Robinson Coach Says Farewell in Style

In 1981, Mark Bendorf was student-teaching at Mount Vernon High School, where Bruce Patrick was the head football coach. When Bendorf introduced himself in the teacher’s lounge, they got to talking football for a while. 

“As soon as we got out of that meeting,” Patrick said, “I was just so impressed with his command presence. This is a young guy, right out of college, but he was right there. I've never seen anyone that young, that mature, and knowing exactly what he wanted. He wanted to be a head football coach someday."

Patrick immediately went to tell the principal, “I've got to get this young man in the building next year. I need him.”

Next fall, Bendorf was on the staff. It was the start of a 30-year career as an assistant and head football coach in Fairfax County, the last 14 of which he spent as head coach at James W. Robinson Secondary School.

Bendorf announced his retirement in February. Patrick was sharing that story of their first meeting with a room full of about 300 friends, family members, colleagues and former players who gathered May 14 for a lavish tribute to Bendorf’s career at the Fair Oaks Marriott.

Bendorf said that he was “absolutely overwhelmed” and amazed by the outpouring of people who showed. 

“It's just unbelievable, the collection of folks in this room,” he said. “There's so many accomplished people here... I'm just humbled. I don't stack up with a lot of people in this room.”

Bendorf’s humility is one of the many ingredients that contributed to his successful coaching career.

He started at Mount Vernon in 1981 as an assistant to Patrick. In 1989, he was named head coach at Chantilly High School. He started at Robinson in 1992 as an assistant before taking over in 1997 as head coach.

His teams have made 11 playoff appearances, won seven District 6 championships and two state titles, in 1997 and 2001 at Robinson. He has led teams to undefeated seasons five times.

“You just kick their (butt) on defense and run the ball," Patrick said of Bendorf’s approach. “It's a great formula. It works.”

Dan Adams, a 2003 Robinson graduate, organized the event. He has been reaching out to friends and former players since Bendorf announced he would be stepping down, to take advantage of his full retirement benefits.

“He deserves it,” Adams said. “When someone spends that much time giving back to the community, it's the responsibility of the players to say thank you. There's all these people succeeding in different industries because of this man.”

Alex Markogiannakis, captain of the Rams' 1997 state championship team, told Bendorf that lessons he learned as a Robinson player – about handling adversity and stay humble in competition – have continued to impact his life on a daily basis.

"Your legacy, in my opinion, is this right here," Markogiannakis said, gesturing to the audience with outstretched hands. "People you've impacted that showed up here to honor you. This to me is more important than wins and losses. I just want to thank you for everything, coach, and congratulations."

Former Robinson player Chip Vaughn, who now plays professional football for the Indianapolis Colts, said he was shocked to hear that his mentor was retiring.

“Everything he taught me back in high school was stuff I carried through college, through training for the NFL,” he said. “It's not anything my college coaches taught me or the pros taught me. It's the stuff Coach Bendorf and his staff instilled in me since I was like, 16 years old.

“Coach B to me is like my second father,” Vaughn added. “All through college and the pros, I call Coach B. Anytime something goes wrong, or I get (upset), I call Coach B. He always has that guiding light, those humbling words to say.”

Robinson already has named Bendorf’s successor as head coach. W.T. Woodson High School head coach Trey Taylor will take over at Robinson in the fall, according to local news reports. Taylor will be the Rams’ fifth head coach since Robinson opened in 1971.