OPINION — IN HIS real life, while others fled in fear from burning buildings, Mike Donato courageously charged right through the front door. So in his avocation as a scholastic football coach, game-winning goal-line decisions didn’t seem that daunting.

Following his outstanding playing career at Sharon High and Thiel College, Donato became a firefighter for the City of Sharon.

“That’s your job,” Donato demurred in a detached tone of voice. “They’re running out, you’re running in.

“I had to make life-and-death decisions every day, not only concerning myself, but as an officer, concerning the rest of my crew,” Donato related. “So a fourth-and-two or fourth-and-one, whether to go for it or not, or what to do in a certain situation, that never really affected me. I just reacted to the emotions of the moment.”

Recently Donato enjoyed an emotional moment as he was inducted into the Mercer County Hall of Fame. The Class of 2012 included several Sharon standouts, including Donato, Tony Molinari, and (posthumously) Elvorne “Bucky” Ferguson, United States Air Force Major David J. Kiefer and Nick Mamone.

“I’m sort’ve like the ‘in-between’ guy,” Donato explained. “I watched Tony, ‘Bucky’ Ferguson and Kiefer play at Sharon, Kiefer was a heckava mentor for me. He had just graduated from Westminster, and my senior year in high school we were transitioning defensively and he was helping out ... so I learned quite a bit about my position from him, and I passed on his little nuggets of information to a few other generations.

“High school-wise, and collegiately, I played with and against some very, very outstanding football players, It, obviously, was a different era. But I enjoyed my time in the locker room, obviously. I made lifelong friends from both places, and I think that’s the thing that I carry over more than anything,” related Donato, a diminutive, yet devastating gridiron hitter.

While still was serving as a standout linebacker at Thiel, his commenced his coaching internship at Sharon. Subsequently, he served on his alma mater’s staff for 2 decades as a coordinator, helping the Tigers take 9 District 10 titles and advance to a pair of PIAA Class AAA champinoship games. He transitioned to Kennedy Catholic as head coach, leading the Golden Eagles to a D10 Class A crown. Presently, he is a Westminster College assistant.

“Coach (Cliff) Smith and Web (Forsythe) and Jim Bestwick and Nick Marnejon ... they sort’ve pushed me in that direction and really wanted me to (coach),” Donato recalled. “Back then, you had to be a teacher and I wasn’t interested in teaching, so ... once the (coaching) positions opened up, then I thought, ‘Hey, maybe, it is time.’ “

Donato described his coaching style as that of a tactician.

“I’ve always felt that I was a pretty good ‘X-and-O’er.’ I think being a good teacher is prime, and I think that I was and I think that I am, actually.

“I think it’s not really what you know, it’s what you can teach and what (players) can learn, so (teaching) really becomes important,” emphasized Donato.

But he also may best be remembered for steadfastly wearing shorts while stationed on sidelines even in late-November and early-December.

“I worked for a guy that was pretty superstitious,” a delighted Donato explained, “so when you wore shorts early in the year and we were being successful, it wasn’t like you could put the pants back on.

“But I started to enjoy that aspect of it, people thinking, ‘Geez, he’s not cold, maybe I shouldn’t be, either. But I’ll be honest with you,” he said with a smile, “I bundled up, up top. My legs just didn’t get cold ... but there were some days I was (cold), but I wouldn’t let on.”

Interestingly, Donato was not a 2nd- or 3rd-generation firefighter. His father Bill — also a former Sharon High standout who played one of the first football games at iconic Tiger Stadium — was a steelworker and served as his son’s initial Little League coach. Once Donato entered that domain, however, it altered his perception of what’s most important in life. Ironically, it also made him a better coach.

“I think any firefighter, any professional that I know, when you go into your first one, when you’re crawling around in there, the first thing you think is, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ he related. “But I think you come to appreciate it and enjoy it.

“And to me,” Donato continued, “it was just an extension of the lockerroom, ’cause I’m with those guys every day, every second day, every third day — the same people — and you have to depend on them and they have to depend upon you. It’s a teamwork thing, and it has that lockerroom atmosphere, so I was right at home.”

“You come to rely upon your people and they rely upon you, irregardless of what you feel about them or what you think about them. It’s just like any lockerroom. I always told kids, ‘You’re not gonna like everybody that’s in the lockerroom, but you have to respect them ’cause they’re doing the same thing that you’re doing. And I think firefighting-wise, it’s the same thing.”

Donato drew a chuckle with an anecdote. Whereas he grew up watching some of his 2012 Hall of Fame classmates, another watched him.

“Brian Hills (who, like Donato, was an outstanding Thiel linebacker), was telling me about watching me at Stewart Field. Having watched him wrestle and having occasion to go up to Thiel and watch him play (football) ... so this (induction) is pretty neat,” he admitted.

Donato declined to cite specific seasons or games as highlights, relating, “I’m sure there’s any number of outstanding moments, obviously, and I don’t know if I would put one ahead of another. And playing-wise, I would say the same thing. I’ve had some great, great moments, and I don’t know really which is the most pleasurable.

“That’s not something I think about right now,” he admitted,  relating, “It’s just enjoyable to go somewhere and having people call you ‘Coach’ — that is the reward.

“Like (being called) ‘Grandpa’ or ‘Papa.’ It never gets old ...”