Paterno Legacy. Jay Paterno.

 

 

Paterno Legacy.  Jay Paterno.

Enduring Lessons from the Life and Death of My Father.

 

If you are a college football fan growing up in the state of Pennsylvania one learns quickly about the Pennsylvania State football program, culture, success and traditions.    One gets to know of former head coach Joe Paterno who coached at State College for sixty seasons, serving 45 of those years as the head coach.    Through all of those many wins, losses and experiences, coach Paterno hired one his sons, Jay, to help coach the football program.    He spent 17 seasons assisting his father, staff and Alma mater through some peak times and its nadir towards during the middle of the term.    That is the son’s story and this book has many lessons, experiences, tips and memories to share.

Jay Paterno, one of five offspring to his father Joe and mother Sue Paterno, attended Penn State and was a member of the team in the late 1980’s.    After breaking into college coaching at a few schools away from home, he eventually returns to his Alma mater to help coach various units including the wide receivers and coordinate recruiting efforts.    

The author shares many coaching experiences and strategies learned from his father and executed during his time there.     In addition, Paterno provides insight into the lives of his family growing up in state college as a child, high school student and more.    Family vacations at New Jersey Beaches, trips to countless bowl games over the holiday, visits from political figures and other local luminaries are part of the stories enveloping the book.   

There was initial success experienced by the program in Jay Paterno’s first five seasons, then unexpected adversity on the field only to be trailed by a renewed spark of exultation in the latter years.    The Paterno’s, along with the program itself, weather the storm but regain their expected winning form.    The book goes into philosophies and applications of how they turned things around in the 2005 season and then proceeded to go on an impressive winning run lasting into the 2011 season.

Of course, there is tragedy in the way the 2011 season unfolds.    Jay Paterno presents his side of the story from a perspective that maybe only he and some immediate family members could explain.   As expected, the author puts up a strong defense for the actions of his father and fellow assistant coaches.  He is determined to protect the way the family is portrayed and its legacy.     While Paterno makes some compelling points particularly about his father’s and peers’ involvement with the campus scandal, the truth is probably somewhere between his assertions and the critics point of view.     This is left for the reader to decide.

To the author’s credit, he shares support and outrage from strangers both encouraging family onward and others condemning the Paterno family involvement.    The life of the Paterno’s was not easy during that time frame and the author writes about the heartache, disappointment and adversity faced on a day-to-day basis.  Jay Paterno expounds a good story, infuses supportive points in defense of the Penn State program and tries to enumerate both sides of the coin.     

In the end, though, as included in the advanced praise, this is a bold, in-depth story told through the eyes of a son and his “love for his iconic father.”

You might like to read this book if you are fan of Jay Paterno

You might like to read this book if you are a fan of Joe Paterno.

You might like to read this book if you are Penn State football fan.

You might like to read this book if you are a college football fan. 

You might like to read this book if you are interested in reading about coaching strategies and philosophies.

 

Read more about the author on Twitter:   https://twitter.com/JayPaterno