EASTERN HANCOCK — U.S. Army Col. Kurt Connell received his first lesson in military strategy on Eastern Hancock’s football field in 1985, he said.
It was the tail end of the regional championship game between Eastern and Clarksville, and paired with a speedy halfback and a steadfast offensive line, the Royals were pushing forward with their legendary rushing game. But in the fourth quarter, things were getting tight; the numbers on the scoreboard were too close for comfort, Connell said. The team was running out of options.
It was time to roll out operation blue thunder, he said.
Connell was a junior-varsity offensive guard when the Royals took home the IHSAA state championship trophy in 1985. As a freshman, back then he was little more than a tackling dummy, he joked.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryBut today, the full-bird colonel said it was his experiences on the field and in the classroom at Eastern Hancock that paved the way for a wide-spanning career as an intelligence officer. From his graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to his appointment to U.S. forces command Korea, Connell said he’s always drawn on lessons learned growing up in Hancock County to guide him toward success.
One of those lessons was learning how to employ the right strategies to confound and defeat an opponent, Connell said, and the 1985 regional championship game served as a perfect example. The team had hit a snag; unable to move the ball down the field, the coaches ordered the players to pull out their secret weapon: “blue thunder.”
“We usually ran the triple option wishbone a lot,” Connell said. “We were thought of primarily as a running team. Four yards a down, grind it, hog the ball and wear out the game clock.”
But unbeknownst to the rest of the conference, Eastern Hancock had secretly developed a strong passing offense during practice over the course of the season. They drilled day in and day out, yet never before had they unveiled their abilities during a game, keeping their passing offense a secret to potential scouts.
When the Royals completed a pass and broke the scoring stalemate, Clarksville was caught completely off guard, he said. Shocking their opponents and confusing their defense, the Royals pushed on and secured the win, moving on to the Class 1A semifinals.
Throughout his high school athletics career, Connell slowly began to understand how being a member of the football team was more than blocks and tackles; it was about thinking strategically and understanding the enemy as well as he understood himself. As a young football player, Connell said he spent as much time watching film and studying scouting reports as he did playing.
Such extensive research was one of many similarities he’d later find between football and military operations, he said. The lessons at Eastern Hancock would serve as a precursor to the lessons in battlefield tactics and strategies Connell would go on to study when he attended West Point four years later, he said.
A memorable student
David Pfaff, principal of Eastern Hancock High School, was the school’s high school history teacher and the coach of the reserve football team, on which Connell played as a freshman.
Connell was always a model student on and off the field, Pfaff said. He was thirsty for knowledge, and showed an unusually precocious intellect, not just for the game of football, but for how the world worked, he said.
“He was brilliant,” Pfaff said. “What really set him apart beyond his ability was how active his mind was; he quickly thought about things and was not afraid to speak his mind. He was extremely well-read and understood what was going on in the world. He had opinions, and he loved sharing them, which is always good for classroom discussion.”
Connell’s conscientious mind led him to achieve athletically and academically, he said. In addition to advancing on the football team, Connell wrestled in the offseason as well, winning the sectional championship at 171 pounds when he was a junior.
In 1989, Connell graduated in the top 10 percent of his class. That same year he’d received a call from Congressman Dan Burton’s office congratulating him for getting accepted in to West Point’s class of 1993. He packed his bags and headed for New York, officially a cadet in the United States Army.
Connell stressed that his hometown upbringing prepared him well for the challenges ahead.
“It is phenomenal the education I got at Eastern,” Connell said. “I got to the academy, which is a pretty academically rigorous place, and I was considerably better prepared then many of my fellow cadets at West Point.”
“(Eastern Hancock) just had a cadre of teachers that were really, really phenomenal,” he added. “The coaches really took an interest in ensuring that we were citizens of character, building future leaders. It absolutely had a tremendous impact on my career.”
While he didn’t compete for West Point’s core athletic teams, the academy has a robust intercollegiate athletic program that cadets must take part in, Connell said. As he earned his degree in engineering management, Connell excelled on numerous athletic teams within his company, going on to compete in football, wrestling and lacrosse. He later fought as a heavyweight boxer for his company’s intramural team, winning the regimental championship his senior year, he said.
The military requires well-balanced soldiers, Connell said. It’s an intellectually and physically demanding career, which requires focus on personal development.
After playing organized sports through high school and all through college, Connell is grateful for building a strong foundation in physical fitness, he said.
“The more physically fit you are, the better you handle the many stresses of life,” he said. “Fit people endure not just in combat, but in everyday life. It applies to everybody.”
Connell graduated from West Point in 1993 and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army’s intelligence branch. Since then, he has served in various command roles in units all over the world, including Iraq, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
None of the spotlight
In the game of football, the glory rarely shines on the left guard, Connell said. As the quarterback basks in the limelight, the offensive linemen — their guardians on the field — are usually left to enjoy victory quietly in the background, content in knowing they played a crucial role.
They rest assured in their knowledge: they’re members of the team, vital to the group’s collective success.
Successful military operations are often celebrated in a similar vein, Connell said with a smile. After completing a mission, generals and operators are lauded for their contribution, and for good reason, he said. But without the right intel, the entire mission would be in jeopardy, he said.
So intelligence specialists and officers like himself are left to solemnize their victory privately — in the background.
And so long as the mission is complete and he’s put in his best work, that’s just fine with him, Connell said.
Pfaff said Connell was one of the humblest student-athletes he’d ever taught. It’s fitting that he has that same humility now, he said.
“He was an offensive lineman, and offensive linemen are protectors,” Pfaff said. “They’re the people who do the grunt work. They’re the unsung heroes who have to work on every single play. Nobody seems to notice them until they make a mistake and miss a block.”
Eastern Hancock’s athletic program is designed to teach students about teamwork and sacrifice, Pfaff said. The purpose of athletics is not to play ball games and get your name in the paper; it’s about striving to burn life lessons into the hearts and characters of young people, he said. This can easily be done through athletics, even though the players themselves don’t usually realize this at the time.
And Connell is a perfect example of a student athlete who used what they learned in sports to better themselves and go on to serve their country and community, he said.
“To be an All-State football player, you’ve got to be willing to be anonymous and understand that the success of the team is not about you,” Pfaff said. “That’s what he was and what he is.”
