Roger Grove’s impact went far beyond the white lines of a football field. He spent 27 seasons as head football coach at Norristown High School compiling a 209-98-6 record from 1976 to 2002. A health and physical education teacher at the school for 35 years, he accepted an early-retirement package offered by the school district in 2003.

 

Grove then joined Neshaminy High School as an assistant, working mostly with the running backs and quarterbacks under close friend Mark Schmidt from 2003 to 2011.

 

Four of Grove's players at Norristown played in the NFL.

 

Grove was a member of four Halls of Fame: Donegal High School, West Chester University, Montgomery County Coaches Hall of Fame and PA State Coaches Football Hall of Fame.

 

In the weeks leading up to his death in May 2016, the outreach was overwhelming.

 

 “It wasn’t just ‘he was a great coach.’ It was, ‘he saved my life, he changed my life, he made me the man I am.’ Girls too, reaching out and saying the impact he had,” said son, Mike Grove. “They are saying that your dad wasn’t just about being a coach on the field, he was about making you a better man or better person. You can’t ask for more than that.”