Whatever Happened To... Ross McDonald
Varsity Football Head Coach, 1989 - 1999 An unexpected play in the mud and rain of an overtime football game against Cass Tech. A fake point-after attempt that became a pass and a two-point conversion that resulted in a 22-21 Pilot victory, and another week in the 1994 playoffs. And the most memorable moment for Ross McDonald, who coached DLS into their first-ever state playoff appearance a generation ago. Now retired from his high school teaching job, McDonald and his wife spend their time traveling and babysitting their grandchildren. But talk about the Pilots, the “great players and coaches” he had to work with during his time at DLS, and the years melt away. 14
McDonald had been teaching at Fraser High School for several years before becoming the school’s head varsity coach in 1974. The Ramblers were successful, but McDonald saw the DLS coaching vacancy in 1989 as an opportunity for a new challenge. “Our enrollment had dropped at Fraser, and we were no longer playing the ‘big’ schools - Eisenhower and Stevenson. When the DLS position opened up, I thought it was a great opportunity for me to have a new challenge, and coach against two of the all-time successful coaches - Al Fracassa at Brother Rice and Tom Mach at Catholic Central.” McDonald’s staff included DLS veterans - Tony DeSantis, Mike Szatkowski, and Steve Vercammen. Along the
way, Scott Grimmer joined the DLS teaching staff and became McDonald’s freshman coach. “They were great guys to work with, and we had some great athletes, great teams. Tony DeSantis said we were the first CHSL team to beat Rice AND Catholic Central in the same year (1994). That was quite an accomplishment.”
At the 2013 Christian Brothers’ Dinner: Steve Vercammen, former DLS Athletic Director and Coach, Ross McDonald, and Will Barnes, who coached DLS football along with McDonald.
A high school football player, McDonald was on the 1959 Cooley High School team that played St. Ambrose in the Goodfellows game the game then recognized as the “City Championship” with the CHSL putting its champion up against the Detroit Public School League Champs in a game at Briggs Stadium. McDonald, who also played hockey during high school on teams around the Detroit area, played some football at a community college in Colorado, before being offered a scholarship at Arizona State University. “I didn’t like the West, and decided to turn down Arizona and come home. I went to Michigan State and was a walk-on.” However, injuries cut short his college football aspirations, and McDonald pursued a teaching degree in physical education. One day, walking into the MSU ice arena, he noticed a fellow phys ed
student doing figure skating on the ice. That skater was his wife-to-be, Peggy. This year, they celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. While McDonald coached football, and for a while hockey at Fraser, Peggy initiated the “Learn to Skate” program at the Fraser Ice Arena, and coached synchronized skating. Peggy’s teams did well in competition, and the McDonalds traveled to various countries for competitions, including Sweden, Finland, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Peggy still coaches a few days a week, primarily teaching skating to 8-12 year olds at Fraser. McDonald stepped away from coaching at the end of the 1999 season, and hasn’t looked back. In the fall of 2000, he was golfing at St. Andrew’s in Scotland - a lifelong dream. He has also golfed at Pebble Beach, and regularly golfs near his place “up north” in the Cadillac-Traverse City area. And McDonald will be at the Christian Brothers’ Dinner. “I try to never miss it. I enjoy seeing those guys I coached. We had some good times.”
