Back in October, 2015, I had the chance to interview Sophia Lewin, then a freshman at Monmouth University. Sophia had graduated Wayne Hills High School the previous spring, and was an important part of football program there, as she began her drive to one day coach football on the professional level.
I got to know her when she was a student at Hills, and we’d often talk during football practices about the game, and her passion for one day becoming a football coach on the professional level.
Sophia went on to graduate from Monmouth, where she was a part of the football coaching staff there, too, as a student-assistant.
Since then, she’s had coaching jobs on the high school and collegiate level, and now has been provided an opportunity to coach in the Buffalo Bills organization, as a full-time offensive coach.
Here’s a look back at that interview, nearly six years ago.
The intensity and knowledge have been there for almost as long as she can remember. And now, Wayne native Sophia Lewin is actively pursuing her dream to be a professional football coach.
Lewin, a 2015 graduate of Wayne Hills High School, is a freshman at Monmouth University, where she’s majoring in Psychology.
But her ultimate goal is to coach football, one day, on the professional level. And if you know Lewin, you’re mindful it’s not just a dream.
“I love football,” the effervescent but very serious-minded Lewin said recently. “I grew up following the game, especially with my dad. I just couldn’t get away from it.”
In high school, Lewin was an active member of the school band and a tremendous infielder with a wickedly strong arm for the Patriots softball team. But on most late summer and fall afternoons, you’d most likely find her with the Hills football team. She’d run the gamut of assignments as a team manager, but most of all, she would be at every station, watching linemen drill, linebackers tackle, quarterbacks throw, running backs explode off the ball and defensive backs engage with a wide receiver on a route. On many occasions, you’d see her throwing fade patterns to wide receivers, and doing so with an amazing touch to her passes.
She’d pick the brains of just about every football coach at Hills, beginning with the head coach, Wayne Demikoff.
“She’s unbelievable,” said Demikoff of Lewin. “Sophia was such a big help to our team. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to help. She was part of our program the past three seasons and we miss not having her here on a regular basis now. But I’m so happy that she’s not only attending a great school in Monmouth, but helping the football program there, too.”
That’s right, Lewin may be away from her beloved Patriots, but she’s still attached to the gridiron. She’s been welcomed to the Hawks football team and attends practice regularly, as well as some home games.
“(Head) Coach (Kevin) Callahan has been great and the players are tremendous,” said Lewin. “When I first started to attend practice, I couldn’t believe how fast the game was. I know it’s a (NCAA) Division 1 program, but wow, it was so different from high school. But as things went on, I began to get into the way practices are run, and I just love it now. The game has slowed down a little, and that’s good. It’s making more sense now.”
Lewin, the youngest of two children born to Glenn and Irene Lewin, began coming to football practice at Hills during the spring of her sophomore year, shortly after Demikoff was hired as the team’s head coach, succeeding Chris Olsen.
“Dem confirmed it for me, when it came to wanting to be a coach,” Lewin said of her admiration for Demikoff. “He gave me the chance to be a part of a great program. You never realize what that means until you’ve actually been there. I was a part of that team, and very proud of that.”
Lewin would occasionally sit in on film sessions with the Hills coaches, watching and learning as the staff prepared for a new opponent.
Walt Johnson is the ‘Czar’ of Special Teams at Wayne Hills, and a man who passes compliments around with the ease of tossing a manhole cover. But when it comes to Lewin, a smile quickly crosses his face.
“She’s as good as they get, when it comes to being a respectful kid and a hard worker,” said Johnson. “I admire her passion for the game and I think she’ll be successful in whatever she does with football.”
Ask Lewin about any NFL team and she’ll rattle off the name of the head coach, along with various assistant coaches and not only top players, but obscure guys who may be the 53rd man on the roster. She particularly noted the coaching styles of NFL Hall of Famers Bill Parcells and Bill Walsh, as well as former Oakland Raiders coaches John Madden and Art Shell.
As she continues to learn the game at the collegiate level, the aspirations bubble to the surface.
“I want to coach in the NFL one day,” Lewin said. “I know Jenn Welter got a chance to coach with the Arizona Cardinals this summer, and I think I can reach that goal one day, too. I know it’s a lot of hard work, but why not? I’m so happy at Monmouth. I’m getting a great education and also have the chance to be around the football program. You make contacts in every part of life, right? It’s never too early to chase a dream. I always said I never want to feel like I’m working for a living. Coaching football is what I want to do, and to get that chance would be a dream come true. I love being a leader and taking charge.”
Lewin admits the offensive side of the game intrigues her the most, but she also gets the first rule in becoming an effective manager of people. The most successful coaches and directors are the ones who know every aspect of an organization. So she makes sure she spends time with the special teams and defense, too.
Lewin’s classmate at Wayne Hills, Justin Hogan, isn’t surprised at his friend’s ultimate goal. Hogan is a freshman on the University of Rhode Island football team and was a devastating linebacker and fullback at Hills.
“I just talked to Sophia not too long ago and I’m really happy to hear she’s doing so well,” said Hogan. “She has such good knowledge of the game, already. I know she’ll make it one day. It’s great that she’s at Monmouth and learning at that level.
“And, she’s a great friend.”
That pretty much describes an 18-year-old who can’t wait for the next phase of her life to begin. And one day, don’t be surprised to Sophia Lewin managing an NFL sideline as that team’s head coach.
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