MAHOF
P.O. Box 209
Grafton, OH 44044

Since he began his career at Midview in 1960, Neale Horwedel has probably been addressed as “Coach” by more students than any other teacher in the history of Midview schools.

A 1956 graduate of Berlin Heights High School, Neale participated in track, basketball, baseball and both six man and eleven man football.  His football team won fifteen straight games in 1953 through 1956 and his six man team was ranked the nation’s eighth best in a national magazine dedicated to six man football.  Neale also ran on an 880 yard relay team that qualified for the state track meet.

Neale attended Ashland College and was a manager for the football and basketball team his sophomore, junior and senior years.  He graduated in 1960 with a degree in education and accepted a teaching position at Midview that same fall.  He immediately became involved in the athletic program and began by coaching 7^th grade basketball and 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th, grade track.  He became the 8^th grade basketball coach shortly thereafter.  In 1969 he began coaching freshman basketball and in 1978 became the varsity assistant under the late Jim Vincent and the next year until 1985 under Dick Bickel.  In 1986, he was named the 7^th grade basketball coach and followed up in 1988 as the 9^th grade coach.  He took on the 7^th grade basketball and track jobs in 1989.  After an absence of three years from coaching basketball, he returned to the seventh grade program again in 1994 and in 1995 he left the boys program and became the assistant seventh and eighth grade girls coach until 2004. The following year, he was named the seventh grade girls head coach.  In 2006, Neale retired from coaching but has remained an Assistant Athletic Director at Midview, a position he has held in addition to his coaching duties, since 1968.  Neale received the Lorain County Athletic Administrators Assoc. service award during the 2005-06 school year.

Highly revered, Neale Horwedel may well have been a positive influence on more students then any other teacher or coach in the school’s history.

Neale Horwedel continues as an assistant A.D. at Midview and lives in Elyria with his wife, Mary Jo.  They have six adult children, and nine grandchildren.
   

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