That school did so much for me. Hiding behind a huge pair of Run DMC glasses, I was a shy, introverted student who concentrated on his studies. If I went to another school things would have been different. But at EC, I would meet the best friends in my life to this day, I would meet my future wife, I would accomplish many goals, and I would just grow to never give up. Those were great times. Another school would have cut me from the football team when I was a freshman. This school believed in me.
(I don't have a photo of Beck so this is what I was before Beck helped make me a man)
This year, the most influential teacher/coach in my life retired. Coach Beck after 38 or something like that many years retired. One thing that always made it easy to watch football games or visit the school since I have left is knowing that Beck would be there.
When I was a sophomore in high school, i started spring training for football. Months earlier Beck was in a near fatal car accident. During that spring training, I would get chills in my back because Beck was out there coaching from under the goal posts in a wheelchair. He was still hurting, he still had surgeries to go through, but it didn't matter, coaching the kids was a huge part of his life. He didn't want to let the kids down. He wanted us to know that he was there for us no matter what he was going through.
As the next two years went by he was like a father figure. His daughter was the same age as me and he would often update me on how she was doing. There were a lot of parallels that I appreciated. He knew what I was going through. He knew how much I wanted to be valedictorian and how much I wanted to help the team win the Bell. I couldn't fail because I never wanted to let him down.
As a junior, my football season was full of failures. I never lived up to my potential. I felt like I let him down. Maybe I just wasn't good enough. I worked my butt off before that season and I sucked. I played a lot because the coaches believed in me and I just didn't perform. I was on the verge of quitting because I honestly didn't think I was good enough. One coach would pick on me every day. It made it so hard to go to practice.
When Beck found out I was thinking about quitting to concentrate on being valedictorian and focus on leadership, he didn't want to believe it. But he talked to me, told me that I am not a quitter. He understood how hard it was for me, but he believed I could do it. And it was his belief that allowed me to keep going on with it. And I do not regret it. I wasn't valedictorian, but we did win the bell. And I would rather be there for that team than make a speech that everyone would criticize me about.
I will miss going to a football game and not seeing him. He made you feel important. Even if you never played, you were still important to him. After the Bell Game my junior year, we huddled around him and he gave his speech, reminding us how important we were to him. He was getting choked up. And he said words that many other coaches have said in the past "I would never trade any one of them for any one of you." From our worst scrub compared to their biggest superstar, really? It is easy to say but it was his tone, his heart, you knew that he was completely honest. He said things about us being his favorite team. Maybe it was because he had to overcome and he thought we helped him do that (he didn't need us). Maybe he knew we were underdogs and he felt how much we cared about him, how much we respected him, how much we loved him.
I have visited many times, but since I found out he retired I never had a chance to say bye. I never told him how much he meant to me, how much he helped me in my life. Deep down, I am sure he knows. Its been 13 years since i graduated but I will never forget the lessons he taught me in becoming a man.
3 comments:
I've always thought Beck was hot for his age. :)
AND really nice. Dunno about coaching, but he was the coolest gym teacher... in the world...
yeah, totally hot! and buffed too!
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