Dennis-Yarmouth alumnus Chris Marsh to make debut as head football coach
D-Y’s Chris Marsh, left (64) adds defensive pressure to Falmouth’s Lee Huffman in a game in 2003. Marsh makes his debut as head coach for his alma mater Saturday against North Quincy. Ron Schloerb
In high school, Chris Marsh played guard and linebacker for Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School’s football team. This spring, Marsh will serve as the head coach for his alma mater for the first time in his coaching career. Prior to this season, Marsh was the Dolphins' varsity offensive line coach for five years.
“I’ve always wanted to be a football head coach,” Marsh said. “It was something that I hoped would happen at some point and it happened this year.”
Paul Funk coached D-Y for 18 years before he stepped down in 2018 to become the principal of the school. He helped make the decision on who would be the next head coach, and said it was a “natural fit” with Marsh already being on the coaching staff, being an alumnus and a teacher at the school.
“Chris is great, a hard worker and the kids really respect him,” Funk said. “He will be fine in this new coaching role. I expect him to run the program like he has run his baseball program, which is terrific. He’s really disciplined and a really, really good teacher.”
Marsh HANDOUT, X
This year, because of COVID-19, the football season is starting in the spring instead of the fall. Although this is an adjustment, Marsh says that it has its advantages and disadvantages.
“It was colder this year to start the season and our first day of practice was inside,” Marsh said. “Normally we would start and it would be 75 degrees out. We have a young team this year and we used the fall to work on fundamentals and technique, so come this spring, we have been able to hit the ground running. We did some 7-on-7 leagues in the fall and winter so we have been able to get a lot of work prior to the season. We wouldn't have been able to do that if we started in the fall, so we used that to our advantage.”
Marsh says he has high hopes for what they can accomplish.
“We expect to compete for a league title,” Marsh said. “We play Falmouth, Barnstable, Nauset and we get them twice each. We’re inexperienced but we feel like we have a lot of talent. We want to use this season to improve and get better and better so that we can use it as positive momentum going into the summer and the fall.”
Although they are inexperienced, Marsh also sees some bright spots on his team.
“I think our passing game is pretty advanced and I think we have good depth at wide receiver, but I am looking for guys to step up. We have a lot of guys that don’t have the experience at the varsity level but I think when they get in the game, they will showcase what they can do. I’m excited to see that.”
In addition to football, Marsh coached junior varsity baseball for five years and middle school basketball for four years. He was promoted to head coach of the varsity baseball team last year, but the season was canceled due to the pandemic.
“It is disappointing not playing mostly for the group of seniors who have put in so much work and didn’t get the chance to have that capstone on their senior year,” Marsh said. “With the pandemic, it’s understandable of the decision that they made.”
Marsh teaches math at D-Y and says that COVID-19 has taken a toll on students during the school year, which could affect athletes on and off the turf.
“It's been a weird year educationally and I think school spirit, enthusiasm for school activities is tough to generate,” Marsh said. “Kids are in school twice a week, they’re wearing masks, they are separated and it’s a lot of things they can't do. I think it carries over into all the student’s lives. It seems like it’s been a difficult year for the students and I feel bad for the seniors last year and this year that didn’t get a normal high school experience. I feel bad for the athletes because I think they missed out on a lot of people kind of forget about them.”
D-Y will start its regular season Saturday on the road against North Quincy.
