JOURNAL SPORTS
Local high school head football coaches love what they do. Why do they do it? When did they know they wanted to be coaches?
That’s this week’s Shreveport-Bossier Journal Coaches Roundtable topic.
CHASE THOMPSON, North Caddo –“I knew I wanted to be a football coach when I was 12 years old. I had a really turbulent childhood. I was bouncing back and forth between different family members at the time.
“When I started playing football in junior high, I fell in love with the game. I also loved the structure and routine that football offered.”
“I had great little league coaches, and I really admired them. I grew a lot at that time and being involved in football really gave me something to work towards. I really appreciated how my football coaches guided me in the right direction.
“I knew from that moment on that I wanted to be a football coach, and that I wanted to make positive impacts on the lives of young men.”
DENNY DURON, Evangel – “I was 24 Years old and never thought about coaching. I was speaking at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, in the spring of 1976. I had just walked away from a good paying job as the projected third QB with the Washington Redskins, feeling I was finished with football.
“That’s when EU President Robert Spence asked me to come to the University and start an intercollegiate football program. I initially said no but after praying about it, I said yes and I was there through the season of 1982.
“I started the ECA program seven years later (My Mom demanded that I do it!).”
STEPHEN DENNIS, Huntington – “I was a freshman in college, had just started my clinical hours as an athletic training major. As I was sitting in the training room one day I quickly realized that I did not want to wait to work with athletes until they got hurt.
“The words of Jim Gatlin, telling me I needed to be a coach at the end of my senior year of football, quickly echoed in my mind, and I went and changed my major the next day!! Best decision I ever made!!! (Other than asking my wife out on a date.)”
CLINT WALKER, Plain Dealing – “When I was in high school I ran the swim program at LSUS and volunteered for Biddy Ball. That was the first taste of it.
“My dad was a coach and almost all the guys I looked up to were coaches – all very good coaches and human beings. I am forever in debt to them.”
MATTHEW SEWELL, Haughton – “Both of my parents are doctors so coaching doesn’t run in my family. But I knew I wanted to be a coach when I was 16. I always loved sports and being around my coaches.
“I tore my labrum my junior year (at Haughton) and didn’t get to play baseball that season. But I did get to be around our coaches a lot. One day coach (Glenn) Maynor pulled me aside and told me he thought I would make a good coach. And from that day I knew that’s what I wanted to do.
“At one point I thought I wanted to coach baseball but i quickly realized I wanted to be a football coach. Coach Maynor and coach (Rodney) Guin and both Coach Brothertons (Jason, Coy) among many others always supported me as I was getting started and still do today.
“Later I married a coach’s daughter (Gatlin). All my best friends are coaches. It’s definitely turned out to be the thing for me and I can’t imagine doing anything different.”
JUSTIN SCOGIN, Airline – “I was about 23, coaching at Leesville. After my first year working with coach David Feaster, I was hooked. I went in to coach baseball for one year and now I’m on year 16 as a football coach. He always treated me so well and passed on a lot of good knowledge that I still use today.”
AUSTIN BROWN, Northwood – “My parents have said I’ve always wanted to be a coach from an early age. I remember wanting to be a fireman, though.
“My first year of high school coaching (at Natchitoches Central) they assigned me the second sport of track. I was not happy, even though I ran some track in school.
“I ended up falling in love with it and track is ‘my baby’ now. I take a lot of pride in it.”
STACY BALLEW, Byrd – “It was in high school. I had a lot of respect and admiration for my coaches.”
JOHN SELLA, Loyola – “I knew I wanted to be a coach very early on. I was a swim team coach when I was like 16 and that’s a different story, but some people even called me ‘Coach’ in high school and college.
“When I was working for Louisiana Tech as an SID after I graduated college, I tried to find any excuse I could to get out to practice and watch them work. I would take extra game plans and plays I would find on the printer in the field house and take them home.
“I love football, but I’m willing to coach anything. I’ve coached football, basketball and lacrosse at the high school level. I’m so happy I finally made the decision to go through with it to get into teaching and coaching and impacting lives. I love it.”
ANTHONY JOHNSON, Magnolia School of Excellence – “I was 26 years old. The spirit of competition and having great mentors is what inspired me to start coaching. Now I’ve been coaching football and track for 33 years.”