The best two times of my life.My high school football coach was the man I always wanted to be We nervously waited outside the door to his office and watched as they came out one by one. Some grinning from ear to ear. Others in tears that they didn't want us to see. We waited fearfully for the invitation to enter that office and, possibly, be devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. by a word. Would we make the varsity football team? The thought of being cut was unthinkable. High school, even life, would no longer have meaning. He looked up from his desk as I came into his office, and gave me a big smile. "Well," he said, "we're gonna keep you, big boy." That's all that a 140-pounder with a butch haircut Haircut 1. The difference between prices at which a market maker can buy and sell a security. 2. The percentage by which an asset's market value is reduced for the purpose of calculating capital requirement, margin, and collateral levels. Notes: 1. needed to hear. After a sophomore season on the junior "B" team and a junior season on the "B" team, I was now a varsity football player for the Pasadena High School Pasadena High School may refer to:
I would be there with the others on the sidelines On the sidelines An investor who decides not to invest due to market uncertainty. on the sidelines Of or relating to investors who, having assessed the market, have decided to avoid committing their funds. , in the red and white uniform that so many others had worn. I knew that I would never actually get into a game. But it didn't matter. I was on the team...and until a Friday night last fall, nothing had ever matched that moment when I learned that I had made the Pasadena High School varsity team In the United States and Canada and UK, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, or high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of . I have now been a high school football coach for 25 years. For a quarter of a century, I have lived a dream, and I am as excited about my career today as I was as a rookie coach in a small Montana town in 1972. Over the years, we have had some good teams, some average teams, and a few not-so-good teams. Honors have come our way, personal recognition and awards have been humbly received and much appreciated. But no award, no recognition could compare to that Friday night last fall... With three minutes "Three Minutes" is the 46th episode of Lost. It is the twenty-second episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Stephen Williams, and written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. It first aired on May 17, 2006 on ABC. left in the season's opening game, we have a 28-8 lead and are just trying to run out the clock. Our offensive .coordinator had come down from the press box with a note: It reads: "Very impressive, Mike. Do you have time to say hello after the game? South end of stands. Tom Hamilton Tom Hamilton may refer to:
Time suddenly stands still. Tears fill my eyes. I never look into the stands during a game, but tonight I have to. I turn my head a little and I look. No luck. Too many people to pick him out in the crowd. But I know. My coach is here. Tom Hamilton, the man who had been everything I had ever wanted to be, who had been my hero. He is in the stands watching my team play. Unbeknownst to me, he has traveled all the way from Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, to North Dakota North Dakota, state in the N central United States. It is bordered by Minnesota, across the Red River of the North (E), South Dakota (S), Montana (W), and the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (N). to watch a team coached by someone who, as a player, had never been good enough to get into a game. What has brought him here tonight? It's simple: He is my coach and I am one of his players. Whatever comes my way in the years and seasons ahead, I know that nothing will come close to those two very special occasions in my lifetime - once on that day in his office so many years ago and again on that Friday night last autumn. Thank you, Coach Hamilton, for the two best times of my life. FROM THE AUTHOR I have just completed my 18th season as head football coach at Grand Forks Grand Forks, city (1990 pop. 49,425), seat of Grand Forks co., E N.Dak., at the confluence of the Red and the Red Lake rivers; inc. 1881. In a spring wheat, livestock, and farm area, the city has grain elevators, state-operated flour mills, and plants that process (ND) Central H.S. Before that I coached in Mandan, ND, and Baker and St. Regis in MT. After going 10-1 and losing to Fargo South in the state championship game last fall. I was named North Dakota Class A Football Coach of the Year for the second time. The man of whom I speak in the article is my high school football coach, Tom Hamilton, now retired after a long and distinguished career at Pasadena H.S. in California. Nothing has ever brought me more pride and pleasant memories than being a member of his team. His comment to me 30 years ago is an exact quote, and his note from last fall is framed and on my wall. |
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