I found this in an article from the Nashvillesports.net.
Does your Coaching Staff put any effort into getting kids to College? Or are the only worried about wins, losses and their legacy? I think Pearl-Cohn has done it the right way! What about your School?
Pearl-Cohn is City's Most Successful Football Program
Some high school football programs measure success by number of wins and championships, but at Nashville’s Pearl-Cohn High School, they have a different idea of success. Their goal is to get kids college scholarship money. By that standard, Pearl-Cohn is the most successful program in Nashville. This year’s NCAA national signing day saw Pearl-Cohn’s football program have 10 kids sign letters of intent with colleges or universities meaning they were getting scholarship money. Metro Nashville Public Schools had 19 students sign and over half played football at Pearl-Cohn. Pearl-Cohn has had over 70 players sign over the last 7 years.
Why is Pearl-Cohn so successful? Coach Tony Brunetti. Brunetti came on board at Pearl-Cohn in 2002, when he became an assistant coach under the legendary Maurice Fitzgerald. Brunetti became defensive coordinator the following year, and in 2006 was named Head Coach when Fitzgerald retired.
Fitzgerald had given Brunetti the power to handle the recruits, and Brunetti began to learn the ropes.
Brunetti said in an interview with SportsNashville.net, “I learned how to burn tape, to edit and cut. I began sending tapes, calling, talking, hustling, and building relationships.â€
When asked how important it is to him to get kids to college he said, “ I made a promise to myself that when I was in a position to help kids, I was going to help them. I’m going to do the extra work to find a way to get them to school.’
Recent SEMO signee Darrius Darden- Box agrees saying, “ Coach Brunetti did 75 -80% of the work to get me a scholarship.â€
Asked what is the key to his accomplishments, Brunetti said, “ It takes a lot of time and effort, and a lot of schools don’t have the time. When a kid comes to me as a freshman, I show them a plan, what it takes to get a scholarship. If they follow my plan, stay with me four years and don’t get in trouble, they will graduate. Even if they don’t get a scholarship, they’ll be ready to go to school.â€
Brunetti added, “There’s a lot more to this than X’s and O’s. I’m very involved, along with the guidance counselors. I look at their grades, I watch their schedules, make sure they’re taking the right classes. At Pearl-Cohn we work just as hard for the kid going to a small school as the one going to a D-I school. “The bottom line is you’re going to win and lose games, but I love seeing young men go to school.â€