Meet Your Neighbor… John Lucas

By DONNA NICKEL

A man for all seasons, – baseball, basketball, and football - John Lucas has coached and influenced young North Canton athletes for decades. Someone who grew up with neither a strong male role model nor the luxury of playing high school sports himself, he dedicates an enormous amount of his time helping young men learn skills they can use in life, as well as on the diamond, court and field. As John would say, “It’s all good.”
Growing up in New Castle, PA, John and his sister were raised by their mother who worked as a secretary and bookkeeper to make ends meet. His father walked out on the family when John was a toddler. Though he played Little League, he went no further with organized sports as a youth. Instead of spending afternoons on a practice field in high school, he worked in a bakery and with a surveyor. In the summers, he logged hours at a local leaf spring factory. “The reality was that I had to help my mother out.”
John earned a degree in biology from West Virginia University in 1972, but his job search was abruptly put on hold when a serious auto accident one month before graduation left him hospitalized for four months. After spending a year in recovery, he landed a job as a veterinary assistant at Canton Veterinarian Hospital. He also took on a part-time job as an operator for the phone company, which led to full time employment as a service representative, and then a programmer. John has worked at the phone company’s data center in Akron since 1985, and is now manager of AT&T’s data center. “I have a very flexible schedule, so I can work plus do everything I like to do.”
A North Canton resident since 1975, John and his wife divorced when his sons Josh and Matthew were very young. “My mom did what she had to do and never wasn’t there for us. I ended up raising my sons alone and I carried that through with them. I make sure I’m always there for them whenever they need me.” Now grown, Matthew lives in North Canton and is taking courses for a degree, Josh is a southwest area scout for the New Orleans Saints, and stepson Michael is a fireman/EMT.
John coached his sons’ YMCA soccer and basketball teams, developed a longstanding coaching relationship with youth football, and coached Josh’s baseball team until he was high school age. Though have long since moved on, John has become increasingly more involved with the district’s sports programs. A board member for 18 years on the Greater North Canton Youth Football Association, John continues to coach North Football sixth and seventh graders; often dashing across town after wrapping up practice with the NCMS eighth grade team. He’s coached freshman baseball for 13-15 years, and in the summer, he’s with the 14-year old travel team.
When boys varsity basketball coach Randy Montgomery took the coaching position with Hoover, he called John and asked him if he’d be interested in starting a program for fifth and sixth graders to develop fundamental ball handling skills. Six years ago, the Five-Star Hoover Hoopsters debuted with 25 performers; this year, 69 are signed up for the program. The Hoopsters perform pre-game and half time at every varsity home game, entertaining crowds with tricks such as spinning the ball on one finger, spider dribbling, and dribbling the ball while doing sit-ups. This month, the Hoopsters will be the half-time entertainment at a Cleveland Cavaliers game. “The neatest thing is when kids come up to me and say ‘Coach, look what I can do!’ The harder you work, the more you dedicate yourself; you will see success. It’s not just for sports, to me, it’s reality.”
Even when he has some down time, John just can’t stay away from sports. “My summertime hobby for the past 10 years has been painting.” Watercolors? Portraits? No, John paints various sections of Hoover’s Memorial Stadium. “I started with the tunnel when it was built. I’ve painted the goal posts, the bleachers, the numbers on the bleachers, the front and back of the stadium and the press box. They call me the “Paint Crew.” I just do it to help out.”
John also enjoys watching football and basketball on television. Twice last year, John and his sons had the opportunity to work for the Saints as ‘runners’ on the sidelines, delivering formation photos to the defensive coaches throughout the games. “The neatest thing was a couple of hours before the game in Pittsburgh, I got to play catch on Heinz Field with my sons,” said the life-long Steelers fan. Another highlight was when Saints running back Reggie Bush came off the field and flipped his wristbands to John’s son in appreciation for a compliment. His son promptly handed the treasure over to his father. Has John ever washed the wristbands? “No, no, no! I sometimes wear them to practices or games and let the kids touch them to transfer the energy because they all know where they came from.”
By living his own motto, “Be good, help other people and never give up,” John has touched the lives of many with his own low-key energy.