Sig Brauch

Sig was born in Friedrichshafen, Germany.  Along with his parents, 2 sisters & 3 brothers, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1953.  Sig attended 8th grade & 4 years of HS at the Edison Technical & Industrial HS in Rochester, NY.  He & his brothers, Manfred & Achim, became standout soccer players for Edison.  It was the beginning of a soccer legacy - as a player, referee & coach.

After 4 years of specialized training at the Gleason Works in Rochester, NY, Sig joined the U.S. Navy, where he served for 2 years in Newfoundland & 2 years on the Aircraft Carrier Shangri-La in the Mediterranean.  After earning his Bachelors and Masters degrees at New York State University (Oswego, NY) & McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada), he began his teaching career at Penn State Beaver, before joining the faculty at BAHS in 1981.  For the next 30 years, until his retirement from teaching in 2011, Sig taught German Language, English & Humanities.  He actively supported several student organizations, among them German Club, Ski Club, Civil War Club & the Mock Trial Team.  Many of the students in his German classes were able to take organized summer trips to Germany.

In 1983, Sig was asked to start the soccer program at BAHS, a coaching position he would hold for the next 25 years.  During that time, he led the Bobcats to the WPIAL Playoffs 12 times and the PIAA Tournament twice.  His teams won 6 Section Championships and led the Bobcats to the WPIAL Class AA Championship game in 2006, losing a 1-0 heartbreaker.  When he stepped down as Beaver’s Coach after the 2008 season, Sig was the winningest coach in Beaver County history with 293 career victories. 

Of his coaching career, Sig said: “I believe that my 25 competitive years of soccer at Beaver were devoted to teach many soccer athletes not so much to be soccer players, but to collect their resources, to raise the bar of their physical & mental abilities & to be courageous competitors in the game of life.”

A U.S. Navy Veteran & an active member in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Sig has a son, Jon, & a daughter, Julie.  Jon is a former soccer standout at Beaver, who now serves in the U.S. Coast Guard in Sitka, Alaska.  Sig passed on his coaching genes to his daughter, who, for 7 years, was a very successful Head Track & Field coach at Beaver, where Sig served as one of her assistant coaches. 

“Looking back, my time at Beaver was a tremendously active period of my life, full of challenges, hard work & rewarding outcomes.  There are no regrets, only pleasant memories.  I sincerely thank my colleagues, staff members, fellow coaches, parents & friends for the opportunity to serve the community.”