Football: Savage Steps Down from Flint Hill Coaching Staff to Concentrate on Family as Well as Mercury Speed Unlimited and Special Forces Track Club and

Nick Savage

(Sept. 1, 2010) - For the first time in a dozen years Leesburg resident and local business leader Nick Savage finds himself not coaching on the football sidelines as he announced this week that he was not returning to the Flint Hill coaching staff in order to concentrate on family as well as his Mercury Speed Unlimited Inc. business and Special Forces Track Club he runs.

Savage had coached for four years in the CYFL and AYFL local football leagues and then eight years at the high school level, the past four at Flint Hill in Oakton where he served at various times as quarterback coach, defensive back and speed and specialties coach.

"Leaving coaching in the fall is like cutting off my right arm, but supporting my family is like breathing," Savage told VivaLoudoun. "I need to spend time with the family, supporting my wife, kids and my surrogate kids while I they play or act. I also need to take more time with my businesses and get back in the community."

Savage helped establish the Flint Hill Huskies as a perennial winner. Flint Hill has won four straight conference championships and appeared in two state regionals and finals. Prior to his arrival, Savage said that Flint Hill had not won a championship in 50 years.

"It was great to help bring a new culture and see it from the beginning. There are no words for it."

Savage reeled off a host of players he had the pleasure to coach from Pee Wee level to high school, many of them NCAA Division I level athletes: Edwin Mends (Tuscorora), Alex Callahan (Flint Hill) , Devon "Ylou" Brown (Wake Forest), Jared Green (Virginia), Emani Fenton (Cornell), Shane Savage (Cornell), Brenton Peters (Cornell Baseball), Jordan Trimble (Army), Doug Howard (W&M basketball), David McCarthy (Air Force Academy), Jovan Smith (Richmond), and Arlandis Harvey (JMU) to name a few.

"There's nothing like watching your kid and others reach their dreams. I'm looking forward to seeing them all play and seeing local games. I also want to spend quality time with my daughter. She sees me too much as a coach," said Savage.

When asked if he's done with football for good: "Not hardly. I just need a break. Every coach I talked with older or smarter than me said they wished they'd taken the time for family. They are my family."

Savage then added with a smile: "I'll still be coaching track and building Special Forces and Mercury Speed."

Savage currently owns and operates Mercury Speed Unlimited Inc., a speed and sport-specific training firm and Special Forces Unlimited, a non-profit focused on youth and education. Most are familiar with the Special Forces Track Club which is part of Special Forces Unlimited. Special Forces was nominated as a 2009 Non-Profit of the Year by the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce.