TUMWATER, Wash. — Even the most casual American college football fans recognize the names. Urban Meyer of Florida, Jim Tressell of Ohio State, legendary Bobby Bowden of Florida State, Michigan's Lloyd Carr. They were joined by many of their coaching colleagues in San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 7-10 for the 2007 American Football Coaches Association convention.

Photo by Marjean Otton

Coach Sid Otton, standing right, with son Tim, and grandsons Cade Otton, left, and Jayden Croft, loves football but thinks of family first.

Among the recipients of awards were national coach of the year Jim Grobe who led Wake Forest to an 11-3 record and Atlantic Coast Conference title, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Sid Otton, and BYU's Bronco Mendenhall.

The name of Sid Otton, former bishop of the Olympia 4th Ward, Olympia Washington Stake, is not as well known as some of the others, but the award was prestigious. During a luncheon Jan. 10, Brother Otton received the Power of Influence Award, the only one given by the AFCA to high school coaches.

A high school head football coach for 39 years, the last 33 at Tumwater (Washington) High School, Brother Otton met the award's purpose: to honor a deserving high school football coach for his influence on his players, school and community.

Being the proverbial "found" needle in a haystack of thousands of high school coaches across the nation was very humbling, Brother Otton said during a Church News telephone interview from his home.

But well deserved, according to an AFCA news release. It quoted a letter of recommendation from Washington State Legislator Sam Hunt stating: "Former and current players and staff praise Sid for his compassion. He is a true role model and mentor to those whose lives he has touched. Sid has dedicated 39 years to the student-athletes of Washington and to the students, staff and families of our community."

The AFCA article noted Brother Otton was nominated by his peers in the Washington State Football Coaches Association who are well aware of his positive influence on his players, school and community as he has become the state's all-time "winningest" football coach with a record of 289-115.

The AFCA reported: "This award is not based on wins and losses; however, it is noted that coaches of powerful influence have longevity and success."

Brother Otton's success includes five state championships and 17 league titles.

Though he said he has Mormon pioneer roots — his great-grandfather was born on the snowy plains of Wyoming in the Willie Handcart Company — his progenitors had long ago fallen away from the Church. Brother Otton, a convert, has been a high school football coach longer than he has been a Church member.

He grew up in Lewiston, Idaho, moving on to play football at Weber State College in Ogden, Utah. There, he said, he met a girl from Evanston, Wyo., named Marjean Anderson, whom he later married.

After receiving a bachelor's degree at what is now Weber State University he took a head coaching job at small Coupeville High School in Washington. Two years later he went to Utah State University where he earned a master's degree and then returned to Washington as head football coach at Colfax High School. He said his wife, who had been a less-active member of the Church, took their oldest son, Tim, to Primary in Colfax. At Colfax, assistant coach Ned Jenne was a faithful member of the Church and was a good influence for Brother Otton, he said.

Two factors finally led him to conversion — a home teacher and the death of a child at birth. He said after losing the child, he took Alma 34 to heart and quit procrastinating. Ron Gage was assigned to home teach in his part-member home and was the final touch, Brother Otton said. In 1976 he was baptized. A year later, he and Sister Otton and their children — Tim, Brad and Tana — went to the Salt Lake Temple and received the sealing ordinances.

While joining the Church didn't change his coaching style — already based on positive qualities such as hard work, commitment, teamwork and clean speech — he does believe it made him a better father and husband. During the interview, it was obvious that his family is more important to him than his coaching career and attendant honors. "All this other stuff doesn't mean much when you think of things (like being sealed to your family forever)."

The Ottons' sons have served missions, Tim in Spain and Brad in Italy. Brother Otton said that coincidentally, Tim and Brad, after playing high school football for him, met their wives, Sally Waterstradt and Deanna Tidwell, respectively, the same way he met his: playing football at Weber State University. When Weber State threatened to axe its football program in the 1990s, Brad transferred to University of Southern California. He quarterbacked the Trojans to a victory over Northwestern in the 1996 Rose Bowl.

In the NFL draft, Brad was picked by the Washington Redskins but failed to make it in the pros because of problems resulting from a blown-out knee suffered, of all things, when he kicked a soccer ball during a preparation day in Rome during his mission, his father said. Brad now lives in Las Vegas where he was an assistant coach at UNLV for a time and now owns a "real Italian pizzeria," Brother Otton said.

Tim, a company executive, still lives near the family home in Washington and is a volunteer assistant coach on his father's staff. Tana, married to Derric Croft, is the head volleyball coach at Tumwater High.

When he joined the Church, Brother Otton figured he didn't need to worry about being called to a position such as bishop because of the time demands of his coaching job. He was a little surprised when called as a bishop's counselor. He doesn't claim there is a connection, but noted he won his first state championship shortly after beginning to serve in the bishopric.

In 1993, he accepted the call to be bishop on top of the demands of coaching. He said his football teams were very successful during his five years as bishop, though again refusing to say there was a direct connection.

Recently released as president of a young single adult branch, Brother Otton is teaching 15-year-olds in Sunday School.

Now 63, he has retired from full-time teaching, though he does instruct an athletic training class. He doesn't know how much longer he will coach, but said he has two pre-teen grandsons still living in the Tumwater High boundaries who want him to stay long enough to coach them. He said that might be a good enough reason to keep at it a few more years. — Greg Hill