WEST POINT — Tucker Waugh talks about his love for the Army football program from his desk inside an office that he’s called home for 17 years.

There’s a noticeable tremor in his left hand, and Waugh turns the discussion to one of the toughest moments of his life.

During the week of the 2015 Army-Navy game, doctors diagnosed Waugh with Parkinson’s disease. The news stunned Waugh and his wife, Jen. It also provided answers to why the active middle-aged coach’s movement had slowed.

Waugh visited the Fresco Institute for Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders in New York City every three months following his diagnosis. Doctors refuse to give Waugh a prognosis because of the progressive condition’s unpredictability. There’s just no way to measure how serious Waugh’s case will become.

“It's hard to say that you have been affected positively by Parkinson's,” said Waugh, Army’s slotbacks coach and recruiting coordinator. “But in the same token, when something like that happens to you, you learn what's really important.

“I've been able to keep my eye on the ball better of what's really important in my life since my diagnosis. You recognize first and foremost what a great wife I have and how valuable she is. She is so loving and caring. To do anything with your children is precious time.”

Days like Thanksgiving are not taken for granted in the Waugh household. Waugh’s bond with his sons, Jackson, a sophomore at James I. O’Neill, and Nicholas, an eighth-grader — both football players — is stronger than ever.

“We just stick together, all of us,” Jen Waugh said. “You just have to live for each day and each moment and appreciate what you have now rather than thinking ‘What if,’ or what the future looks like so much because we don't know.”

Docs: Keep on coaching

The best prescription that Waugh received from doctors at the Fresco Institute was to continue coaching football.

Waugh’s routine hasn’t changed much. He is one of the first to arrive at the offices as early as 7 a.m. and one of the last to leave following his recruiting duties.

Football has always been Waugh’s passion since he watched his father, Maury, coach under the late Dennis Green at Northwestern University in the 1980s. The game now takes Waugh’s mind off his biggest fight.

“Having Parkinson's is a tough diagnosis to handle,” Waugh said. “Having to go through that I think I have the best job that I can possibly have in the world. You are very active as a coach whether you are recruiting or out there coaching. Most of the time, quite honestly, I forget there is anything wrong with me because I'm so involved in my job. Football really helps.”

Waugh, Army’s longest tenured assistant, will coach his 205th game at West Point when Army clashes with Navy on Dec. 8 in Philadelphia.

Only one other Army football coach has reached 200 games: The legendary Earl “Red” Blaik, architect of Army’s three national champion teams in 1944-46, coached in 237 games as a head coach and assistant.

Jeff Monken retained one assistant coach when he took over the program from Rich Ellerson in 2014. Monken had battled Waugh for Midwest prospects while serving as a Navy assistant coach. He said he couldn’t pass on Waugh’s knowledge and experience of recruiting at West Point. Monken says Waugh is “one of the best football coaches that I've ever worked with.’’

“He's a guy with a lot of energy, always coaching the guys and always talking to the guys,” Monken said. “He's slowed down physically. He can't get from here to there as fast but it hasn't kept him from being effective as a coach. He's trained himself for a long time to watch the right things.

“(Parkinson’s) hasn't taken his spirit for this game and for coaching. He loves kids. He loves our players. It is a warrior mentality. We have guys with nicks and dings and guys get tired when they are practicing. All they have to do is look over and look at Tucker Waugh fighting through what is not a comfortable physical condition.”

Waugh’s devotion to coaching and his desire to win has never wavered since his diagnosis.

Valuable support system

The day after receiving the news, Waugh performed a web search with the terms “coach” and “Parkinson’s disease.” Up popped Texas A&M basketball coach Billy Kennedy, who was diagnosed with the disease in October 2011. Kennedy returned Waugh’s phone call and eased his concerns, telling Waugh he could live, handle and coach with Parkinson’s.

“I don't think he's missed a beat since he's been diagnosed with it,” Army senior slotback Jordan Asberry said. “If anything, I think he has more energy because he knows that it can be taken away at any time. He just comes out here with more energy and he's never going to complain. He's always upbeat, keeping us going and we keep him going.”

Waugh’s support system is strong at home and throughout Army’s football brotherhood. Bryan Bowdish, Brian Bruenton and Omari Thompson — former wide receivers coached by Waugh in his first season at West Point in 2000 — all reached out early on. On the recruiting trail, Waugh receives words of encouragement from high school coaches and recruits.

“Some of (the high school coaches) have been the most supportive, sending me messages publicly or just talking to me when I'm in their high school,” Waugh said. “The recruits were unbelievably supportive as well.

“My symptoms are noticeable at this point. Sometimes, I bring it up. Sometimes, they ask. I'm very impressed with this generation of high school football players and the empathy they have for others and certainly my condition.”

When he was first diagnosed, Jen Waugh wondered how her husband could continue coaching.

“You are with all of these young kids moving around a lot, and how is he going to do that?” Jen Waugh thought. “I just couldn't picture over time what that would look like. Then, I started thinking … it's the best thing for him because you are with all of these people that their goal and mindset is to be active and be moving and to be winning.

“You are a part of a team and your goal is to win and you are always trying to work together to beat something.”

Waugh’s cognitive thinking hasn’t changed. Asberry said Waugh is as sharp as ever in the meeting room.

Waugh has witnessed the program’s lows — like an 0-13 season in 2003 — and the current highs — three consecutive winning seasons, back-to-back bowl victories, bringing the Commander in Chief’s Trophy back to West Point last fall and retaining it earlier this month by beating Air Force. Last week, Army, which has won seven consecutive games, entered the Top 25 in both The Associated Press and Coaches polls for the first time since 1996. The upcoming Army-Navy game and a third consecutive bowl game present two more steps forward for the program.

Waugh’s wish is to coach another 17 years at West Point.

“The best thing I can do in my mind is to continue coaching Army football and stay as active as I can possibly can and don't think about what happens next,” he said. “Live in the moment. Coach every day. So far, so good.”

sinterdonato@th-record.com

Twitter: @salinterdonato