By Mike Kuhns
Record Sports Editor
May 08, 2010

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Denny Douds never considered himself a risk taker.

But when the East Stroudsburg University football coach had the opportunity to jump with the Golden Knights, the U.S. Army parachute team, the coach, ah, jumped at the chance.

"Once I said yes, I'm thinking to myself, what did I get myself into?" Douds, 69, said.

This wasn't a Bucket List situation, the coach admitted, even though his personality is fairly conservative. Douds even joked that summer trips to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., leave him with a unique job.

"I hold the purses and everything else," said Douds. "I don't even go on the tea cups, so right away you can see this is an adventure."

The opportunity arose when Maj. Ken Quimby, an ROTC officer at East Stroudsburg University, stopped by the football office wanting to know if Douds was interested in making a jump at Lakehurst Naval Station, N.J.

Douds wasn't in the office at the time, but the handful of assistant coaches who were present instantly said Douds would make the jump.

No one said a word to Douds of Quimby's offer and the next day Quimby returned to thank Douds. The coach was stunned. He agreed to jump and then went to work doing what Douds does best — preparing.

He turned on the Military Channel where he watched a segment on the invasion at Normandy.

"Someone had a camera shot going out of the door to the ground," Douds said. "Before I stepped out of that thing, I stepped out of that plane 200 times."

Mentally, Douds practiced the jump over and over. On Wednesday, Douds made the tandem jump with staff sergeant Joe Jones.

They jumped at 13,500 feet, reaching speeds of 120 mph, Douds said.

"You could feel the wind," Douds said. "That was super."

With his family watching, including his wife, Judy, daughter Jill Koerber, her husband Roger, and grandkids Morgan and Tyler, Douds had the time of his life. Coaches Mike Santella, Mike Terwilliger and Nick Bach also watched from the ground.

At 5,000 feet, Jones pulled the rip cord, and the pair floated like soaring birds.

"And then you got to float and that was magnificent," Douds said. "You could see Atlantic City and the ocean."

Douds and Jones hit the ground safely, the coach's smile beaming ear-to-ear. The fall was "super all the way."

He may not have jumped 20 years ago, the coach said. But at this point in his life, Douds said he wanted to give it a shot.

"I don't care if you're 16, 18 or 22, getting ready to play West Chester or Bloomsburg," Douds said. "If you're 69 and there's something you like to do, go ahead and do it."