grow up and get some discipline.

Playing college football at Elmhurst University didn’t work out after he re-injured his neck, something he first hurt in his last high school game playing at Newman. He then transferred to Sauk Valley Community College. However, Messer admitted he wasn’t a great student.

“I wasn’t doing the things I should have been doing,” he said. “I always wanted to be a police officer, and I knew I needed to change something.”

A friend of his had recently enlisted in the Marines and invited Messer to talk to his recruiter. Messer agreed.

“The rest is history,” he said.

Messer served in the Marines for five years, traveling to Okinawa, Japan, and Qatar in the Middle East. His MOS, or military occupational specialty, was 2841 – ground radio repair.

He went to boot camp in San Diego before going to the Marine Corps Communication-Electronics School in Twentynine Palms, California.

Messer left the service when he got a job with the Sterling Police Department, where he worked for 25 years before retiring in 2022. He was a patrol officer and a field training officer and was promoted to patrol sergeant and later detective sergeant.

The 52-year-old’s own experiences and lessons he learned from the military and as a police officer provide a valuable perspective for players on the team.

Messer says military values have some overlap with the game of football.

“Especially at Newman, our values are faith, family and football,” he said. “With the Marine Corps, you have honor, courage and commitment.”

Both endeavors take teamwork and discipline for Messer.

“There’s a lot of things from football you can take into real-life situations,” he said. “You have to work well with others. You’re going to be faced with adversity throughout the game. And in life, you’re always faced with adversity. You learn how to overcome that stuff.”

Messer tries to teach larger life lessons through football.

He said he doesn’t “talk a lot about winning and losing.”

“It’s about getting better and being the best that you can be,” he said. “And being able to use the things you learn here in football and take them on with you where you go later in life.”

When it’s Messer’s turn to give a speech at the team meetings, he tries to relate to that week’s particular challenges.

It has resonated with the players.

“My wife asked me why I enjoy coaching so much. (It’s) when you see your former players move on and do good things and become good men themselves,” Messer said. “They come back and they still call you coach. I’ve been on traffic stops and a car rolls by and you hear, ‘Hey coach’, out the window. It kind of makes you feel good.”

Newman’s third-year head football coach Mike LeMay said Messer brings a level of professionalism to the team and holds himself to a high standard.

“He definitely brings that team mentality and I think that’s so pivotal,” LeMay said. “Just the mannerisms and how the kids hold themselves are definitely representative of the Marines, and coach Messer brings that forward all the time.”

LeMay, a 2006 Newman grad, said he is fortunate to have someone like coach Messer, who has helped bridge Newman’s culture of success.

LeMay appreciates the knowledge Messer brings from the Marines and Boy Scouts, and motivational material.

“He loves those triumphant stories,” LeMay said.

“The whole mentality of focusing on the process rather than the product, and it’s the work you put in,” he said. “I think that’s something that he embodies all the time.”

Messer is not the first, nor the last, in his family to get involved in football or the military.

Todd’s dad, Terry Messer, coached running backs and outside linebackers under Newman’s Hall of Fame coach Mike Papoccia, who coached the Comets to five state football titles and two runner-up finishes over 35 years with a 0.762 winning percentage. He also coached LeMay at Newman.

Todd’s grandfather on his mom’s side, William McGinnis, served in World War II in the South Pacific as part of Merrill’s Marauders, a special operations unit in the Army that fought in Burma. Todd’s sons, Sean and Colin, also decided on their own to join the Marines. His daughter, Breanna, served in the Navy. Colin also played football. He graduated from basic training in early October.

Messer strives to provide a balance of tough love and discipline while also relating to players. He says Newman’s football success is all due to them.

“It’s the kids. They believe in the program. They believe in paying attention to the small details and becoming better. And their dedication,” Messer said. “I would love to say it’s always coaching, but it’s the kids. They believe in themselves. They believe in the team.”