SALEM, Ohio — For the last several decades, Allen and Scott Moore have been responsible for leading Marietta’s FFA team. The father’s and son’s coaching legacy started with Allen in the late 1970s and transitioned to Scott in 2008.
The Marietta FFA team holds two state championships in the Agricultural Power Diagnostics Career Development Event and has consistently won its district competitions every year to qualify for states. But even more than the competition success, Allen and Scott have sought to redefine Marietta’s FFA team to be less about winning and more about learning.
“It’s more than just a contest anymore,” Scott said. “They’re learning … things that they can use in everyday life.”
The start of a legacy
Allen started coaching Marietta’s Ag-Power FFA team in 1978 when a local student called him, asking for help in a local tractor troubleshooting contest, now called Agricultural Power Diagnostics.
Scott started helping his dad coach when he moved back home in 1994 after serving in the military. During this time, Allen and Scott identified a problem with the team’s formula: there was too much emphasis on the competition. Out of the 16 kids on the FFA team at the time, only two would be able to attend the contests.
Together, Allen and Scott sought to make the FFA program more inclusive and well-rounded.
“We needed to change the program somehow because it wasn’t fair to the other 14 if we spent too much time only on the contest,” Scott said. “(Now) we work on real-life things. Everybody’s gonna have a car, everybody’s gonna have a lawnmower, everybody’s gonna have a motorcycle or something to that effect in their life.”
Brian Welch has been Marietta’s High School’s FFA advisor since 2008. He first met Allen in 1994, and throughout his time as the school’s FFA advisor, he has worked with both Allen and Scott.
“I feel extremely lucky to have someone with their expertise and dedication willing to assist our students,” Welch said.
Father and son worked alongside each other until Allen passed away in 2008. Scott took over coaching the team shortly after, inspired by a drive to help the kids.
“It’s to teach the kids something that I know and it is something that I am really passionate about,” Scott said.
Today
Since Scott took over, Marietta’s FFA team has evolved from competing in Agricultural Power Diagnostics to other contests including ag skills contests and the Outdoor Power Equipment Career Development Event. Students also learn life skills, a product of Allen’s and Scott’s efforts to make FFA more than a contest.
Some of the life skills students learn include nut and bolt sizes, drill and tap holes, wiring, blueprints, hydraulic schematics and more.
“We hope it really plants that seed,” Scott said. “The best way to put it is when you take your car to the mechanic, you take your tractor back to the dealership, one of these days those people are all gonna be gone.”
Throughout their time coaching, both Allen and Scott have inspired FFA students to pursue similar occupational careers. Most even come back years later to help Marietta’s FFA program.
“I think probably the biggest testament to what they’ve accomplished is that there’s a long list of students that are now in occupations that they were able to succeed at based on the skills that they received from those coaches,” Welch said.
For Scott, seeing the kids become successful and then come back to help is a full-circle moment. But, his favorite part of coaching FFA is watching the light bulb click.
“Probably the biggest thing is watching these kids transition from not knowing what a spark plug is to being able to compete and doing a really good job,” Scott said. “I’ve watched (the kids) grow from being a kid to being a young adult, but they come back and help and give back to the program. (They) makeup part of the program as a whole.”
Marietta’s FFA team of Brett Bauerbach and Brady Barth most recently won first place in the Ohio Agricultural Power Diagnostics competition on March 1. Bauerbach and Barth placed second at the district competition in order to advance to the state contest.
(Liz Partsch can be reached at epartsch@farmanddairy.com or 330-337-3419.)
