"Don't stay up too late. We've got a big day tomorrow."

photo by Harrodsburg Herald

 "Don't stay up too late. We've got a big day tomorrow."

During the Covid spring of 2020, I said that to Trosper every night when I would go to bed. I know often he would think I was nuts, but I always tried to have a purpose or mission for the next day. Something to look forward to. Sometimes, it might only mean that tomorrow we are going to High Mountain for a cheeseburger... but we had a PLAN to do something. Then, even after Covid, I kept saying that every night. I even said it last night.  Not sure why. Maybe just to help both of us focus on moving forward.

This Saturday, Trosper will graduate.  He also turns 19 the same day. He was NOT an accident, but he was a SURPRISE. During the 2002 football season, I came home one Sunday night and said to Stephanie, "You're not gonna believe the parent meeting I just had."  Her response was, "I think I can top your news." Trosper was on the way!

When he was little, we would play in the front yard.... over and over.... often until the sun went down... "PUNT or KICK." Punt meant I would throw him a high spiral that he would catch. Kick meant the ball was going to be end over end, high in the air.... like a kick off. When I coached him in HS, I always knew if I ever got in a bind and needed someone to catch a punt or kick, he could do it. 

Neal Pawsat & Trosper on a Friday night

He loved Mason County and the move to Mercer, initially, was awful tough. But, as time went on, he loved being a Titan. He loved his teammates, wearing the red and blue, and when the lights came on at Alvis Johnson Field. Some nights, his role was taking one snap at QB so that Kaelin Drakeford could catch his breath. Being a football junkie and a coach's kid, if we needed a long snapper, he could do it. If we needed a punter, he could fill the void.  I still regret never giving him a chance to drop kick an extra point because he could do it. 

Coaching him was a great experience. He was blessed to be surrounded by really good players and coaches. He played HS football in a town that loves Friday night HS football. Some of the best memories are he and I going down to AJ on a Thursday night as they were painting the field. But, there is still some relief in that time coming to an end. He put so much pressure on himself. He didn't want to let anybody down... and that list of "anybody" is a long list. Out of loyalty to me, his Dad was at the top of that list. I am happy for him that he and his teammates did so well. Those guys played some awful good football.

Some of my favorite football memories:

- his last game as a 7th grader, his groin and hamstring pulled off bone. It was extremely painful. He had to work like a mad man to even PLAY his 8th grade year. He was never 100%, but he played. 

- more than once, on a cold rainy night, spring of 2020, not even sure we will have a season, as the sun is going down, I am helping him in a workout in a field near our house. I have to wear gloves because he is burning up my hands. I understand that he has to throw the ball that hard....he is working to get stronger. Whether he believed it or not, he always worked like we would have a 2020 football season. He never took his foot off the gas. 

- after we beat CAL his junior year, as I am walking up the basement steps, I hear the whole family loudly cheering for Trosper as he walks in the kitchen door. Our family is very loyal to each other and everyone understood what that win meant to him. 

- we are on the 9 yard line, going in to score. He runs to the sideline and says to me, "Let me call it! Wyatt(our fullback) is going to score!" I don't know what to think but I let him call it. Sure enough, Wyatt Sanford is in the endzone, seconds later. He called a dive play with veer blocking!

- at Henry County, he is our punter and I call a fake. He shakes his head no. I call it again and make him run it. Scheme wise, he was right. But, I knew he and his teammates would make a play. Sure enough, he scrambles to his right. Riley Peavler is just past the marker on our sideline. Trosper puts it on a rope and we get a first down. 

- we didn't realize it at the time, but he broke his wrist on the first series of the round 1 playoff game versus DeSales. He played very well through the playoffs with a broken wrist. 

Last game at AJ with JCB & Coach Larry Harris, great family friend

I should have let him call more plays. He was his best on 3rd & long, 4th & long, and on the goalline. If I went with his call, we usually scored or got the first down. If I went against him, most of the time we were not successful. Probably my favorite play of all that he called, Triple Screen, 4th & long versus a very good Southwestern team. Jackson Peavler took that one to the house and we won, 22-21.

The football has been great, but what I am most proud of is that he is true to what he believes and what he knows his right. He is open about his faith and that number one is serving Jesus Christ. The kids in school that may struggle fitting in, he reaches out to them and includes them. 

One of the reasons we stayed in Maysville for nineteen years is we wanted our kids to have healthy attitudes in regards to ethnicity. I am not really sure, but I think alot of that is the history and tradition of the Underground Railroad. All three of our kids will speak up when they see or hear ignorance. Trosper has stepped on some toes over the years, and I am glad that he has done so. The second semester of his senior year, he and some of his friends put together a weekly news show for our high school. Trosper made sure every news show included music from Pastor T.L. Barrett & the Youth for Christ Choir. Some times he is subtle, some times he is over the top, but I am confident that fighting ignorance and racism will be a big part of who he is as an adult. 

My Dad use to tell my Mom, "These kids are really not OURS. It is our job to raise them, but they belong to God." Well, Trosper may be moving on to bigger and better things, but I am sure thankful  that God let me raise him and coach him on Friday nights. I got a front row seat to watch my son play quarterback in my hometown on Friday nights, wearing the same number I wore, 40 years ago.  He and his teammates did a super job and AJ is the BEST place to play HS football.  It was an incredible joy and experience that will always mean more to me than I can put in to words.

To God, my family, his teammates, his coaches, my bosses, this community.... I say.... THANK YOU. 

I Shall Wear A Crown- · Pastor T.L. Barrett & The Youth For Christ Choir