The Town of Marshfield, MA is in an uproar. Their winning high school football coach has been told that his services are no longer required.

Parents, students, family and friends of Coach Lou Silva are marching on the school and imploring them to reinstate a coach who, over the past 40 years, has led the team to high school Super Bowls, mentored and positively influenced hundreds of students, and dedicated his life to teaching the game to his players. Their most recent super bowl win was just two seasons ago.

The administration isn’t talking, but the rumor is that they want someone who is on the teaching staff to also be the coach. They have told Coach that he is “welcome to apply”! Really?

is this yet another case of a baby boomer being declared irrelevant? Sure looks that way to me. And it’s maddening, frustrating, and so unnecessary! He’s still coaching well, as demonstrated by the 2015 record of eight wins and only three losses. When you consider that a public school doesn’t have much control over what kind of talent the students will have, I think this speaks volumes for his coaching abilities.

When is the message going to be heard? Today 60 is the new 40-something, we are living longer, and we are thinking about retirement differently. Most of us are not ready to sit in a rocking chair all day and watch Jeopardy. We still have so much to offer the world. And the world needs us! Millennials need the guidance of a wiser and more experienced generation as much as we need the millennials’ propensity to conquer technology.

Employers are finding out that there are great advantages to holding onto older workers for as long as possible. The administration at Marshfield High School should take note. Let Coach Silva continue to coach and mentor the students, and retire from coaching when HE is ready!