Football coach named for St. Mary Central Catholic
By MIKE LILJE
Sandusky Central Catholic School
SANDUSKY – St. Mary Central Catholic is excited to announce that Toby Hammond will be coming home to become the 24th varsity head football coach.
“We are pleased to announce Coach Hammond’s return home to SMCC Football,” President/Head of School Geoff Palmer said. “He brings a wealth of experience in a variety of settings and, with that, a strong ability to connect to student-athletes. His career is marked by finding ways to maximize the ability of his players, while adjusting his schemes and philosophies to put his teams in the best position to win. We are looking forward to having him working with the young men in our program.”
Hammond has had a successful career at multiple stops over a 41-year coaching career. He has served as an assistant at the high school level at St. Wendelin (Fostoria), St. Joseph Central Catholic (Fremont), Danbury, and SMCC, as well as at the collegiate level at Tiffin University. Coach Hammond has been a head football coach for a total of twenty-five seasons at SMCC, Edison, Calvert (Tiffin), and Port Clinton, in which he has taken teams to playoffs eight times, and was twice named coach of the year once for Division V in 1989 and then Division VI in 1998.
Hammond was previously head football coach here at SMCC from 1985 through the 1990 season, which included SBC Championships in 1989 and 1990, three trips to the playoffs in 1988, 1989, and 1990, winning a regional championship in 1989, and a state runner-up in 1990. He compiled a record of 47-21, which puts him second all time in school history in wins behind Lee Zierolf who guided the program to 98 wins.
“This is the only place that I would have even thought about being a head coach again because it is a special place. Anyone who graduated from or worked here knows that this place is special,” Hammond said.
Hammond is a 1974 graduate of Huron High School, received a bachelors in business from Tiffin University, business education certificate from Defiance College, and masters in education from Heidelberg College. Over his 41 years in education he has taught from fifth grade through high school, including classes in business, math and computer science.
Mike Lilje is coordinator of outreach and communications for Sandusky Central Catholic School, 419-626-1892, ext. 314, mlilje@sanduskycc.org.
