Star-Journbal Editor
No matter how big of a star they are, Hillsboro High School football coach Len Coryea would never tolerate a player who missed so many practices. And he'd snort if they asked for practice time to be pushed back two and a half hours so they could keep their afternoon job, and still be part of the team.
But for the past six seasons, Hillsboro City Council members have willingly made these exceptions for Council Member Coryea.
They've adjusted their clocks to "Coryea Time," because, as the veteran member of the council, he plays such an important position on the team.
But after six years of serving the city, the time crunch has forced Coryea to the sidelines.
The football coach-council member has decided not to seek a fourth term.
"The reason why I'm going off is because with football and all that stuff, I don't have time," Coryea said. "It got to where I was missing too many meetings, and that's just not fair."
Hillsboro Mayor Delores Dalke said Coryea would be missed, especially now.
"Not only has he been on longer than anyone, he's the only one on the council now that was there before we hired Steve Garrett," she said. "He knows what it's like to be without a city administrator. He knows about forming committees and making reports. We haven't had to do that lately because we've had a city administrator who took those reports and got them to us.
"He has been very faithful," the mayor added. "But being the Hillsboro football coach has caused him some real problems with serving in the fall because it interferes with football practice. He has realized he can't
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do both. I'm very sorry that he can't, but I'm glad that somebody with so much ability is stepping in to fill that position."
Coryea will be replaced by Bob Watson, president of Emprise Bank, who is running unopposed for the ward one/west seat.
"I never would have run against him," said Watson, Coryea's friend and neighbor, who added that he was encouraged by Coryea to run.
Competitive by nature, Coach Coryea came onto the council chambers like Brian Urlacher blitzing Peyton Manning.
"I was mad at the city," Coryea said. "I thought they were making a poor decision on my end of town. And so I said, well, hey, if I'm mad it's time to get on. So I got on. It was still a stupid decision they were trying to do, but, it was resolved before I got on. But there were there were plenty other decisions that we got into." The coach soon discovered that, as in football, there are rules that govern the game of governance. "You find out that there are procedures that you go through," he said.
The coach also discovered that being a council member means offending some local citizens when his votes aren't the ones that the political equivalents of "Monday Morning Quarterbacks" wanted him to make. This is to say that Coryea the council member did not always have loyal fans.
"It's hard," he said. "Sometimes your skin gets a little thin. You've got to avoid going places sometimes."
But it's not because of public criticism that Coryea is vacating his council seat. It's the conflict between his demanding roles as the head football coach, middle school history teacher, and council member forcing him to the sidelines.
Coryea's devotion to the council made it a no-brainer that Dalke and his fellow council members would make accommodations for his coaching schedule. Every August, they moved council meetings from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. so he could do both. Like the switch from Daylight Savings Time, they called it "Coryea Time."
"It was an inside joke," Dalke said, who added that it was a sacrifice.
"Six-thirty isn't a good time to have a meeting," she said. "It's difficult for the city attorney, consultants, and engineers, who like to be there and be able to travel home at a reasonable time rather than getting there at dinner time for most people."
Dalke added that by making the adjustment to Coryea Time, the council had the pleasure of spending more time with Coryea.
"He's fun to be with," she said. "He adds some jolliness to a meeting, and that was refreshing because we forget we should have a good time with what we do, too."
At the special council meeting Jan. 24, while Coryea was in the council chambers voting with the other council members to dismiss city administrator Steve Garrett, a group of his teaching colleagues were parked outside in front of City Hall with the engine running, waiting for him to go with them to an educators' meeting in Hutchinson. "I've been trying to dump things off my palate," he said on his way out the door. "I just feel overwhelmed at times." The mayor said Coryea's devotion to coaching, teaching, and community service proves he "has a heart for the City of Hillsboro."
"It's huge," Dalke added. "And it's really neat because he didn't grow up here, and he didn't go to college here. He came in as a teacher and has really become a true Hillsboro citizen."
