WATERLOO, Ill. — The Columbia High School Eagles defeated their rival Waterloo Bulldogs Friday night 35-10, and they had a new assistant coach cheering them on from the sidelines.
Mike Kuhlmann joined the team a month ago.
“I got the job,” he said.
He’s dreamed of being a football coach for most of his 59 years. He’s lived with an intellectual disability for all of them.
"To share the football field with him is a dream for me. I can't believe I get choked up, but I'm so proud of him,” Craig Laskowski said.
Laskowski works with Human Support Services in Waterloo and connected Mike to the team.
“We work hard, we play hard," head coach Scott Horner said. "But at the end of the day, it’s gotta be about more than football."
Coach Mike inspires them two practices a week and every minute of every game.
"He doesn't let his disability get to him. And if you put your mind to it, you can do anything,” senior Donavan Bieber said. "I love him."
Friday’s game was the first time Mike’s sister, Angie Medina, got to see him in action.
"It just warms my heart, it does. I'm so happy for him,” Medina said.
The Eagles say this isn't a temporary gig. They want Mike to be assistant coach for as long as he's willing.
