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Some
are called "coach" by a few.
In the case of Graham Updike, he was called
that by many. In
a 36-year career dedicated to coaching -
most of it spent at Centralia High School -
he impacted the lives of many athletes in a
wide range of sports including football,
basketball, wrestling, track, cross country
and swimming. For
those efforts he'll be recognized with his
induction into the Centralia Sports Hall of
Fame. "I
have a lot of fond memories," said
Updike who was an assistant in football from
1972 to 1998, spent 28 seasons with the
track team, another 14 years with both the
Orphans and Annies basketball teams and
spent time as assistant with the women's
program at Kaskaskia College as well as five
years as coach of the Centralia Seals swim
team. An
All-State and All-Conference halfback in
football at Columbus North (Indiana) High
School, he continued his playing career at
Franklin College and earned NAIA
All-District honors in addition to seven
top-two career marks. His
first stop was an assistant at Gerstmeyer
High School in Terre Haute where he assisted
in football and track as part of programs
which were state ranked and state finalists. From
1967-72 he was head track and football coach
at Flora, where he guided the Wolves to the
North Egypt Conference track title. It
was there he also became acquainted with
Centralia through track meets. "I
didn't know a lot about Centralia, but I did
know Centralia coaches Don Smith and Rod
White from track," said Updike. Once
here he became the defensive coordinator and
offensive line coach for the football
Orphans and following an 8-2 sason in 1973
Centralia made the postseason the the first
ever Illinois postseason. '"I remember
when I first interviewed him," recalled
CHS head coach Don Smith. "We hit
it off right away." Centralia
returned to the playoffs in 1977 as South
Seven conference champions but it was the
season before - when the Orphans suffered
through an 0-9 record with a string of
heartbreaking losses - that Updike said he
remembers. "Even
though we were 0-9 we played people tough
and I always admired the hard work and
aggressiveness of that group," he said. Updike
was on the football staff through 1998
during which 1998 during which time he also
coached Orphans basketball at all three
underclass levels. In
1980 he was a varsity assistant when the
Orphans won the South Seven but were spilled
in the regional final. "That
was a really good team, but it was a tough
way to end the season," he said. The
following year he was on the staff of Team
Centralia which consisted of primarily of
Orphans players wo traveled to Sweden and
were international tournament champions. It
was also at that time when the Orphans began
a string of seven straight District
championships in track under the guidance of
head coach Rod White, with Updike and Bill
Blair as assistants. Updike
worked with hurdlers, pole vaulters and
jumpers, and many were outstanding. "When
you start mentioning them you're going to
leave someone out," said Updike who
coached a future Olympian in hurdler David
Patrick. "I was very fortunate to
have great athletes almost every year who
were willing to put forth the hard work and
effort to be successful." Among
the state placers were David Patrick
(hurdles), Brett Weathersby (hurdles),
Matthew Patrick (long jump), and pole
vaulters Boyd Lance and Matt Renaud. "He
was one of the most intense and hardworking
guys I know," Rod White said of
Updike. "Working with Graham was
like having another head coach." Earlier,
Updike assisted Dick Carpenter with the
Orphans wrestling program and was part of a
five-year run in which Centralia won both
the varsity and frosh-soph championships
each year. Additionally,
he spent seven years as an assistant coach
with Orphan Annies basketball under coaches
Ann Murray and Roger Stieg, and also helped
with the CHS cross country squad for two
years, during which time it qualified for
state. He
assisted Don Smith for two seasons when
Smith coached the Kaskaskia Blue Angels'
women's basketball team. He also went
beyond the realm of coaching by serving as a
state track official for 25 years and worked
at the Centralia Holiday Tournament in
addition to being a scorekeeper. He
even found time to coach in summer the
Centralia Seals swim team from 1986-1990 and
in that span the squad claimed a Southern
Illinois Swim League championship and was
runner-up four other times. Graham was
also manager of the Fairview Park Pool for
seven years. "After
the kids [son Brad and daughter Theresa]
went through high school we pretty much
decided we were going to stay in
Centralia," said Updike who continued
to coach even after he retired from teaching
at CHS in 2000. "My wife [Betty]
enjoyed teaching at Willow Grove and
Centralia has been good to us. It's
worked out well." list@morningsentinel.com
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