Schools

Bendorf Retiring After 14 Years as Robinson Football Coach

Won two state titles during his tenure

When Mark Bendorf took over the head-coaching job with Robinson football in 1997 after five years as an assistant, his one goal was to leave the program in “at least as good of conditions as I got it in.”

Fourteen years later, with two state championships and a third state final appearance under his belt, it’s safe to say he did more than that.

“A lot of hard work has gone into making this program what it is,” Bendorf said from the football office at Robinson Tuesday. “There have only been four coaches since 1971, and it was important to me when I took over to continue to build the program.

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“I feel I’m leaving it in pretty good shape.”

Bendorf somewhat unexpectedly announced his retirement, effective at the end of the school year, his 30th in Fairfax County Public Schools. Truly a man of the area, Bendorf was a running back on the Marshall High School football team, graduating in 1974. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Mount Vernon in 1981 and moved to Chantilly in 1989, before joining the staff at Robinson.

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Despite his previous stops in the region, Bendorf had an eye on Robinson the whole time. He had ties to both men who led the Rams before him, as Ed Henry was his head coach when he was a player at Marshall, and Nick Hilgert, his immediate predecssor and the man who hired him at Robinson, was his running backs coach.

“Robinson has always had a strong football tradition, and when Hilgert called me and told me he had an opening, I jumped at it,” Bendorf said. “That was one of the smarter career moves I’ve made.”

Robinson football has been characterized by a smashmouth running game under Bendorf. In a regular-season win over Lake Braddock this season, the Rams burned nine minutes off the clock on the opening drive of the second half, finished off on a two-yard touchdown run by Jared Velasquez to put them ahead 10-7, the eventual final score.

“That’s a typical Mark Bendorf drive,” one writer leaned over and said to me as we scribbled the details of the touchdown in our notebooks.

While he may have his own style, Bendorf is an amalgamation of the influences he has had. From Henry, who ran the option at Marshall before anyone was doing it, he learned the importance of staying ahead of the game. In Hilgert, he saw a coach who cared about his players. During his time as an assistant at Mount Vernon, he picked up on the attention to detail given by head coach Bruce Patrick.

“We even covered how to handshake at the end of the game,” Bendorf remembered of his time with the Majors. He mixed it all with his upbringing as the son of a retired Air Force general. All that was left to do was add a unique spice that was all his own.

“Each guy had a lot to offer. I think I took pieces from all my mentors,” Bendorf said.

Watch a Robinson football game, and you can see those pieces in action.  This season, Bendorf deployed his three running backs -- Velasquez, Kambulu Musokotwane and Joe Meier -- in a number of formations, frequently using misdirection and playaction. He calls the plays himself and leaves nothing to chance, saying, “We approach the game from a very analytical standpoint. We check the stone under the stone.”

And if you listen to him talk about his players, you see that he has a bond with them that may be facilitated by football, but cemented by true compassion.

“The best part is the relationships with all the players I’ve come across and I’m still in contact with,” Bendorf said. “The trophies will collect dust, but the relationships will always be there. As a coach, I’ve always tried to get to know them as individuals first and not just football players. What are their interests? How are things at school? How are things at home?

“Only a small fraction of them will go on and continue to play. The bulk of them are going to walk away with hopefully very, very fond memories and a bond between their teammates and their coaches. That has been the draw for me.”

The Robinson administration may not yet want to think about who will replace Bendorf, a man who says of the job, “This is a really good situation. It’s a strong community, supportive administration, good players, good staff. It’s been a joy.”

The show will go on next season, and a proud football school will no doubt have a good man running the program. If Bendorf could handpick his successor, he would make sure he’s a Robinson man.

“The biggest thing for me is somebody who understands the tradition here. For 40 years, this football program has accomplished a lot, and we’re proud of that. We say ‘tradition never graduates.’

“Number two, they will always treat the players the way we’ve tried to treat them and get to know them as individuals, take an interest in them. That’s what I want to see.”

And if he’s lucky, he’ll leave the program in better conditions than he got it in.


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