Tomorrow our boys play in the first round of the Texas High School Football Playoffs.
The playoffs have a totally different vibe. It is the first of many lasts and a lot of teams in the state of Texas don’t even get the opportunity to experience this special season. Talk to every high school football coach in Texas and their two dreams are to practice on Thanksgiving and play deep into December. Not many get this opportunity and there are a few that never get the chance to do so.
Many coaches and players will walk off the field on Wednesday or Thursday evening and they all know that it could be the last practice of the year. The anticipation of a game day is much stronger and the build up is something that spikes many nerves. It is an all out win or go home situation. Senior athletes will do whatever it takes for this not to be their last game.
As a coach’s wife, it is one of the most stressful times of the year. Our husbands have been preparing for months, because they too know that it can be over in a blink of an eye. As wives, we don’t want to say the wrong thing and we definitely don’t want to be the ones that add anything to their plate. We know that this is a time that they need us the most. They need us to be a wife and be supportive.
As a coaching family, this can be an even more stressful time. We know job season is right around the corner. News of people being fired is not too far away. But for the time being, being in the playoffs always brings something new to look forward to each week. The anticipation of who will be the next opponent and where we will be traveling. We know that as a family, each week is unknown, but there is nothing sweeter than the taste of victory.
No matter what, at the end of the day, we hope that the boys give their all 100% of the time. Play their hearts out and remember that while football may not always be there, the people who stood by their side throughout the entire season will. Every football player and every coach wants to go all the way, but in reality we know that there is more to this beautiful game than the wins and losses.
We hope that, tomorrow night, we do not have to stay goodnight to our football season. No one wants to see everything come to an end in just one week. For many teams it will, but we will always remember the lessons that are learned along the way. We leave the field hoping that no matter what has happened, that somehow and some way we have made just as much of an impact on these boys as they have made on us.
