The Engine Behind Pine-Richland's Powerhouse Offense

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- When the Pine-Richland offense takes the field, its offense will be in high-gear as always, and that gear is shifted by an unheralded coach.

Some play calls might sound confusing to some people, but not to Todd Jochem.

He's been coaching quarterbacks at Pine-Richland for over a decade, but before he was engineering scoring drives, he did something that required a lot more brain power.

"My background is in robotics, I was at CMU with self-driving cars," Jochem said.

Jochem went on to discuss how he started a couple robotics-related companies in the early 2000's, before selling them in 2006 and 2007.

Cashing out that robotics company has allowed Jochem to focus on his two greatest passions -- football and family.

Fortunately for him, those two go hand-in-hand.

Jochem's oldest son, Ben, played for Pine-Richland when they won a WPIAL and PIAA title in 2017, and his youngest son, Eli, is currently one of the best wide receivers in the state.

Jochem is now in his 10th year as a coach at Pine-Richland, and has had a child on the sideline with him for nine of those ten years.

Coach Jochem has made a point to take pictures with all of his kids on the field before every game.

That perspective on family dynamics isn't the only wisdom rolling around in this coach/engineer's head.

He also makes sure to drop knowledge on the non-family members of this year's team.

"There's only so many times in life you can be the absolute best at something," Jochem said is something he makes a point to tell his kids.