WARSAW – Phil Jensen is on the road to recovery.

The WCHS football coach, all things considered, is also one very lucky man.

Jensen is recovering at home from injuries suffered in a fall from a ladder at his home on Dec. 5. He was released from a Fort Wayne Hospital on Dec. 18 after being treated for several serious injuries, including multiple broken ribs, several fractured veterbrae and a head injury.

“Every day I feel like I take two steps forward and one back,” said Jensen in a phone interview this morning. “I’m just trying to take care of my self physically, let my injuries heal and get stronger.”

Jensen, who has coached at WCHS for 16 years over two different stints, is making progress.  He is attending rehab sessions a couple of times a week.

“I’ve been cleared to do more things and I just have to be careful not to try and overdo it,” Jensen said. “I met with some of our football coaches Tuesday and they are keeping things going as far as our offseason work in the weight room and things like that.”

The fiery Jensen, a 1983 Penn High School graduate, has also realized just how much the Warsaw community cares about him during this time.

“I can’t be more grateful for all of the support that this community has given me and my family during this time,” emphasized Jensen. “This is a great place to live. I’m blessed. There’s no question about that.”

Jensen and his wife Debbie have two children, Michael, who is a junior at WCHS and Samantha, a 2013 WCHS graduate, who is now a student at Butler University. Michael was the quarterback for his father this past fall and Samantha was a standout in both track and field and volleyball during her high school career.

Jensen, who serves as an attendance coordinator at WCHS, plans to be back on the sideline in the fall.

“Absolutely I plan to coach next season,” said Jensen without hesitation. “I definitely plan to be back at work at school this year.”