I wasn’t expecting the call from my High School Coach, but it was good to hear from him. He mentioned he was resigning due to some recent health issues and asked if I would be willing to step in and Coach for the game Friday night, since there wasn’t anybody else he trusted leaving the team with, on such short notice. Coach was always there for me in High School, and there was no way I was gonna let him down when he needed me. Luckily, the drive to my home town is only 2 hours and I was able to make it there for pre-game warm ups. When I showed up the kids were confused and pretty bummed about coach not being on the sideline. I told them “Coach is always there for you guys, whether he is physically on the sideline or not. We have a responsibility to go out there and play at the high level he has always expected from us!”. The kids seemed to have lifted their spirits and decided to use this sad news as motivation to play the hardest they ever have. It was a rainy night on the coast of Oregon, like usual, and the game was a back and forth battle. With 10 seconds left in the 4th quarter we were behind by 3 points and in the redzone. I had just called a time out and pulled the offense to the side and gave THEM the decision so they could own this moment. “Do we kick the FG and play for OT? Or do you want to go for the Win?” the kids in the huddle didn’t hesitate and shouted “We are winning this for Coach, RIGHT NOW!” and with that, I called the 1 play I knew Coach had drilled into their brains. He made sure every season and every single team he coached knew this 1 play to perfection and he only called it in the most dire of situations. The QB took the snap, held the ball as if he was throwing a WR screen, but as he was winding up to throw the ball, the blocking HB standing next to him Grabbed the ball out of his throwing hand and ran to the opposite side of the field where the entire OL was waiting to block for him. The HB ran as fast as he has ever ran, and had to make an outreaching dive to cross the pylon into the endzone, securing the victory. After the post-game victory celebration chaos on the field died down, and the kids were back in the locker room celebrating. This is when the building shook, as Coach slowly walked into the room to congratulate the team. The team circled coach, arms around each other chanting “MVP. MVP. MVP”. As the shouting died down, Coach turned to me and said “I knew you would make the right call when it needed to be made. This is your team now Coach Dan!”. The kids began to jump up and down, cheering. “You don’t ever say no to THE Coach……. So I’ll be honored to step in and continue the legacy you’ve started!”. So know I travel back to the Oregon Coast every Friday night, and coach my high school team during their season, and Coach and the kids couldn’t be more excited for the future.
![[Image: baQ9otP.png]](https://i.imgur.com/baQ9otP.png)
