Football Coaches!

January 1996 I attended my very first AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) Convention in Orlando, FL. I remember it like it was yesterday.

I was scared out of my mind.

I knew NO ONE at the convention. Had no idea what I was doing.

Just knew I needed to be there. I was a football coach. I needed to be there!

Well, that was 14 years ago. I have only missed a convention or 2 since then.

I have met so many amazing coaches over the years at these conventions.

I have also met a slime ball or 3.

Since my move back to Texas I have been going through old folders of notes and letters from the past conventions.

It is amazing to see how long I have known some of these coaches.

It is pretty cool to see how many I still talk to and how many I have lost touch with.

There is a core group I keep in touch with who have always been supportive of me coaching football.

Always encouraging.

Always willing to answer any random football question I can throw their way.

Making sure I don't have to sit alone at convention sessions or eat lunch by myself.

Some of them have even bought my football purses for their wives and daughters.

Sometimes they even get me tickets to a game. I don't ask very often but they have always come through for me.

I thank God that I have met more of the good guys than slime balls over the last 14 years.

This small handful I still communicate with on a regular basis is a good group of men. They are obviously NOT in the slime ball group.

They are always respectful and maybe even a little overly protective of me at the convention.

Like I am their little sister. It is good to know that someone has your back.

These men are talented coaches at some of the best schools and pro teams out there.

I feel blessed to call them friends.

I respect them as coaches.

I respect them as family men.

I would let my little brother play for them.

I would work for them.

I hope their wives know what wonderful men they are married to.

I hope their players know how much these coaches care about them.

Friendships are hard to maintain. Some last a lifetime. Some don't survive beyond the convention.

I know I have had boyfriends who hated when I went to the convention.
They couldn't stand that I was friends with these coaches or any man for that matter.

I have tried to explain until I am blue in the face the uniqueness of these friendships.

It is a coaching friendship it is not a man/woman thing it is just 2 people who love football.

We talk about football. I am no longer coaching so I want to hear everything that is going on with their team. I want to talk to them about a play I saw their team run on TV. I am a true football nerd!! They want to know what I am up to now that I am out of football. Some are the ultimate big brother and worried about my life. Am I going to church? Have I found a nice guy yet? How is your little brother playing this season? Even how is Coach doing? (Coach is my mini long-haired dachshund).

So, I cheer passionately for their teams because I know how much they are sacrificing in their lives to coach those teams.

They miss their wife's and kid's birthdays as well as their anniversaries because of recruiting, practices and games.

They have to move at the drop of a hat and their wives are left behind to pack up the house, find a new house in another city, and move.

All while juggling their kid's lives, schools as well as their lives and jobs.

Moving is stressful enough I can't imagine having to do it as often as some of my friends have had to do it. I respect their wives for being married to the crazy game of football.

I don't know if I could do it.

Since it is still Thanksgiving weekend I would like to say I am thankful for the opportunities I have had to coach football. I am thankful for that group of coaches who happen to be some of my best friends. I am thankful that they are some of the good guys in the game of football as well as the game of life. I am thankful that they have loving families who support them even through all the personal sacrifices.

I am thankful for football. It is a crazy and tough game but so much fun!

Happy Thanksgiving All Y'all!!