“don’t just be a coach. be a character coach”

Virtual Speaker Introduction By: Coach Jim Place

A football coach and players on the sidelines during a game, wearing blue uniforms and headsets.

Coaching for change

Coach Jim Place has coached football for almost 50 years. Nine schools, 7 head coaching jobs, and multiple wins later, Place is a hall of fame coach. His players say that it’s not his win/loss record that makes playing for him so special.

“He truly is a coach that cares about the whole person. Coach wants us to be great men, not just great players,” says Ponitz Junior Reece Reeves. Coach Place started to receive national recognition when he was the head coach at Stebbins High School (’82-’84). Brent White, a player of Place’s, was awarded the National Defensive Player Award. That was the beginning of his hall of fame career.

Place moved onto the Cincinnati area where he took a Head Coach position at Middletown High School. Coach place recorded 48 victories in a five year time span, along with leading the team to the state playoffs three out of the five years. But, the most impressive stat from people on the outside looking in is the number of football scholarship athletes that went to the next level from Middletown High School. 59 student athletes went to college with some type of scholarship to play football. To be a college football player, talent is not the only requirement. The athlete must have grades that meet the NCAA Eligibility.

An elderly man with white hair speaking to a crowd at an indoor event, wearing a red shirt and a lanyard. The audience is seated and listening. A quote at the bottom reads: "We're certainly not changing the world. But there's a small world called Miami Valley high school football. That's our world. And we're trying to change our world."

Place’s next move was to a place he called “vacation.” He took the head coaching job at Chaminade Julienne. In 2002, the Eagles won the DII State Championship. Place coached the team to the playoffs eight times in fifteen years, including seven straight trips to the postseason. The state of Ohio knew where Chaminade Julienne was and that is all because of one coach. Place had 53 athletes play at the next level with a scholarship in hand, and also in 1995 the senior class had over one million dollars in athletic scholarship money. Place also had a player received the Harold E. Meyer Sportsmanship award presented by OHSAA seven years straight.

Two groups of young men, one on a football field shaking hands, and the other indoors at a social gathering with some taking selfies, all smiling and appearing friendly.

character Matters

Coach Jim Place, alongside Al Powell, founded the annual Ohio Social Justice 7-on-7 Tournament, a successful event where high school football teams compete while engaging in critical conversations about racial justice, empathy, and building acceptance through contact and shared experience, making it a significant platform for youth development beyond just football. This initiative, part of the larger Social Justice Summit, empowers young athletes to connect authentically and address societal issues. 

Black and white portrait of an elderly man wearing a suit and tie.

-Coach Place has an overall record of 245-169-2. 25 playoff games, over 140 Scholarship players and 14 NFL players. He is best known for taking over programs that need rebuilding. Place has been awarded Coach of the Year honors 14 times and was inducted into the Ohio High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 2012.

Black and white photo of a group of people, including Martin Luther King Jr. (second from left), smiling and engaging in conversation indoors with a chandelier visible on the ceiling.

“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.