Being a football coach is not just about showing up on Friday nights to coach for 10 or so weeks out of the year. It is so much more...
It is showing up to support your players in their other activities.
It is showing up to school functions to show your support.
It is staying late after practice when that one player just needs to talk.
It is making sure that the locker room is stocked with snacks and water, because then you know each player has something in their bellies before they go home each night.
It is buying clothes or other necessities for the player whose family just cannot afford it.
It is early morning workouts during the off-season.
It is going out of your way to pick up players and take them home, so that they have the opportunity to be involved in the sport.
It is making sure that each player has what they need, equipment-wise.
It is late nights of watching film.
It is reaching out to colleges and taking phone calls from college coaches for those players who want to play at the next level.
It is helping players with their highlight films so they have good content to show college coaches.
It is dropping whatever you may be doing with your own family when a player or their family needs you.
It is spending weekends away from family to ensure that players have the opportunity to attend camps they want to attend.
It is being a person that believes in a kid when there may be no one else in their corner.
It is being a father figure to 20-30 players each and every year.
It is being their constant and their safe space in a world that can feel so scary and fleeting.
It is showing each player love when they may have never felt it anywhere else.
But most of all, it is helping to shape many generations of young boys into strong, respectful men because who they become means so much more than what they do on the football field each year.
So, the next time you want to criticize a coach or comment on the things you think they should be doing, think of the things they do that go unseen and unnoticed by many.