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| Jason and Becca Couch, center, with their Alma College football-playing sons, JB and Sam; and Berry College's Sammy and Tony Kunczewski are fathers and sons on the same Division III football sideline, just two of a number of schools in D-III where fathers coach their sons. Provided photos |
By Greg Thomas
D3football.com
When Tony Kunczewski first came to Berry College, his family’s front yard was at the 50-yard line. The house they lived in stood beside the practice field, where the newly launched program was still learning how to line up, how to tackle, how to build something from nothing.
From the age of five, Kunczewski’s son Sammy lived near a practice field that he would one day share with his dad.
That field, that line, is where Sammy grew up. He went to Berry’s elementary school, spent his childhood surrounded by Vikings blue, and saw his dad build the program he would one day join.
For a while, though, it looked like that day would never come.
Sammy had gone through the full recruiting cycle, ready to choose Berry, when the Naval Academy called with an offer. Berry’s social media team had graphics queued up to announce his commitment, but they were pulled back as Sammy turned toward Division I football and a life in Annapolis. Then an allergy test changed everything. The Naval Academy offer was pulled back, and Sammy’s path curved right back toward home and to the field he’d known before he had ever put on pads.
“It's a blessing for me to be able to coach him and to be able to see him play,” Tony said. “If he would've gone to the Naval Academy, I would've barely been able to see him.”
For most of his career, Tony has stood at midfield and built men. Now, one of them just happens to be his son.
And he’s far from the only one. 800 miles north, Jason Couch is coaching his sons JB and Sam at Alma. Sam is a junior wide receiver while JB is a senior center just as his dad was, and Jason, who’s guided the Scots back to the top of the MIAA standings to the best stretch in program history, knows this time is finite.
“I certainly appreciate it,” Jason said. “I’ve gotten very close with the seniors. And that’s not to say that I didn’t with past groups. We’ve had some really great kids. But it’s hard when you see them leave.”
Both fathers recognize the gift of proximity and getting to share something most dads only watch from the bleachers. Both also know that coaching your son brings its own kind of tightrope walk. For all the joy in those moments, there’s a measure of restraint that comes with them because being “Coach” and being “Dad” are not always the same thing.
That first game together came fast for the Couches. JB was a freshman, Alma was at Ohio Northern, and Jason, then coaching the running backs, was so deep in his own in-game responsibilities that he missed his son’s debut entirely.
“Walking off the field, I said to my O-line coach, ‘I hate to be dad here, but I thought JB was going to play a couple series,’” Jason recalled. “And he said, ‘He played like four series.’”
The next week, Jason got another lesson in the fine line between roles. “My O-line coach gets on the headset and says, ‘I’m putting JB in,’ and I said, ‘Don’t ever tell me!’” Jason said laughing.
Every coach who’s shared a sideline with a son knows the eyes are on them. Players watch how much praise a coach gives his own kid, how often he yells, how often he doesn’t. The easiest way to avoid any hint of favoritism is to push harder, to prove fairness by overcorrecting.
“I think there’s added pressure that these guys have,” Jason said. “They get a little bit of crap from guys that other guys don’t get. But I applaud them. They use that as fuel. Fine, I’ll just show you by showing you how hard I’m going to work.”
At Berry, Tony recognizes that same instinct. “I try not to treat him any differently than anybody else,” he said. “My biggest concern with him was that I was gonna treat him harder, not easier, than everybody else.”
That balance is hardest in the moments when the line blurs as it did in Berry’s season opener against Huntingdon. Sammy was two yards deep in the end zone when he caught a kickoff, and the coaches in the booth were telling him to take a knee. He didn’t. 102 yards later (100 yards officially, of course), he was in the other end zone.
“When he caught the ball, I can remember the guys on the headsets saying to take a knee,” Tony said. “And then I see him take it out. I was like, ‘Oh my God, he’s gonna score.’ After he made the first guy miss, I knew he was definitely going to score.”
Tony reflected on what came next. “I really appreciated the older guys on our team,” he said. “They were rallying around him. I think they wanted it to be a dad moment more than a coach moment.”
The sons, for their part, see the extra scrutiny that comes with being a coach’s kid and the example they’re expected to set.
“There is pressure as we’re a reflection of him,” JB said. “But our culture is K.I.L.T. Style- kinship, integrity, love, and tenacity. If you follow that in everything you do, that’s a good way to live your life.”
Both dads are aware of how that family dynamic can affect a team. Both have been intentional about making sure their sons are treated like everyone else, even if it means being a little tougher than they might otherwise be.
As seasons stretch and relationships mature, that father-son balance begins to evolve. What starts as a delicate boundary between home and the field becomes something deeper. A shared respect built from daily work.
At Alma, Jason has had the rare chance to coach both of his sons, JB and Sam, and says what he values most is watching how they lead.
“What I enjoy the most is watching their leadership styles,” he said. “Each of them are different. JB is probably a lot like me in college where I need to be a little more positive because he’s very critical of his own play. I hear Sam encouraging his teammates in the wide receiver group a lot. That makes me very proud that the two of them are looked at by their teammates as leaders.”
Leadership, of course, looks different when your dad is your coach. Sammy said that when feedback comes from his father, he hears it differently and carries the weight of that name differently too.
“It probably means a little bit more coming from my dad,” he said. “Because my dad’s the coach, I kind of have the mindset to lead by example. Even though I’m only a freshman, I want to make the least amount of mistakes I can so he doesn’t have to get on me.”
Jason knows that with JB graduating, the clock is running down on their shared time as player and coach.
“All I know is I’m going to have an awful hard time whenever this season’s done,” he said. “But I’m very fortunate that I get one more with Sam.”
Tony has already watched other coaches go through it. When it looked like Sammy might choose Berry, he called two of his friends in the coaching fraternity for advice: Centre’s Andy Frye and Randolph-Macon’s Pedro Arruza, both of whom have coached their own sons.
“Both of those guys gave me great advice on how to separate being a coach and being a dad,” Tony said.
The sons feel that passage of time too. JB has started counting down the days.
“I’m starting now more than ever to really reflect on it,” he said. “I think we’re at nine more guaranteed days, so we’re into single digits. Part of it’s going to be sad because with this class and the guys I came in with, it’s been nothing but really good things. We’ve had a lot of fun doing it, and obviously getting to see my dad and my brother every day is something that’s not going to happen again once it’s over.”
Sam knows the same thing is coming. “We’re in the good days right now,” he said. “Looking back, it’s going to be just great memories. I’m sure I’m going to miss it so much because we’re not going to have an opportunity where we’re seeing each other every single day for hours on end. It’s been a lot of fun, and we’re just trying to take advantage of and appreciate these great moments together.”
Back in Rome, the Kunczewskis might not live beside that practice field today, but the 50-yard line still runs through their story as the shared space where a father’s work and a son’s opportunity meet. For all the coaches who’ve taught their sons the game, these fathers know they’re the lucky ones still getting to share it.
The heart of the season is Week 11
For Berry and Alma, the story may well stretch into late November. Berry’s postseason ticket is already punched and Alma can secure the MIAA’s automatic berth with a win over Adrian. But for most of Division III, Week 11 is where the journey ends. It’s Senior Day across the map and for hundreds of teams, this week will mark the final practices, the final pregame speech, and on Saturday, the final snap.
The stakes are everywhere. Rivalries like The Game between Randolph-Macon and Hampden-Sydney’s and the Monon Bell Classic between Wabash and DePauw bring their annual intensity, each layered with its own family ties. RMC’s Pedro Arruza and Wabash’s Jake Gilbert are both coaching their sons in those storied matchups. Elsewhere, conference titles, playoff hopes, and bowl invitations hang in the balance, while teams out of contention fight just as fiercely to send their seniors out with one last win.
By the end of the day, only 40 teams will step on to that road to Canton. Yet Week 11 is the heart of the Division III season. It’s emotional, unpredictable, and full of gratitude. It’s the moment when players and coaches across the country pause to look around and realize that even when the season ends, the game and the memories made together, don’t.
Seven ways to Saturday
Whether you need to recap the week that was or get ready for the week to come, D3football.com is your daily source for fresh Division III football content. We’re bringing the content seven ways to Saturday.
Sunday: New Top 25 poll
Monday: Around The Nation podcast. Patrick Coleman and Greg Thomas recap the weekend that was and preview the weekend to come in Division III football.
Tuesday: Team of the Week Honors
Wednesday: Features columns
Thursday: Around the Nation Column
Friday: Quick Hits featuring our panel’s predictions and insights into the weekend’s games
Saturday: Game Day! The D3football.com Scoreboard has all of your links for stats and broadcasts.
I’d Like to Thank…
Special thanks to Alma’s JB Couch, Sam Couch, and Jason Couch as well as Berry’s Sammy Kunczewski and Tony Kunczewski for spending time with Around The Nation for this week’s column. Additional thanks to Alma Assistant Athletics Director for Sports Information Nick Nemeth and Berry Director of Sports Information and Promotion Robert Nilson for coordinating this week’s conversations!
Read options?
There’s nothing small about small college football. Division III is home to 241 teams, and many thousands of student-athletes and coaches. There are so many more stories out there than I can find on my own. Please share your stories that make Division III football so special for all of us! Reach out to me at greg.thomas@d3sports.com, on X @wallywabash, or on Bluesky @d3greg.bsky.social to share your stories.
