As a child, Head Football Coach Jerry Partridge ’86 spent many a day on the sidelines of the Ruskin (Mo.) High School football field, watching and learning from his dad, the head coach, and dreaming of the day he’d have his own team to coach.
That dream came true when Partridge was tabbed as Missouri Western’s head coach in 1997, his first head coaching position.
In his almost two decades in the position, he has made a name for Missouri Western, and his coaching legacy is all over the Griffon record books. Partridge became Missouri Western’s all-time wins leader in 2006, and he ranks third on the MIAA all-time list. He has been named the MIAA Coach of the Year twice.
His career at Missouri Western has produced an MIAA Player of the Year (Jerris Evans), MIAA Special Teams Player of the Year (Greg Zuerlein) and MIAA Offensive Player of the Year (Michael Hill). Partridge has also coached three MIAA Freshman of the Year award recipients: Mike Jordan, Drew Newhart and Roger Allen; and coached the school’s all-time leader in passing (Drew Newhart), tackles (Eric Walker), sacks (David Bass), tackles for a loss (David Bass), rushing yards (Michael Hill) and rushing attempts (Michael Hill).
He has coached more than 240 All-MIAA picks, 25 All-Americans and a national Harlon Hill Award finalist. The Griffon coach set the single-season school record for wins with 12 and has won nine games or more in seven out of the last 10 years. Under his guidance, the Griffons have made the NCAA Playoff four times, which included hosting for the first time in the school’s history in 2011. In 2012, the Griffons advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. Three of his players are currently playing in the National Football League.
“The number one goal is not to win games. It is leading your men to be goal-oriented and better human beings,” Partridge said. “Some of my players feel that everything I did as a coach improved them. My goal is for all of them to feel that way.”
As a graduate assistant coach under Lou Holtz at University of Notre Dame, Partridge says he tries to live by Holtz’s words of wisdom: ‘Praise loudly and criticize softly.’
“Kids aren’t going to care how much you know until they know how much you care,” Partridge says.
When he came to Missouri Western in 1981 as a student athlete, his first impression was the small trees all over campus, but he was also impressed with Spratt Memorial Stadium. It had just opened in 1979, and Partridge said the “grass on the field was tremendous.”
In his first season on the football team, the Griffons went 8-2 and were ranked fourth in the nation. (The only other time the team was ranked that high was in 2012, when Partridge was coaching.)
“College was fun. I’d definitely turn back the clock and do it again,” he says. “The teachers knew your name and remembered you. Today, when I see (Charles) Erickson or (Jim) Grechus, it’s always a good day.” He also has special memories of his college days because he met his wife, Pam, at Missouri Western.
After graduation, Partridge spent several seasons on coaching staffs at three Division I universities and had a five-year stint as defensive coordinator at Missouri Western. He earned a master’s in sports administration from the University of Missouri.
Partridge’s football legacy continued when his son, Travis ’13, joined the Missouri Western squad in 2010, and Dad had the opportunity to coach his son.
Travis was born while Partridge was at Murray State University in Kentucky. “His birth was the only shining moment in the 0-11 season,” he says with a laugh.
He became head coach at Missouri Western the next season, and, “just like me with my dad,” Travis could always be found on the sidelines of Spratt Stadium.
Coaching his son is something Partridge will always cherish. “It was tough at times, but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything,” he says. “We’ll always have those tremendous moments that can never be taken away.”
Partridge doesn’t have to think about it when someone asks him to recall the greatest moment of his coaching career: when Travis went over the goal line to beat Northwest Missouri State University and win the conference championship in 2012.
This fall, he again stepped onto the field with his team, continuing his Griffon football legacy for the 18th season.
“I love being involved with the kids,” Partridge says. “It’s fun to watch them be successful.”