If Pedro Paz had it his way, the Hall of Fame induction ceremony held Dec. 7 wouldn’t have been honoring him. It would have been for all the players who made his job easy.
Paz, Warren County High School’s second coach in school history, was named to the Warren County Sports Hall of Fame at a banquet and ceremony held at Charlie Dalton Gym. In his final season as head coach, he led the Pioneers to a 10-0 record in 1973, part of a 17-11-3 run over three years.
In Paz’s estimation, that doesn’t make him Hall of Fame worthy. He’d rather his players get the praise, though their support led him to accepting the honor.
“I never did believe in individual awards. I always said we, not I,” said Paz. “I was really blessed. We had some great athletes and I just helped them.
“This meant so much to them, I’ll accept it on behalf of them.”
Paz has always been fond of the gridiron, dating back to his playing days. A standout at BGA, the two-time, all-state selection went on to play football at Tennessee Tech. He was named All-OVC in 1958, part of a four-year run where he played on both sides of the ball for the Golden Eagles.
When his playing days were done, he went into coaching. He served as McMinnville Central head coach from 1966-68, then took over at Warren County High School in 1971 – just two years after consolidation.
In his time with the team, he saw a commitment from the community spill over onto the field.
“The whole school was like a family. Maybe it was because of the consolidation, but we all pulled together,” said Paz. “I told my team that God comes first, family second, then school and football. Everybody was a family.”
Coach Paz knew his 1973 team was destined for greatness when the team called a meeting. Listening from outside the room, Paz heard players taking ownership of their actions and beginning to bond as a group. He just had to make sure to stay out of their way.
“They had a meeting in the spring. I don’t think they knew I was listening. They went around and talked about how they were tired of losing and were going to concentrate on football. After they decided that, they didn’t need me,” said Paz.
Paz was a stickler for the fundamentals and conditioning, the latter helping his team flourish while opposing teams wilted in the late stages of hard-hitting games.
“Coaching is teaching – you have to teach fundamentals. I taught fundamentals and then let the players take over,” said Paz. “The one thing I always wanted was for our team to be in the best shape of any group in the state. That’s how we won in the fourth quarters. Our team dedicated themselves to being good.”
While Paz spends all his time praising his players, they’re just as quick to turn it around on their leader. Steve Breedlove spoke glowingly about Paz, who he credits with reshaping the culture around football in the late 1960s and early '70s.
“We couldn’t spell respect and didn’t know what it was. We were chewing gum, wearing our shirt tails out and answering with yes or no,” said Breedlove. “He came in and everything after that was 'yes sir' or 'no ma’am.' He taught us about direction and how to present ourselves.”
Most of all, Breedlove believes Paz left a lasting legacy in each one of his players – one which stretches well past when Paz turned in his whistle and became a super fan.
“He told us to be our best and that if you have self-worth, then you’re worth something,” said Breedlove. “I’m 67. And now, I may have a right to call him Pedro. But he’ll always be coach Paz.”
