Week 10
School: Lamar High School
Years Coaching: 20
How long have you been coaching? Where did your career begin? College\university you attended?
20 years coaching. Career began at Auburn HS. I have coached at Churchill HS (San Antonio), Friendswood HS, Beauregard HS (Opelika, AL) and Lamar as both an assistant and Head Coach.
I played football at Auburn University from 1998-2002.
Why do you coach?
I coach to make a difference in the lives of my players. My dad was a coach and I always saw him making meaningful impacts in his players. I love the relationship opportunities that coaching at the high school level brings. My philosophy on coaching is based on the scripture of Micah 6:8 "What does God require of you, but to Do Justice, Love Mercy, and walk humbly with your God."
I believe that coaching and teaching should be about challenging others to do their best, make good decisions, and to be accountable. Coaching and teaching is about doing what is right – "Do Justice". But it also must have a love of Mercy as all people make mistakes and need grace and love through their struggles.
What is the most rewarding\fulfilling part of your job?
The most rewarding part of the job is seeing players grow and have success through adversity. There is nothing more rewarding then being a part of someone else's story as they turn their life around and set themselves us for future success in life.
In your opinion, what is the most misunderstood thing about the coaching profession?
The most misunderstood thing about the coaching profession is what coaches spend the most time doing. We are teachers first. We have a ton of duties within the school that are not related to on field coaching. Secondly, we spend hours and hours working with young people and helping them with their struggles and problems. The on field coaching and X's & O's are a big part of what we do but time-wise is not as significant as the other parts of the job.
Please share the importance of what your staff/ players are doing for your community?
We seek to make our community better by always being on call to serve first at Lamar High School for anyone that needs our service. We are on call to help teachers, custodians, parents, and other community members. We also want to represent Lamar well by how we care about others and respect all people. We feel like we can transform our community by using our platform to exhibit empathy, toughness, and service.