I gave myself the the title the football fashionista. We have talked about me and the family but we have never talked about the person who gave me this title, the coach.
Meet H. He is one of the biggest football fanatics that you will ever meet. If you don’t believe me just a take a road trip with him. You will get to play games like “name a town and I will name their mascot” or the game of “do you want to know who the head football coach is, every school he has ever coached at with his record?” This isn’t a one time thing. We travel ALOT. I can’t tell you how many times I have sat in the passenger seat checking the mascot list on my phone . Yes, a mascot list is a thing.
His love for the game of football is something that I have never seen before. Actually, it is not just for the game but for the everything. Coaches, schools, traditions, you name it, he has probably done some type of research on it. If you ever ask him a question about a coach he can seriously tell you the year that he was at a school, how many games he won, and where he is now. He speaks a different language that I don’t even understand and bless his little heart tries to teach me. He never complains about the long hours that they work. He works hard because he expects his players to do the same. He lives and breathes football in and out of the season. And just like any other coach, his mood is determined on how practice went that day.
H is loud and sometimes that can come off in the wrong way. But what you don’t know about him is that no matter what, he puts his heart and soul into each and every practice and game. He literally takes in his players like they are one of his own. He checks on them in school and he checks on them outside of school. The kids understand that he is loud because he is passionate. They see the desire that he has to win and they respect that. They know that he doesn’t take short cuts. He makes them work hard for what they want and he doesn’t let them back down. These kids appreciate him. They give him a hard time just as much as he does them. They understand that just because he is hard on them, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t like them. They know that he is there to push them to be the best that they can be because he knows that they can be successful.
I have never seen someone be so dedicated to something that pays so little. Coaching is sometimes a thankless, frustrating, “no win” kind of job. He is in a position that is highly visible and is continually exposed to public scrutiny. Most of the time the people in the stands “know” more than the coaches on the field. When it comes to coaching, everyone seems to be an expert. It is even better when that judgement comes from individuals who don’t seem to have a clue about the coaches, the players, or what they are trying to accomplish with the team. Coaching is also one of those jobs where your professional effectiveness is almost always narrowly measured by something that is very often totally out of your control: winning and losing.
I am not writing this to tell you that my husband is better than yours or a better coach than someone else. I just know that coaching is a hard profession and he has inspired me to do hard things. I love seeing the relationships that he has built over the years and deep down inside, I love the crazy games and the factual information that I am given on every road trip. It is rewarding to see the person you love the most in the place that they belong! Even during the hard times and the long months, I am proud to call him my coach.
