Coach, Teacher, Prankster, Ophidiophobist: The many hijinks of Coach Drager

“The real steady memory of coach, which there’s a lot of, is how he and Jim Hyke would throw Terry and I out of the teacher lounge window every day. We always laughed about that.” — Tracy Skantel

“So many good memories with Coach, it’s hard to come up with one. I remember how nervous he’d get before big games, sometimes looking green while cracking jokes trying to lighten the tension in the locker room. The most memorable was, above all, the wins in football after years of being pummeled by Wallace, finally beating them in basketball in the Pavilion our senior year and seeing how happy he was. We all played for ourselves but played harder for him.” — Keith VanBroeke

“Not long stories but more like moments that I have never forgotten and cherish dearly. Being a brunette I had hairy arms and every time Coach would see me (and this started in junior high), he’d say, ‘Hey Crnkovich did you get a new sweater?’ He would then laugh and give that big Coach smile. In track, he had us run from Wallace to Mullan to train for Bloomsday every year. He would ride in the bus alongside us on I-90 and cheer us on. He would do numerous passes on us — with continuous Coach motivating talk — the best Coach ever! I had him as my history teacher too, he talked more about football in class than history, it was the best history class! Then of all places I ran into him at the Super Bowl in Phoenix when the Seahawks were in it. So appropriate to run into the best Coach ever at the biggest game in football. We had a beer together, talked, and hugged and it was the last time I have seen him. He had a way of motivating us kids and still be our friend and still have our respect. I love him!” — Bobbie Crnkovich Smith

“One good memory, I must have been a sophomore and we were kinda poor. I was running track and Coach got me some spikes to run in. I actually think he got them for Terry Zufelt a few years before me but he let me use them and I went on to win the 100m and 200m. I think we also won the 4x100m relay and got third in the 4x200. I think the last time I was home they were still in the trophy case in the Pavilion. Coach was scared to death of snakes and I have a rubber one I put on the edge of the pool during PE class, when Coach saw it, he flew out of that pool like he was shot out of a cannon, ran to his office in the locker room and locked himself in there until PE was over.” — Troy Osiadacz

“I think one of the greatest attributes that Coach had was that he instilled ‘heart’ into his players. He didn’t always have the greatest athletes but he made us fierce competitors and you had to be tough to play for Coach Drager. It wasn’t ‘athleticism’ that made me a 4-year starter in college, it was heart and toughness instilled in me from Coach Drager. He taught me to refuse to be beat and push through. Do what you have to do to compete with anybody. When I went to college all the Idaho players knew Mullan football.” — Terry Zufelt

“I got along with Coach pretty good. I remember Coach walking down the hall of the Jr. High and I was going to the office for something. I said hi to Coach as he was on his way to the teacher’s lounge and I snuck up behind him and dropped his jogging pants to the floor. He didn't turn around to see who did it because I watched him walk from Dufrene’s room to the teacher’s lounge with his pants to his ankles. He was wearing his coaching shorts underneath and I think he did it to get a laugh out of me. I asked him about it later in study hall and he just laughed, that's when I knew Coach liked me for sure.” — Paul Barrett

“I first met John Drager my senior year at Mullan High School. It was his first year teaching and coaching in Mullan. He was Norm Walker’s JV coach. You could tell from the very beginning he had all the attributes to become a great coach. He was truly interested in all the students that he came into contact with. John was not only a great coach, but a teacher of life lessons. He brought the best out in people and was a great motivator. The legacy that John Drager left in Mullan will never be forgotten.” — Art Krulitz

“When Coach Drager needed an assistant football coach in 1981, I’m not sure he really asked me. It was more like he told me that I was going to assist. I explained that I really didn’t know much about football and he replied, ‘that’s good, you’ll never second guess me.’ There was nobody better to learn a lot about football from than John Drager. The next several years were tons of fun with back to back state championships. I never questioned the leadership of the best football coach in Idaho.” — Wayne Massie

“I have had the privilege to get to know and spend time with Coach, first through coaching and then friendship. He has many personal traits I have long admired and will always remember him for. First, was his true caring and commitment to the Mullan kids he coached and taught. Here are some stories:

“I was his assistant track coach my first five years in Mullan. Every year, he would take the entire track team, whomever wanted, to travel and participate in Bloomsday. He would, of course, drive the bus and arrange for everything. We would head out from Mullan, have this no pressure fun bus trip to Spokane, do Bloomsday, and, on the way home, go terrorize some all-you-can-eat buffet in Spokane Valley. Don’t know that Coach ever ran a Bloomsday, but because of him, many Mullan kids can say they did. Twice a week he would send our distance runners up Lookout Pass as the rest of us practiced at the field. At the end of practice, we all would jump in the bus to go pick them up. If they made it over the pass, we would grab them, and, if time, drive to St. Regis and get a frosty cone at the hamburger joint. He would also arrange for all the kids making state to fly to Boise in the CDA Mines corporate plane. What an incredible time!

“Coach never skied, but amongst his many titles, he was the Ski Club advisor. Since I skied, he asked if I would be his assistant. We headed up to Canada one year for our annual trip, and yes, ‘Red the Bus driver’ was at the wheel. On our way up a narrow canyon road to Whitewater, a commercial bus spun out ahead of us. We skidded, stopped, and ended up precariously hanging off the road bank over the river. We ended up right behind the ‘No Stopping-High Avalanche Danger’ sign. Red calmly instructed us to exit out the back of the bus. Luckily, the cargo bays holding our gear were located on the uphill side of the bus. Coach had us download our gear, stick out our fingers, and start hitching rides to the slopes! He stayed behind in the avalanche zone waiting for a tow. At 3:30, when the lifts closed, there was Red with our bus in the parking lot, ready to take us to dinner and drive to the next destination, Red Mountain.

“Coach was also the most competitive guy I have ever met. Anyone who ever played horse with Coach at the gym will attest to that! He was a good seasoned ping pong player and I wasn’t bad myself. I was also getting better the longer I played with him. I foolishly thought it had come my time to shine. He suggested we have a little contest with a wager; best out of 100 games, loser buys dinner, fair enough. It takes over two months to complete the bet! I would stand five feet behind the table slamming, cursing, and sweating. He is at the other end, calmly playing stonewall defense waiting for my next unforced error; whatever style it took. And so it was, at the top of the Space Needle, Coach, without gloating, ordered the largest steak off the menu, after a convincing 56-44 games victory! You’re One-Of-A-Kind Coach.” — “H R PuffinStuff” Hugh Marconi

“I remember on one Thursday after practice we were painting the lines on the field before Friday game day. Coach had the ball tucked under his arm and ran from yard line to yard line. As he was doing this he was commenting between lines ‘That was just 10 yards, not that far, that's another 10 yards, so easy. It should be easy, it is amazing that during the game 10 yards is so hard. It shouldn't be, it's just not that far. All you have to do is just go a short 10 yards at a time. It should be easy. But there are so many obstacles in the way. You get four tries and it is still hard. But you just have to keep going and keep trying.’ That is the memory of Coach that has always stayed with me, and when things are hard, I think I just need to go 10 yards at a time.” — Matt Wilson

“A trip to Alaska, summer of 1980 brought a group of us off to the last frontier. John Drager, Sid Drager, Shorty, Doug Yrjana, Bud Koski, Bob Donohue, Lanny Foster and myself took off to Anchorage for a trip of a lifetime. Three days, pouring rain, one fish, our bush fishing trip was over. Off to Fairbanks we go. First stop Mt. McKinley Park. A six hour bus trip through the park was planned. After two hours, we made it to the first stop. Bus emptied out, all headed to three porta potties. Finally making my way to the outhouse, relief was mine; trying to exit, the door wouldn’t open, with all my hangover skills the door still wouldn’t open. I hear this voice outside telling me to hurry up, he needed to use the bathroom. BOOM! Light came on, I’ve been locked in. I yelled, ‘Open the door.’ The door opens to claps, laughs and a smiling Coach.

“Fairbanks, here we come. Arrive, set up camp at a local RV camp. It was decided six could sleep in the motorhome, others outside in sleeping bags. First six back from town get to sleep inside. Coach and myself came in late. Off to our sleeping bags we go. If you’ve been to Alaska, mosquitos are many, large and vicious. Couple hours into hiding my head inside the sleeping bag listening to the bugs, I peeked out to see Coach sleeping with his head out of his bag. An army of mosquitoes had taken aim at his head. Not sure, but rumor was they might have been from Plummer, Kootenai, Clark Fork or other opposing coaching staffs trying to get revenge for all the mighty Tiger wins over them. I’m sure Custer must have felt the same way.”

“Coach always told me winning is great, losing was not. Learn from your losses, prepare for tomorrow. “Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.” He had a way of making a bad practice day a fun one. He once told me I had my socks on the wrong feet. After a quick reverse of socks I was better. 52 years later still brings a laugh and smile to both of us.” — Frank Reed

“I had to take a class with John Drager to keep our teaching certifications and when we were taking the final exam, John was writing down all of the answers for the test on his desk. Just copying them directly from his notes and writing them on his desk right before the lady handed out the test. But, the lady stopped and said that the room we were using was scheduled for something else and that we would need to change rooms. John raised his hand and asked the lady, ‘would it be alright if I took my desk?’ I’m pretty sure I helped him pass the test and we both got an A in the class.” — Don Kotschevar