What Football Taught Me that the Classroom Rarely Did

From the day I was born, football has been important in my life. My father, Joe, has coached more than forty years in Texas and my brother, Chad, has been in the profession for a decade. Most of my formative years were spent at the field house. I helped my father cut the grass on the fields and lay the boundary lines. By the time I was ten, I roamed the sidelines helping him chart plays. Thinking back, I cannot believe that there was a better childhood. Because my father was a coach and a former athlete, I always drove myself to try to live up to his expectations. Fortunately, I had some talent, worked extremely hard, and became a student of the game, studying film and reading Texas Coach and other football books. When I entered junior high, I began playing. By my senior year at Midland Greenwood High School in 1982, I had emerged as a good quarterback, earning All District and All West