This post is a little off topic of what I chose to blog about for this class, but since it's fresh in my mind I figure it'll be OK. Plus, I need a bit of a break from EDC.
My husband, Justin, is a varsity football coach for one of the high schools in Greenville County (South Carolina). If you don't know much about how a football coach's schedule works it's pretty easy: they always have football. It's no longer a seasonal sport. Every year the coaches are required to give the players 1 week off; no practice, no lifting, no conditioning, and no meetings. That week is now. Yay, I will finally get to spend some time with my other half.... but, in my not so right mind, I scheduled a 3 day, all day long workshop to become an ADEPT evaluator. Oops.
So, 2-a-days will start on Friday and continue until the beginning of the school year. Because it's so hot they have practice either really early or really late. So on any given day he's at the school for about 5-6 hours starting at either 7am or 7pm. Then, once school starts he'll teach during the day and drive straight out to football practice. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday he gets home around 8:30-9:00. On Thursdays he also coaches the JV and depending on where they play he doesn't get home until around 10-11:00. On Fridays, game night, he gets home somewhere around 1am and goes straight to watch the film and grade the players, so he doesn't mosey into bed until around 3am. Saturdays, according to him, is Ohio State football day. Haha. Not that I mind, most of the time, because I'm an Buckeye fan as well. And, finally, on Sundays the coaching staff meets to review film and watch film on next week's team, plan practices, and who knows what else they do from 1pm to 6pm.
So, needless to say, on Friday I will become a "football widow" or as I like to tease him by saying, "single and ready to mingle." He's not a fan of the last one. :)
I am sure on one hand it is nice to have some peace and quite to yourself but on the other you are left with all of the house chores.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand. I was that way when I coached soccer for a couple of falls. It was working at school then off to soccer practice. It wasn't until I missed a few "firsts" for my kids that I realized what I was missing. My wife works at a hospital, and is on call quite often. So it was either soccer that went or my wife's work. That was a pretty easy call for me to make. Now I work a lot less:) But on a side note, dedication shown by you and your husband are touching countless lives for the better.
ReplyDeleteI was exhausted just reading his schedule! How is the ADEPT evaluator process going? What got you interested in doing that? I remember going through ADEPT but mine was after they got rid of the multiple interviews and huge paperwork requirements.
ReplyDeleteOh Stacy! I knew coaches were busy, but I didn't realize they were that busy! My goodness, I look up to you for sticking by him especially through your first year of marriage!
ReplyDeletePoor Stacy! I have a friend whose husband coached football for a while. She seemed to always be missing him. I hope that you will both find some time for each other soon.
ReplyDeleteStacy, I never knew coaches have such a super busy schedule...WOW!!! I think you are such an inspiration by having such a positive attitude. Maybe a "day-vacation" before school starts:-)
ReplyDeleteStacy I thought there were so many football coaches so they could give each other time off. When I go to games it seems like there are 15 to 20 coaches on the sidelines.
ReplyDeleteWayne,
DeleteLike Stacy's husband, I coach varsity football. There definently can be are alot of coaches, but not all of them have the same responibilities. Head Coaches have an amazing amount of responsibility and really can't have a break. There is a trickle down of responsibilty form the top, and your responsibilities vary depending on your position. There is an amazing amount that goes into planning a practice, and even more that goes into creating a gameplan for an opponent. During season you can't really give one coach time off, because everyone needs to be on the same page to execute the gameplan. The time commitment is worth it though. It is a great feeling to have a player come back and visit after few years and tell you that what you taught them about being a man applies to more than just football. I love the game and being a part of the player's lives, and thats what makes football an amazing game.
There are a lot of coaches aren't there. Ha. Most of the time only about half are paid coaches. The rest are volunteers for Friday night games. A lot of those volunteers are housekeeping guys, they make sure equiptment is ok and they keep the players in line. As far as the coaches there's usually one coach per position so on offense there's an offensive coordinator, a QB coach, running backs coach, wide receivers coach and offensive line coach. On defense there's a defensive coordinator, a d. line coach, linebackers coach, and normally 2 defensive backs coaches (one for corners and one for safeties). All the position coaches are required to have their own practice plan for that position and different plays and stunts they need to practice. So.. needless to say the coaches are all pretty busy during practices and games.
ReplyDeleteBecky - ADEPT training was pretty extensive. It's mind blowing to know that what you see on any given day could potentially determine someone's career. But, it's like one of the trainers said, "write down what you see, nothing more, nothing less," which is exactly what they drill in our heads. We're not there to make judgement calls, we're there to write down what the teachers do during that observed lesson and write down what we find in their portfolio.
ReplyDeleteYikes! You need to form a club with other other football coach spouses!
ReplyDeleteStacy,
ReplyDeleteI am a varsity football coach in Oregon and live exactly what you described. Season takes an incredible amount of my time. Road games are the worst as we sometimes have to travel 3-4 hours away during season and 4-7 during playoffs, oregon is a decent size state and we are all the way at the bottom, 12 miles from california. Our team bus rolled into town at 4:10 am after a playoff game last year. My wife loves football but doesn't always understand why it takes up so much time. This is my 6th full season coaching and when we started practice this week, she said kiss me goodbye, I'll see you in december. It's not always easy being a coaches wife, so hang in there. My wife has learned that coaching isn't just about football for me, its about making better men out of the boys that I coach. We preach family in our program and thats why i love coaching the game. Thanks for sharing your perspective and trust me, my wife knows your pain.
Chad