The Community, Connections & Commerce Podcast, presented by OUE & St. Clairsville Chamber - Community and Connections Season 2 Episode 3 w Manny Matsakis

Episode Date: October 2, 2025

Welcome back to Community and Connections. I'm your host, Drake Watson, along with Sam, joining me this morning. We are thrilled to have our guest, the head coach of the Ohio Valley Ironmen. We hope you've heard of them. Mani, Matt Sackas, coach, it's great to be with you. I've spoken to you a time or two before during the season. And what you guys have brought to the community is really a special thing. And we hope to get deeper into that this morning, Sam and myself.

And we hope to learn a little bit more about you and your vision sort of for this new thing in the community. Yeah, thanks, Drake. Excited. It's nice to be, you know, back in the air. I grew up here. So it's fun to just get back. and enjoy bringing outdoor NFL rules football to the Ohio Valley. Let's get into a little bit of your background first.

So you are, like you said, you're a native of the Ohio Valley, and you went on to do huge things, came back to the Valley. But give us a little bit of your, how do I want to say this, your glory days in uniform. Oh, Lord. Come on. Glory days. Well, I, well, there's a bit of the, whole ironman thing woven into it um you know i originally um my my co my uh grandfather was a coal miner in

west virginia and um my dad uh went to west liberties and the hall of fame up there as a football player and uh he went on to coach um in the high valley he was used to be the head coach of powhat in high school which doesn't exist anymore and um and as a kid growing up in the 1960s he used to take me to the Ironman Games on Wheeling Island. And to the point where in the late 60s, when they went from the Wheeling Ironman to the Ohio Valley Ironman, the head coach was a fellow by name of Lou Blumling. And Lou ended up being one of the top NFL scouts afterwards.

But Lou was also my father's defensive coordinator, Pahadon. And he was from Warwood as well. So just as a kid, just being around those players, seeing that, it just sort of like ingrained in my psyche of what that was like to see these guys that ultimately, a lot of them went, I mean, guys went on and get Super Bowl rings and, you know, playing the national football league because we were a farm team for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But then when my father moved from Powhatan High School, they merged to River High School. We moved to Shadyside because it was closer drive for him. And so, you know, that's where I really grew up, was Shaddy Side. So I was fortunate. I had a pretty decent career there as an athlete, a three-sport athlete, football wrestling track.

I was state champion, discus thrower in track, Allstate in Ohio, and football. And then I had opportunities to go into college. I went to a small school in Columbus, Ohio called Capital University. was an All-American there as a football player and then all of a sudden the Ironman thing wove back in because I'm getting

looked at by a lot of NFL teams and Lou Blumwing comes back into my life and at that point he had been the lead scout for an organization called Blesto. Blesto stands for bears, lions, Eagles, Saints, you know, just an acronym.

Oh, okay. And he would always come by check me out every year I was like, this is strange. And then I get drafted pretty high by the Philadelphia Eagles. And after going there, I played it. There was a league in the spring called the USFL. So I played down, and I was in Orlando, then Jacksonville.

And then my last four-a was with the Indianapolis Colts. It was during the strike season back in, goodness, in the 90s, early 90s. So, you know, so that was fun. And then I got into coaching. And then I've been a college and, professional football coach for over 35 years and been fortunate to be a head coach five times and professionally I was the offensive coordinator for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers up in the Canada and just have been at some great places a lot of every level of football from big time

programs like Texas Tech and Kansas State and so forth and even some small schools are pretty awesome so what is what is that world like for for a lot of folks you know you see it on TV the pros and you kind of have this vision or imagination of what it is you know what it is like but what is it really like living that lifestyle going from team to team you know management you know they all have different styles that's got to be tough to constantly have your your world flips upside down moving from team to team I've coached, I think last I counted at 16 different places, right? 16 different bosses.

Well, or I was the boss five times, which is one of those crazy things. But I'm fortunate, I mean, two of my guys, you know, Bill Snyder at Kansas Day's in the college football Hall of Fame, you know, Mike Leach at Texas Tech should be in the college football Hall of Fame here. I think I saw they lowered the win percentage requirement and he should get in here soon. Should. Mike should, yeah. And, you know, it's just, you know, I've had really good coaches I've worked with. But it is, I mean, Sam, it's about, it's a bit of a gypsy lifestyle. You know, I can't tell you, I mean, I've probably bought over, I don't know,

these six homes I can think of, thinking I'm going to be there the long term, and then a bigger job opens up, you know, they double your pay, and then next thing you're moving on to somewhere else. And that's the part I, I've never really had. a chance to establish roots in any of those communities. However, what it did do for me is it gave me a lot of great relationships. You know, when I've got guys that I mentored that are, you know, NFL head coaches now or top coordinators in National Football League or they're like, you know, the other day I got

a call from a guy that, I'm not to say he's a kid, but he's my graduate assistant at Texas Tech. He's the head coach of Baylor now. He called me, would you come down? help us out we need some assistance on some consulting and things like that so it's like that's the good part you know it's like in the old days we had rolodexes well mine would be really big Drake do you know what that is I'm gonna plead the fifth here you know people used to give you business cards Drake and you would put them in this little thing that spun around by alphabetically

instead of on our phone so but you know so I think that that lifestyle um as fun as it is to do things like coaching some really cool places to be at a place like texas a and m and there's 90 some thousand people or play i coached against ohio state when i was in lubbock and um those are all cool things you know you get me it's a fun thing but in the end what i what i've enjoyed about coaching are the relationships you build with your co-workers and the players and when i still hear from players that I coach 30 years ago on a regular basis, you know, it's, hey, it's Christmas time, coach. I want to, let's get on the phone. I'll do a, you know, some podcast with somebody that's, you know, I had a magazine that was, you know, the trade journal for football

coaches internationally. And I've got guys that worked for me as interns at schools and now they're really high up at Fox Sports or ESPN and these different places. And it's just sort of neat to hear from them and they see what we're doing with the Ironman right now and they're like hey this is right up your alley I love this I follow you guys and it's pretty neat we talk a lot of times about community and we'll get it into that a little bit later as far as what that means for this area and bringing ironman football back but I want to touch on the connections because that's obviously the other half of the name of the show and you talked about coach Snyder coach leech and some of the other connections that you've made along the way what's that process like when you're maybe a younger coach

you know, you've got to shake hands and meet some different people, and I'm sure, you know, you're about to meet Bill Snyder. What's that like developing that relationship and then kind of keeping that going later on in life, as you said, the coach at Baylor ended up calling you recently. What's that like in your mind? Well, in retrospect, had I know what I know now, there's some things I would have done differently.

Sure. You know, I mean, you're a young kid and you're coaching, and you think you know everything. and cry. I mean, I'll tell you what. I mean, it's like I've, now I've realized that I've forgot so much, you know, about all the relationships. But, but what I think worked well for me was really a tireless work ethic that your superiors, you know, the people you work for, they respect you for that. You know, I can tell you this, Drake, there isn't a year that I don't get half a dozen offers to go do something, you know, like in this industry.

So, and it's because of that, you know, they remember, oh, okay, you did this. You have a really good, I had a pretty strong marketing background. Not that I majored in it. Heck, I'm majoring in biology, you know. So, so I think that the relationships were built by absolutely not social media because that didn't exist back in those days. and even a lot of times I notice there are young interns we have that think they have all these relationships because I've got I've got you know 10,000 followers in social media and I'm like okay how many can you pick up the phone and talk to and have a meaningful relationship sure and it doesn't even fill all the fingers in one hand so so I realize the beauty of back then was you had to be able to have conversations with people you had their relationships social media for

for me later on became great because more people followed where I was and I could connect with people. Maybe I did lose touch with at some point. But, you know, when I can honestly say there's, you know, five or six hundred people over my career that I'm, that I can literally call, they pick up the phone right down in there and I'm not just texting them. That's what connections are. And I believe it's a, in this day and age, because I've got two older kids that or one's 27, one's 29. I got a little 13-year-old, but they don't get on the phone

and have conversations anymore. And I think that's what's lacking. But it's there, you know, and people love it. I mean, how many times have you been, like, sent a text and it would take you, you know, 15 minutes to text it back, but you have a five-minute meaningful conversation. It's like, and that's what I do. I was like, you ask too much.

I'm going to pick up. phone call you that yeah i've actually had that conversation with a lot of people in my industry in radio where i in not to knock on the younger generation but the art of communication is is suffering because of things like social media and and like you said the part of our show is connections and you have to have those communication skills to develop those connections and you're you know exactly what you just spoke about is a prime example of how it can carry you within your career. It's a bit of a catch-22.

I mean, because you get on social media, you see these people like promoting, like, hey, you can basically live in a silo and make, you know, crazy money, you know, doing some online course or something, and you never actually see somebody. That, but what I think is if you do both and you balance it out well and you have meaningful relationships and people genuinely like, even dislike you. It doesn't matter. I mean, it's like sometimes it's better to be dislike because you get a lot of attention from people. That means you stand for something,

right? Yeah, exactly. So I think that's the beauty of it. I mean, there's probably never been a better time to be in this industry than right now if you understand the things we're talking about. Because if you can, if you can actualize what what the past was and create the future with all of these mediums, you know, I mean, the podcast, the, you know, the social media, all this stuff we're talking about. If you can whip that together, it's a runaway train. I mean, and the people that do are actually out there making it happen. Well, you look at your team right now, I think is a great example.

I think we had 40,000 plus watch both of the games so far, and we'd love to have them in the stands. But regardless, they're still being exposed to the organization that you're leading and the team that you're coaching. and I think that's a great thing for the community and almost tying it back to that marketing background that you said you had. And I believe you and Kerry, who handle a lot of that stuff,

have done just a phenomenal job of not only the product on the field, in the stands, in the concourse, but also the product on Tuesday and Wednesday, when there is no game, but you're still hearing about the Ironman. You're updated with the recent player you guys just signed or your upcoming game. I think you guys have done a great job on that

and connecting people through that way. well and dreg i appreciate that and i think what's starting to happen what has been happening throughout the summer as we played the season out it's more of a people starting to get the notice it's truly a grassroots approach and and then all of a sudden i get a call and it's like quaker steak and lube hey we want to feed your team doing meat and greed generations de felice pizza let's go over here you know stuff like that and we get out there and then oh wow and then they meet the players and what I have heard. I mean, if I've heard it once, I've heard it hundreds of times, people meet our players

and say, wow, they're so nice. They're like, they say, you know, a buddy of mine saw him just, and he didn't even say he knew me. And it was like, my goodness, they say, yes, sir, no, sir. He goes, I felt like they were talking to my dad, you know, it's like, but they're so respectful and love the history of the Ironman. And our players just like, anytime I tell them stories, they're just like at the edge of their seats. So it's like, I believe we're going to be around for a long time if we do this right.

But this is not a one-man show or me and Carrie doing it or anything like that or just us doing what we're doing. I think it's going to take the whole community to make this happen. And there's, you know, there's about 12 counties I think are the Ohio Valley. Yeah. I think, and I try to mention it every time. and Audrey does a great job with our sideline interviews, talking to those players after they made a big play, I mean, they're so invested in answering her question.

And their answers always consist of, you know, we're just taking what the defense gives us. We're just doing what we're coached to do. You know, we're letting it go, you know, as it happens. And they're very respect, like you said, very great people outside of being great athletes. Yeah, they are, Drake. And, you know, as you mentioned that,

just the concept it's like yeah they're grateful and because they know the history and I've been ingraining that in them because you know these guys aren't all from here we've got a handful of players we got Chance Knight who's from Bridgeport played at Lindsay and he's a fantastic football player and even he has like an idea because he'll see old shirts right retro wheeling ironman shirts you know it's so cool you know it's like oh okay I'm joining something bigger than me yeah and I And I think we have a team of guys that are generally very, not just appreciative, but also understand that they have to be spokespeople for this. And it's important. As opposed to sometimes in certain pro sports or even other things, these guys, they want to point the finger at them.

It's all me, me, me. Our guys are very, very team-oriented. and we want to represent the Ohio Valley. And I don't think a single one of them has failed to mention the community and kind of their overall sentiment is that's why they're doing it. It's for the people in the stands. You know, it's great that there's a bunch of houses right around the stadium that they can point up to and say it's for these folks,

the folks that live here and the folks that have been wanting Ironman football for so long. Yeah, absolutely. So it's a process now. I mean, it's something that, you know, my goal is as we head into the 2026 season, and we really are ramping things up in the fall to make things happen from season ticket sales to just appearances, as much media as we can get out there, and also just get as many people excited about what's going to happen in the summer 26, which I think will really, we'll start blowing it up.

You talked about relationships and building relationships, and that is a huge factor when it comes to talent acquisition, particularly at the college level of the game. But you've got to do that, I'd imagine, to a certain extent in this as well, you've got to make sure these guys feel like they're welcome here and that, you know, there's something that you guys have to offer and there's something that they have to offer and really building that relationship. What's that like? And you've gone all over the country and found some really talented players. What's that like when you're developing that relationship for a guy that's going to play for you for at least a season, hopefully more?

Yeah, you know, part of it, Drake, is we have to get the 40 players on our roster, I've watched video on well over 3 or 400 players. So we had to taper down. Then I'm calling their high school or college coaches or where they played. And that's why I believe we have a good fit here. And they understand that, hey, you know what, I'm very fortunate because look at how many guys I, in essence, beat out of the four. funnel of all the players to get who the ironmen are so i think that that's a piece of it um you mentioned relationships and connections it's like knowing a lot of agents uh knowing knowing many many uh college coaches that will call me say hey i got a guy for you yeah this guy would fit what we

want because they know i don't say but there's a relationship with you so they know what you would want and they know the player as well absolutely yeah so it that that i love about the this. I think that's why people are always just like, man, you guys are so good. How in the world did you get those players here to the Ohio Valley? And, well, you know, I can't control the other teams out there, but I can control how we've prepared. And even though we were the very last team that entered into this, you know, minor league of football, you know, which is basically what it is. I mean, it's, it's not like semi-pro or indoor ball. you know it's you know these guys get paid we put them up in a hotel and really nice situation

for them but i mean we didn't start this thing until last november most every team we've played has been around for years yeah and um and and and and even the ones that are newer to the game had 12 over two years to prepare and get their marketing up and i think the broadcast that we do um you know with when you know that you obviously do with channel seven has been really strong and um you I think it's the best at this level, and I'm looking forward to making even better, and it's like I keep telling, you know, Audrey and I say, don't be afraid. Get out here on the field, to get out here and talk to people in that regard. She's really sharp, you know, so I like the experience that she's getting, and I know she'll be super successful down the road. well and you mentioned community a little bit earlier how how has the community embraced you because when you think of the upper ohio valley we're we're a proud area and there's so many different things historically that weave the fabric of who we are you mentioned the coal mine industry

and your father we have a you know huge history with with that industry but then you talk about the the iron men they're part of that fabric also. So have you had folks reach out to you, past players, family members, all of that? Yeah, quite a few. I mean, it's interesting. You know, I've gone to so many different places. One of the more unique stories I can tell you, Andrea, I mean, Sam. Sam, one of the most unique stories I can tell you is, you know, one day I'm a buddy of mine, Dr. Angelo Georges, who's been in the area. We both grew up together in shape. 80 side and he calls me on a Sunday and it says hey all right I'm taking you to the elks club it's one of

the oldest elks clubs in the United States it's number 75 it's called the panhandle elks club right and and I'm going in there and I'm talking meeting people and and and it was like one the food was fabulous by the way you know it was a back it was a father's day thing that they did and I'm meeting these guys and it's like hey my dad played for the Ironman I sit down for well over an hour talking to a gentleman that's 89 years old that, you know, grew up here in Wheeling and went to, there was like a Lincoln High School maybe or something. I don't know. In Wheeling. It's like.

Is that warwood? I want to say that was downtown Wheeling. Downtown. Oh, okay. Lincoln School, he called it, right? And he's telling him about the Ironman and how cool it was. But when I start looking back, they're giving me stories that just like gave me chills. You know, one guy who's going to be, we have an Ironman ring of honor, right?

So we're bringing the retro, the stuff in the 60s back here, and we honor them, you know, at our games. And one guy's name is John Embry. Okay. And John Embry played for the Ironman 67, 68, 69, went on to play for the Denver Broncos. Was a great receiver, you know, about a 6-4, 200-pound guy. It was just dominant, you know, and it's like, you know, so he's a member. Ironman and and you know that's a ring of honor guy obviously but I mean I think that those types of stories when I get out and talk to people it it never stops I mean it's constant once they hear like

hey this is the coach and and all that I get something like you know one time you know I was this lady met me I was at an indoor game where the minors the indoor team the plays I was there and then I shot up and these ladies were like ushers at the game and they go oh yeah my dad had this farm up in marshall county and the iron they used to clear the field the ironman could practice there i mean stuff like that and then and then where i grew up in shady side um there used to be a community pool up there at the top of the hill right and then the baseball field is right below it so the ironmen used to there there's a couple years they practice on out the outfield of the the baseball field and they dressed in the swimming pool locker rooms you know it's like those are

the things that like what you know but just those random i mean what are the chances you've you're running into those two women at the usher you know the ushers that what are the chances of that happening i don't know it's like i think there there there must be some energetic force that brings these people together and uh and i feel blessed for that because there's dozens of situations like that you know that you see well those are the stories you don't find in the record books yeah you know Those are the, you know, the feel-good stories. Yeah, and, you know, the fellow that flipped the first coin for our opening game against Cincinnati, Doug Huff, you know, a long-time sports writer here in the sports writer's Hall of Fame, you know.

And he gave me a stack of old newspaper clippings that were writing about the Ironmen and the stories. And it's just, you know, it was always front page back in those days. days and and then i'm visiting with uh there's so many but i'm i want to tell you one other really good one that i really enjoyed i'm visiting um with uh it was nick sparshane all right and nick is talking to me we're at the alpha and um he's telling a story like you know he used to sell game programs at the arming games but but he said then later on he is he's riding coach on an airplane right and of all people this is not in the first class session this is coach art runy is sitting across the aisle from him you know the chief i mean like the art runy

the right so he tells him he's from wheeling you know he goes you know arts like conversation of that you know and uh i think it was he was smoking a cigar on a plane which you could do in the 60s you know stuff like that and uh and he goes uh he goes you're from wheeling he goes how are my ironman doing And stuff like that, it tells you that we have something special to bring forward. So, you know, it's going to be awesome seeing our guys make it to that next level. Maybe we'll get some guys playing for the Steelers. It would be pretty cool. Well, football is so huge in the valley, whether it's, you know, Pittsburgh, Cleveland on Sundays.

You've got Ohio State, WVU, Pitt. And then you can't say that. Come on, you know how many times I'll bring up Pitt? Like, I know Audrey's going to Pitt for sports, right? Yeah. So, like, and even she used to say, she'll say, Hale Pitt, like, quietly because she knows it's all W.U and Ohio State fans. But go ahead. Well, there's a couple.

There's a couple outliers, Audrey included. But, yeah, I mean, you've got Patriot football, Red Devil football, big red football, tigers and huskies, of course. And the Iron Man are so woven into that. And every time you hear stories like that, that's got to be so much more validating that they are really a strong piece of the football foundation in the area. Well, and as you say that, Drake, one of the things that resonated with me to make this happen in the first place was, goodness gracious. Years ago, it had to have been, oh, my goodness, in the mid, early 2000s, mid-2000s or so. I moved back to the area and I started a football magazine, okay, because I've been in that industry. So I started a local football magazine.

Now, what were you covering in that? Was that high school? Was that just? You know, you see like in the summertime. Anything with a long ball. Well, it was all football, but it was all Ohio Valley football and pro teams that people follow around here and college. Okay. You know, so it was about a 196 page magazine really big, like as nice as if not better than an athlons or Street and Smith that comes out in the summertime.

It was really nice. And they sold out everywhere in the Ohio Valley. and I would do color commentary on games of the week and sort of and I have my own show on a couple TV stations in the area. And so what I noticed was if you drop a pin on, let's say, wheeling is, let's say the hub of the area. And you say, say, here's the Ohio Valley. They're back, you know, there's over 50 teams in the OVAC. Sure. And on a weekend, Friday nights, Saturday afternoons, or when.

They were playing at Bel Air that was used to play Saturday afternoons. And there were well over 120,000 people that attended high school football games. On any given weekend. And every weekend. I mean, little town like Shadyside. Oh, yeah. Right? I mean, I'll go there.

I mean, good or if not good. I mean, they'll have 2,500 people to gain. And that Shadyside Bridgeport game gets pretty, you know, that draws a crowd. Yeah. And it's one of those things like, ah, so no wonder these things sells out. you know because Ohio Valley football is huge so we would tie it all in it was really amazing and even one year I had like a weekly magazine that was going out you know like a sports illustrated type thing yeah and it was like and I think the newspapers around I got a little upset at me because

everybody was like grabbing ours and and they couldn't compete with it because it was color and it was nice and all that so you know but in the end I think the market is is always going to be strong here for football because of the history. And what you mentioned earlier, Drake, our players love to engage the young fans. They sign autographs after the games. They get out and they meet people. They're very gracious with all that because they realize that they look up to them. You know, the way when I was a kid, I looked up to the great players of my era, right?

One way I look at it sometimes is when you see all those little boys on the sidelines or in the stand or wherever they may be. in cadis we had a big grass patch behind the home stands you're always throwing football with your buddies and everything and you know you're worried that you trip over them sometimes but also those are potentially the most important people in the stands because those are the future yeah and it's so important to get that to get that exposure well it's funny i was asked like well who's coming to your games how's this work you know i mean what are your demographics and it is remarkably the one demographic that blows me away are

the grandparents that come and bring their grandkids. I mean, it's like two extremes, right? Yeah. And they just tell stories. And I think that, I mean, think about it. Let's say you're seven, eight years old. You come to an Iron Game and your grandpa's talking about it. Pretty cool.

Yeah, no doubt about it. Well, Sam, do you have anything? Well, I was just going to add, when it comes to football, I mean, just myself personally, it's been a part of my life since the day I was born. I was born on a Sunday. Like, I had no choice. My dad literally rolled a TV into the room. And by God, I was going to be a football fan.

But it's become, it's a set date, whether you're in a high state fan on Saturday, you're a Browns fan on Sunday. And it's family. It's the backdrop of family gatherings. And I think, you know, it's about the teams and it's about the game. But it's a coming together of people, community. Some of my best football memories, you know, the first. first thing I think about. I think of the play and then I think of the people I saw the play

with in my uncle's basement because we're all there watching the game and it's such a community thing. My grandparents' house up on the farm. Being a Browns fan, they weren't carried around here, but I remember we used to make my brother go stand outside and turn the antenna. I mean, it'd be December. My brother doesn't care for football, by the way, and I think it's because of this. But so we could pick up a Youngstown station to be able to watch a Browns game. So, you know, those memories tie in, and that's with bringing back the Ironman. Yeah. You know, it's bringing those stories back for folks.

Yeah, I love it. I'm excited about it, and we just feel fortunate to have the opportunity and have a great time moving forward. Well, we feel fortunate to have you on. We appreciate your time and being so generous with it. This is Coach Manny Matt Sackis of the Ohio Valley Ironman, here to stay in the Ohio Valley. for Sam, I'm Drake Watson on Community and Connections. Thank you for listening and have a good one.