Football: "Lesson in Life"......For Myself

"Coach, are you coming back out?"   These words are haunting me as I begin writing in this new blog.  I tried to explain that my decision not to coach had nothing to do with the players.  I still love each player just like I always have.  However, sometimes a man has to stand up for his beliefs, and follow through with his words when stated.  My Daddy used to say: "If a man can't honor his own words, then how can he expect other people to honor his word?" 

Coach Randy Bethel

 

As one can probably figure out, I am still smarting from the dismissal of a very good friend...Randy Bethel.  I still feel the entire dismissal was handled very badly, and I have to show my support for my friend and colleague.  Was I asked to show this type of support?  ABSOLUTELY NOT.  I am a grown-ass man, and I will follow through on what I believe is necessary to get a point across.  Sebastian River High School (SRHS) lost several GREAT football coaches for this very reason.  Some ignorant people believe it is a "Black" thing between the coaches.  It has nothing to do with race...it's all about doing what is right for ALL coaches....especially the young guys with their entire careers ahead of them.  You just can't treat dedicated and hard-working people with disrespect.  It will come back and bite you. 

Make no mistake about it, Bethel was sometimes very difficult to work for.  Randy was very demanding, and hard-set on what he was trying to accomplish.  I could almost see his mind working (at 100 MPH) wanting to push on to something else.  I think a lot of great athletes are like this.  Things which come easily to Randy are not-so-easy for a normal athlete (or coach) to pick up.  Frustration sometimes set in for me.  Yes, we would fight and argue.....but NEVER, EVER, in front of the kids.  If Bethel had an issue with one of us, it was ALWAYS behind closed doors, and it remained there.  We lived by the rule: "What's said here, stays here." 

I always had to stay on top of my training/studying  to keep pace with Bethel's demands. For Instance:  Breaking down video.  Bethel can take one look at a game video and tell you anything and everything about an opponent's defense.  I just can't do that so easily.  I tried and tried, but it was always a struggle for me.  I always took my video home to break down the opponent, and it would take me hours to do so.  I once asked Randy how he could do this task so easily.  He told me that in his younger coaching days at Johnson C Smith, he had to break down film quickly, so he learned to do fast.  Maybe it's because I am so anal about everything, I don't know, but it took alot of work for me to keep pace.   One thing about Bethel.  He always let us coach our position.  He never embarrassed us in front of the kids.  We would make some adjustments by following strict practice plans loaded with daily goals.  Randy made me a much better coach for sure. I loved working for this guy. 

Randy had a GREAT staff at SRHS.  Some of us (Me, Coach Wilson, Coach Perry,) came into the program the very year Bethel was hired as Head Coach....16 years ago.  We all had been together so long that everything became almost automatic.  Most all of us had specific tasks that remained the same year after year.  We all were great workers, and we put pressure on ourselves to make sure no one was slipping.  If some listened to our bickering and arguing on the sideline, you would swear we hated each other.  On the contrary.  We were all very close.  We could fight among ourselves all day long.....like brothers fight with each other...but no one else was allowed to cross one of us.  Which leads back to my earlier statement.  None of us was too happy with how we were treated after the season. 

I was offered a nice position on the new staff earlier this year.  I was going to co-coordinate the offense and coach the QB's for the new coach.  I decided it was best for me to spend some time with my Dad and try to get closer to the Grand kids in South Carolina.  So, all things considered, I turned down the position.  It SHOCKED a lot of people.....but I did not shock myself. 

I have been spending a lot of time visiting other High School programs in the area.  So far, I have visited Vero Beach, St. Edwards, Heritage, Palm Bay, Bayside, Central, PSL, Centennial, Treasure Coast, SRHS, Martin County and South Fork......most from afar.  Over the next few days, I will be attempting to RANK these teams....according to how they looked to me at the time.  Hopefully by Friday, I will have the final results in. 

See you tomorrow.