Old Rochester Regional High School’s final game of the season on Thanksgiving Day was also the last game with head coach Henry Quinlan. After 11 years as head football coach and a total of 13 years with the team, Quinlan announced his resignation to players.

“I just couldn’t do it the right way any more,” Quinlan said. “I’m still going to be a big Old Rochester fan and support the program any way I can.”

Quinlan came to ORR after teaching college football for six years. When Quinlan began working at ORR, he also moved into the tri-town with his family.

“I wanted to be part of the community,” he said. “We have great kids in the tri-town.”

The decision to resign has been brewing in Quinlan’s mind for several years as his children get older and commitments increase with his full-time job at a general contracting company.

Last year was supposed to be Quinlan’s last at ORR, but “then we wont the championship and there was a lot of euphoria,” he said.

Still, Quinlan said he is afraid that his waning energy affected preseason training.

“The off season commitment was wearing one me,” Quinlan admitted. “To run a football program the right way, it’s a year round commitment.”

Not being able to devote enough time to his players was unacceptable to Quinlan. He also said it would be best to have the head coach be a constant presence in students’ lives as an employee in the school building.

“There are so many young men that come in and lose their confidence. With a coach in the building, we can save some of those kids,” said Quinlan.

While Quinlan knows he couldn’t be that coach right now, he is hopeful Principal Mike Devoll will be able to find someone who can meet that need.

For now, Quinlan is taking a break, but said he will begin considering assistant coaching positions in February.

“I’ll definitely be on the sideline next fall,” he said. “I want to get myself immersed into another program.”

That doesn’t mean Quinlan will forget his time at ORR, not so much the wins, but the overall experiences. “Laughing with the coaches and seeing kids do things they never thought they could do on the game field, that’s cool stuff,” he said.

“I love all the practices. I love walking out of the locker room and seeing the lights, that energy and that electricity. That’s the stuff that gives you goose bumps,” he said.