West Newsmagazine 12-16-20

36 I SPORTS I
December 16, 2020
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
@WESTNEWSMAG
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
Goldenberg steps down as Parkway Central’s head football coach
By WARREN MAYES
Parkway Central coach Mark Goldenberg
is going to have to change the message
on his voice mail. The
message states you’ve
reached the mailbox of Mark
Goldenberg, socials studies
teacher and head football
coach at Parkway Central.
No longer. Goldenberg,
who will be 54 in January,
has decided the time has
come to step off the coaching
merry-go-round.
“You know, it’s one of
those things. When it’s time
Goldenberg
to go, you just know,” said Goldenberg,
who graduated from Parkway Central in
1985. “It’s just, especially with this year and
everything, it felt like it was time to find
something different. The excitement and
energy I need and should have were a little
harder to get. So, to me, it’s time to step
aside and let somebody else get in there and
give the kids what they deserve.”
Goldenberg has been head coach since
the 2003 season. The Colts own a 134-69
record under Goldenberg, with two opportunities
to play for the state championship.
Coaching is like a roller coaster. You
go fast. Then you slow down. Climb an
incline, and then swoop down. It’s exhilarating
and exhausting. That reality factored
into Goldenberg’s thinking
about leaving his post.
“It’s been a long time – 18
years as a head coach and 31
years in the program teaching
and coaching,” Goldenberg
said. “The changes that
have gone on, in and out of
the school and in and out of
high school football, have
changed a lot over the years.
You know when it’s time to
move on.”
The pandemic, he said, proved difficult
to maneuver.
“This year, we only got five games and we
earned another one (the Class 5 District 3
semifinal against Fort Zumwalt North) and
we were not able to play it (due to quarantines).
That’s just par for the course for how
things went this year,” Goldenberg said.
But his career has offered a lot of good
things, too. After starting out as an assistant
sophomore coach in 1990, the head
sophomore coach Winston Rogers became
the basketball coach at Parkway North, so
Goldenberg stepped up and did that for
“seven or eight years.” Then, he became
the defensive coordinator for head coach
Bob Trowbridge.
“I’m jumped on that,” Goldenberg said
of the move to the varsity. “I did that for a
few years and then Bob retired. I was the
athletic director (AD) for two years. When
the head coaching job opened, I couldn’t
do both so I had to make a choice. Being
the head football coach was a goal of mine
for a long time. I love competing.”
He said he was lucky to take over a program
that had already experienced significant
success.
“Bob Trowbridge is No. 2 all-time in
wins in the Parkway district. When I took
over, I wanted to bring a little more physicality
and discipline and put my stamp on
it,” Goldenberg said.
His highlights are numerous.
“For sure, coaching both of my sons
(Jordan and Mitchell) was a big highlight,”
Goldenberg said. “That’s No. 1. Seeing my
daughter (Fallon) cheer for me was good.
We had two season where we went to the
state finals and we were in five Final Fours.
There was hundreds of great athletes and
even more great kids I got to coach. Those
are the highlights on the field.
“The biggest and best highlights for me
are when kids reach out to me after becoming
doctors or businessmen or fathers and
just saying what it meant to be a part of the
team. That’s what it’s all about.”
Goldenberg credited his assistant
coaches he’s gotten to work with has being
part of his success.
“I’ve been so blessed,” Goldenberg said.
“I’ve had assistant coaches who’ve become
athletic directors; assistant principals;
head football, basketball and track coaches.
They’ve all done so much. You’re only as
good as the people you surround yourself
with.”
The biggest kudos Goldenberg wants to
give go to his wife, Brenda.
“That should be the lead sentence in the
story,” Goldenberg said. “She has been a
rock in coaching career. In all those time
when I’m spending time with the assistants
and working, she’s raising the kids. She’s
at every game. Win or lose, she’s there to
support me. I couldn’t do it without her,
there’s no doubt in my mind.”
What’s next for Goldenberg?
“That’s something I’m trying to figure
out,” he said. “I’m not 100% sure. I just
know it’s time for a change and a new challenge.”
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