I was the starting wide receiver for our varsity football team my senior year with a new head football coach. Through the first five games of the season, I was the leading pass receiver in both yards and catches in our combined 10 team league. But I had not played one down of defense.

In that fifth game our starting safety sustained a concussion and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. I knew the doctor would not allow that safety to play in the next game.

The following Monday, before practice, I went to our head football coach and told him I was willing to give up my starting wide receiver position just to get some playing time on defense. His comment back was, “We will see” and then he walked off. My first thought was, ‘That didn’t go very well.’

That Friday night a sophomore started at safety and that made me angry. When the fourth quarter started, the coach called for me and he inserted me into the game at safety. I had a chip on my shoulder and was still angry. As I recall, I only made two tackles in that fourth quarter. Both tackles came against our opponents All-State running back in the open field. That second tackle was right in front of my head coach, near the sideline. When I got up, I looked at our coach, he did not say anything, but had a big smile on his face.

The following Monday before practice got started, the coach said he had an announcement to make. He said, “We are changing our defense this week. We are going to drop our 5-man front and go with a 4-man front and start two safeties. Tim will be starting at strong safety and Dwight will be back also, after his concussion, at free safety.

For the final three games of the year I never left the field. I was starting both ways and was put on every special team. In those three and a quarter games, I finished the season with 19 unassisted tackles and 35 assisted tackles and one fumble returned for a touchdown.

Ten years after that season (yes it took ten years) I wrote a letter to my old head football coach, who lived in another community. I thanked him for listening to me that night before practice and giving me a chance to play some defense and thanked him for being our coach that season. I received a wonderful letter back from him which I still cherish since he has passed away.

My thought for you today is send a real snail mail letter or card to your old football coach and thank him for being your coach. You may not have agreed with everything he did, but he was still your coach.