He played at UK and won a Super Bowl with Green Bay. Now he’s a high school coach.
If your nickname is “Ginger Wolverine,” you probably don’t back away from many challenges.
The distinctively red-haired Tim Masthay is that kind of guy.
The next challenge for this former University of Kentucky punter and Green Bay Packers Super Bowl champion will be coaching boys’ high school soccer for Model in arguably the state’s toughest soccer region.
“I love soccer. I’m very passionate about it,” Masthay said as he was introduced to his team in Model’s library Tuesday afternoon. “I love coaching in general. But probably what I care most about is the experience the young men have playing. … We’re going to have a lot of fun.”
People who remember Masthay as a punter for the Cats and Packers might forget that he was an all-state soccer player for Murray High School, as well. He was all-just-about-everything, in fact, playing four sports including two at once with football and soccer. The same year he was punting and place-kicking for the Tigers as a senior, he was also their leading wide receiver with more than 1,100 yards and 15 touchdowns while also scoring 23 goals with six assists on the soccer pitch.
“I’m kind of just a sports nut in general,” he said. “But soccer was a passion of mine and I got into coaching a little bit when I was playing for the Packers. I helped out at West De Pere (Wis.) High School, … so I got a taste of that and really enjoyed it.”
When his NFL career finished, Masthay, 33, and his family moved back to Central Kentucky, and he became an assistant for the Centre College men’s team. The Colonels just finished a run to the NCAA Division III Final Four. He’s also coached at the local club level.
“When this opportunity came about, there was just a lot about it that was interesting to me and exciting to me and here we are,” Masthay said.
Model, a small school with a high school age enrollment of 224 at last count, has had soccer success, although it hasn’t made a regional since 2013.
“I was attracted to being at an All “A” school because Murray High School, where I went, was an All “A” school and I remember competing in those All “A” Classics and loved it,” Masthay said. “I also loved being the small school trying to beat the big schools.”
Last season’s 13-7 campaign included a road victory over traditional power Lexington Catholic and a run to the 11th Region All “A” Classic finals where the Patriots lost on penalty kicks to Lexington Christian after a 1-1 tie.
Retired Coach Steve Savage, who took the job in 1993, amassed 301 wins over 27 seasons and won seven district championships and region titles in 1999 and 2001. The Patriots have had winning records eight out of their nine years since being placed in soccer’s difficult 11th Region.
“I’m very cognizant of the success the program has had in the past,” Masthay said. “I see Coach Savage sitting out here. I know what you built here and so that’s one of my goals is to continue to build onto that.”
Savage admitted not following American football well and not knowing who Masthay was in that arena, but he said the hire of someone like Masthay was “amazing to me.”
Savage said he’ll miss the early practices on dew-soaked summer mornings, but he doesn’t expect he’ll offer much advice to the new coach.
“I’m sure he has his own philosophy,” Savage said. “He’s going to do fine. Little things like the bus rides, how you keep track of players on the trips — that sort of thing will probably be what drives him nuts. I imagine that’s where I’ll give him a few pointers if he wants them.”
While Masthay brought instant name recognition to the interview room, Model Athletics Director Scotty Sutton said the hiring committee was most impressed with how much the candidate had studied Model and the community and his zeal for wanting to be at a small school.
“You can have a sexy hire and you can have the right hire. And Tim meets both of those,” Sutton said. “When we sat down and talked with him, he really blew our doors off.”
He made a good impression on his players as well.
“I like that he told us he was going to make us run,” said junior Cole Taylor. “He said our practices were going to be short, but they were going to be really intense.”
They also like the “Ginger Wolverine” nickname given to Masthay by his Packers teammates back when he donned long sideburns like the Marvel comic book character.
“That’s pretty cool, that’s pretty cool. ... Our last coach was a ‘Gray Wolverine,’ Taylor said, laughing among his teammates.
