CUYAHOGA FALLS — “Muk” has been on the sideline at CVCA since moving from Michigan 15 years ago. Along with his duties as a middle school math teacher, he has coached the Royals football and baseball teams, including a two-year stint as the baseball head coach.
Paul Muklewicz, 43, is one of Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy football’s longest-tenured coaches.
Now a quarterbacks coach and offensive assistant, Muklewicz was as pumped as anyone heading into the 2025 season.
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“We really feel this could be our toughest schedule in school history,” Muklewicz said. “It could be the best year of CVCA football ever, but we’ve got to take it one week at time.”
In late July, however, Muklewicz received news that made football seem insignificant.
“It was really sudden. It was really just a couple weeks of not feeling well and then the diagnosis,” Muklewicz said. “My brother-in-law took me to the Cleveland Clinic for some scans. Sure enough, it showed up, multiple tumors in my liver and then the source tumor in my colon. Because of how far it had already traveled … they said it was Stage IV colon cancer.”
Worse yet, Muklewicz said his treatments will be “non-curative.”
“They said median survival time is about 30 months,” he said.
When CVCA’s coaches and players found out, head coach Nick Cook said the response from the team was immediate.
“The response was so much love and compassion for him,” Cook said. “What he shared with our kids in that meeting was, ‘There’s nothing more encouraging to me right now than God’s word and scripture.’ Our kids have rallied around that. We basically sending him short videos of scripture everyday, even on game days.”
“We were in summer workouts, but I had been absent from workouts for several days,” Muklewicz said. “I shared with them everything. I also got to share with them how strong I found God’s word to be. The guys were amazing. The boys have been sending me videos of a Bible verse every day that they feel relates to my situation.”
CVCA captain Joey Kopec said support of Muklewicz is central to the Royals’ season.
“Our team wants to be with him and be a part of it through everything,” Kopec said. “Every single practice, we pray for him. Before every fourth quarter, we all always hold up four [fingers]. It means 4MUK.”
CVCA has rallied around Muklewicz in several ways. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help the family with medical expenses. Muklewicz and his wife, Suzy, have five children.
However, it’s the personal messages Muklewicz said he appreciates most.
“Everybody gave me a hug and told me they loved me,” Muklewicz said. “I felt very loved. It was a very tender time.”
As a quarterbacks coach, Muklewicz said CVCA quarterback Charley Levak has been a pillar for him.
“Charley has been great about reminding me God’s got me,” Muklewicz said. “Just the confidence we can have. There’s a similar confidence you need playing quarterback that we can have in life. We talk all the time about how football transcends the field into life. So here we are putting it into life.”
Cook said Muklewicz’s impact on CVCA has been sizable.
“We’ve had so many kids come through his math class,” Cook said. “He spoke at chapel, and the amount of kids that raised their hands that have had him in class was pretty powerful. He’s had a huge impact beyond the field.”
Contact Michael Leonard at mleonard@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio high school football | CVCA rallies around coach Paul Muklewicz after cancer diagnosis
Reporting by Michael Leonard, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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