Jakob Gailitis brought enthusiasm and accountability to the job when he took over as Pinckney football coach last year.
It was that accountability that, in large part, led to his resignation as coach on Monday after five seasons.
Gailitis left the district as a teacher after the 2015-16 school year, taking a job in Williamston, where he and his family live.
But the distance proved too much, he said.
“What I pride myself in is doing things right and being all in,” he said Tuesday. “But not being in the building every day and asking my assistants to do more than me, I couldn’t see myself doing that. As the head coach, you have a program-wide interest. There’s a lot to watch over, and I didn’t know if I could do it, especially being so far away.
“I didn’t want the program to fall behind,” Gailitis continued. “I felt I owed it to the community to allow someone to do the job right, especially in the transition to the SEC next year. We have a great thing going here, and I thought it would be best to let someone take over who could expect more success.”
Gailitis and his family moved to Williamston so his wife could be closer to her job as a nurse at Michigan State University.
“My family has sacrificed quite a bit,” he said. “And I couldn’t ask any more from the coaches.”
And so, on a Tuesday when he was off work (Williamston’s holiday break started at the end of last week), Gailitis had begun the shift from a young coach gearing up for the start of offseason workouts to a dad with more immediate things on his mind.
“I’ve got to finish my Christmas shopping,” he said, laughing. “Tomorrow, I’m taking my daughters sledding.”
Galitis told his players after school on Monday, “Driving to tell the kids (Monday) was hard,” he said. “I almost threw up.”
On the field, the Pirates ended a 12-year playoff drought in 2013 and won a playoff game for the first time in school history. Pinckney repeated the feat last season before losing to eventual runner-up Walled Lake Western in the second round. He leaves Pinckney with a 26-23 record.
“What we’re doing is going the right way,” he said. “I wanted to make sure we’re successful in the long haul.”
Gailitis says coaching somewhere is definitely in his future.
“I love what football teaches young men,” he said. “They learn lessons that are needed now more than ever.”
Leaving Pinckney as a teacher was difficult as well, he said.
“It was hard to do,” he said. “So many people I truly love took care of me here. It was tough. But those are things that happen. It’s part of life. These are relationships I’ll always look on fondly. And I’ll always be a Pirate, to some extent.”
