No one could argue that the 2014 Caveman Football Team has fulfilled their goal of leaving a lasting mark on the football season, school year and community.  The same can be said for the head coach of the Cavemen, John Musser and the mark he is leaving extends beyond the grid iron.  

Coach Musser comes from a family of educators.  His father is a retired school district superintendent and three of his siblings call working in education in the Grants Pass District 7 home.  His brother Jake is the Principal at Allen Dale; his sister Sunny is a teacher at North and his sister Susan is a teacher at Highland.  He also has one sister in Klamath Falls, Sara Ward, who did not enter the public education field.  However, for the most part the Musser family is an education family and specifically as Coach Musser said, “We are a Grants Pass District 7 Family!”  John’s son Jonah graduated from Grant Pass high School in 2014 and is now attending SOU and playing for the Raiders.  His son Jeret is a junior at Grants Pass and is a three sport athlete for the Cavemen including being a safety, receiver and kick returner for this year’s Southwest Conference Champions!  John’s daughter McKenna is a sophomore at the high school where she too is a three sport athlete and a varsity volleyball player this year.  Coach’s wife Terresa is a 1991 graduate of Grants Pass and one of the main reasons why coach came to Grants Pass eighteen years ago. 

Ironically, Coach Musser began his career in District 7 by being on the summer demolition crew assigned to help tear down the old high school; he has been leaving his “mark” on our students ever since.  Coach played defensive line for the SOU Raiders when he was attending SOU and has ties to the quarterback of those Riders teams, Mark Helfrich.  As many people know Coach Helfrich coaches another fast tempo team in Autzen Stadium.  Along with football success at SOU Coach Musser found another passion during his time as a Raider.  He always knew he wanted to teach; then one summer he coached a powerlifting team for the Special Olympics and his passion was set.  His Special Olympics experience piqued his interest in becoming a teacher who could work with special kids and help them grow and see the process of growth.  For the last eighteen years, Coach Musser has been helping students and athletes grow.  One of the things he loves about his teaching work is seeing his students enter high school with wide scared eyes and growing to a place where they walk across the graduation stage full of pride and excitement. 

So how does being a special education teacher help a person be a successful high school football coach?  Understanding that all accomplishments are a process of growth helps and having to break academic endeavors into their most fundamental components so that they can be better understood is similar to breaking down the fundamentals needed to be successful with the X’s and O’s of football.  Being a consistent motivator and role model for students also has a carryover from the classroom the football field.  It also doesn’t hurt to have the skills to combine motivation with passion. 

Coach Musser has those skills.  This year like every year, Coach Musser and the coaching staff took the seniors to a retreat in July.  At the retreat, the seniors chose a theme for the year and then the seniors worked with the coaches on activities to make the theme a reality.  This year’s theme “Leave a Mark,” came from that July retreat.  It has become a theme and a season that will not soon be forgotten. 

No matter what happens with the rest of this season, Coach Musser’s “Mark,” will be in our community for years to come.  District lore has it that Coach Musser was also instrumental in the “WE ARE GP,” phrase that has united students across the district.  His ‘Mark,” will include some exciting football and years of graduates and students whose lives were impacted by his passion and dedication.