Alex Golesh believes his 7-year-old self would be pumped to know he would be the head coach at Auburn.
“He’d say, ‘That’s pretty badass, you’re the head coach at Auburn,’” Golesch said in an ESPN feature that was broadcast during “College GameDay” on Saturday.
In an in-depth AL.com feature, Golesh’s unique backstory and journey from the Soviet Union to the Plains was laid out.
Here’s an excerpt:
By 1991, communist hardliners were attempting to forcibly seize control from then Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev. In August, tanks began rolling into downtown Moscow as unrest within the country began to reach levels not seen since the Russian Civil War some seven decades prior.
About 20 minutes away from downtown Moscow lived a middle class family of four. Vladimir and Bella Golesh had two young children at the time and were growing increasingly concerned about the future of their nation and the opportunities for their kids.
Ten-year-old Eugene and seven-year-old Aleksey, whose name was later shortened to Alex, were largely oblivious.
The Golesh children had a normal Russian childhood. They played soccer and hockey and walked to school from their family’s high-rise apartment when it wasn’t too cold outside.
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