It's Worth A Few Minutes....

[SLC]

For most of us that come on this board, football is everything to us. If you are like me, you love football and find a bit of peace in going to see the kids play the game in its truest form, with kids and coaches that may never be known outside of their own town. Paying $7 to the school that goes to back to the district to help several areas of school programs and getting more back in return then you get when you go to a pro game and to an extent college games. Everything in my life tends to boil down to being local for me, you know like the little store over the big one or the local dirt track over the big motor speedway. I mean dont get me wrong, I do enjoy going to an occasional NFL game and I have been to races at TMS and sometimes I need to go to Walmart for something the smaller store doesn't have, but nine times out of ten I will choose to go to the smaller store and track and football game, it just means more to see real people smile at you and aknowledge you and speak to you by using your name and you get nothing phony in return, infact you get real emotion from real people who seem to deal with real issues, just like me. And thats what I get from going to see high school football....It's a way of life, I grew up going to high school football games, as a kid at 6 with my uncle to a man now at 37 and the game has never changed one bit..You still get real smiles and people you sit by still know your name and the players on the field still have real laughter and real tears...it's truly a game of emotion at this level....and then sometimes you get real life situations that occur and sometimes both youth football and real life meet head on. The following is a story I found while reading some news on my home page. I dont mean to stir emotions in anyway, rather I just thought it might be something worth reading and I wanted to share it.

http://www.fanhouse.com/2009/08/31/small-town-coach-big-time-hero/

[Stands junky]

:notworthy:notworthy:notworthy:notworthy

[Matthew 2000 Eagle]

For most of us that come on this board, football is everything to us. If you are like me, you love football and find a bit of peace in going to see the kids play the game in its truest form, with kids and coaches that may never be known outside of their own town. Paying $7 to the school that goes to back to the district to help several areas of school programs and getting more back in return then you get when you go to a pro game and to an extent college games. Everything in my life tends to boil down to being local for me, you know like the little store over the big one or the local dirt track over the big motor speedway. I mean dont get me wrong, I do enjoy going to an occasional NFL game and I have been to races at TMS and sometimes I need to go to Walmart for something the smaller store doesn't have, but nine times out of ten I will choose to go to the smaller store and track and football game, it just means more to see real people smile at you and aknowledge you and speak to you by using your name and you get nothing phony in return, infact you get real emotion from real people who seem to deal with real issues, just like me. And thats what I get from going to see high school football....It's a way of life, I grew up going to high school football games, as a kid at 6 with my uncle to a man now at 37 and the game has never changed one bit..You still get real smiles and people you sit by still know your name and the players on the field still have real laughter and real tears...it's truly a game of emotion at this level....and then sometimes you get real life situations that occur and sometimes both youth football and real life meet head on. The following is a story I found while reading some news on my home page. I dont mean to stir emotions in anyway, rather I just thought it might be something worth reading and I wanted to share it.

http://www.fanhouse.com/2009/08/31/small-town-coach-big-time-hero/

Wow! That's a very emotional and inspiring story.

[farmerfan]

Thanks for the link SLC. What a emotional story. I am glad that somebody took the time to write what that man mean to the kids and the community.

[SLC]

Wow! That's a very emotional and inspiring story.


It really is. The odd thing about it is that I was reading some of the headlines on my homepage, headlines of stories about things we here about every day, you know, the usual stuff and I started to move my mouse past it when I decided to click the link...And I have to tell you, I was taken aback from what I read...I sat there a minute just struck with emotion and I read it again. It really sounds like this man was a life teacher and his focus was not just on building better players, it was also on giving them life lessons and it sounds like he did just that. I think these stories really reach the pulse of what we are all about when it all gets down to local..you know..close friends, neighbors, family..etc. I hate this man lost his life, in order for me to get a glempse into it, but I am glad I got the chance.


I found this comment by him stuck out the most:

"Lincoln football was here before me, and it will be here after me," he would say. "We're not the program. We're just a small piece of it."

What a great way of saying it, by a man that knew he had to give all he could to his players and coaches in whatever time he was to be there, or on earth.:notworthy

[goodessa]

r.i.p. coach may god bless your family

[PCW Cats]

It goes to show that HS Coaches are very influencial people. You hope that the person Coaching your kids has the same kind of values.

Good story.

[HebronHawk]

What an inspirational story! Coach Howard left a big legacy.

[Green Dragon]

Thanks for sharing SLC! Heartfelt and emotional as I read the article, it really hits home as to why these warriors do what they do. Really puts into perspective why we as a collective group on this forum enjoy watching these young athletes and their mentors every week.
I still remember my college coach yelling at us "these things we do tonight will help you in your life beyond football. You will remember these moments for the rest of your life and be a better person for it." He said this as we were sprinting 10 100 yard gassers at the end of a long hard hot practice. I was torn between wanting to puke or wanted to strangle him but as I sit in the corporate world today, I still remember his words and recall that yes in fact he did prepare me better for what I was going to face in the real world and made me a better person for it. God Bless Coach Howard and all the other coaches and teachers out there who touch our lives.

[drgnbkr]

What a great story! I have come full circle from high school fan to college to the pros and now back to mostly a high school fan. The purity of it is what draws me. The impact coaches can have in building a team out of separate parts is enriching...losing a guy like this coach is tragic. Hopefully his kids will take lessons he taught them forward in life.

[DragonFan0316]

Wow!

[Shamu85]

It goes to show that HS Coaches are very influencial people. You hope that the person Coaching your kids has the same kind of values.

Good story.

PCW, I would agree with you, but add that any man who is positive like Coach Howard, and tries to make a difference is very influencial. So many times, somewhere in the future, that little bit of encouragement will pay off for some kid.

SLC, I like your local analogy. I don't think I ever really thought about interest in HS football as a "local" thing, but I guess that is very appropos. Thanks for the post.

[PirateParent2011]

:notworthy Great stuff SLC...thanks for sharing. The coaches and educators who touch our kids lives are worthy of our thanks and prayers. They are heroes in my book.<O:p</O:p

[Bill4par]

Great story.:notworthy

[Austin109]

truly great story. wont lie, my eyes got kinda misty there at the end

[GoFarmers]

Wow. Great story.