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What about it... could you be the 5th Beatle? Whatever it is that you do... what will your last day look like?
Like alot of people my age. I've got an emotional connection to the Beatles and their music, especially their work from the late 60's. Whenever I hear that music, I see those gold Boyle County helmets and think of the time with my Dad. When I worked for Roger Gruneisen at Paris, it was like having Paul McCartney as a Boss and Head Coach. He loves the Beatles and knew their work, inside and out.
Then, my sons loved the Beatles. John Combs had a class on the Beatles at Centre College. Trosper's last highlight tape from his HS football days has "Get Back" for the soundtrack. Emma did not inherit a love for my music. But, she did not ride in car with me for 19 years going to football practices, workouts and games. Maybe that explains it. My sons like their stuff, but they definitely love and appreciate their Dad's old music, and the Beatles, late 60's, are near the top of that list.
Over time, side two of the last album produced by the Beatles, Abbey Road*, has really made an impression on me. Some of the lyrics really hit me hard after my Dad died.
'Once there was a way to get back home." - Golden Slumbers
We moved back to Mercer County for me to be the head coach, July 7 of 2015. My Dad died on October 1, 2015. I had moved back to my hometown and was coaching on the same field he had coached, 40 years earlier, I could sure relate to those words. Yes, I was back in Mercer County. But, my Dad was no longer here. He is by far the biggest influence on my life. Geographically, I might have been home, but emotionally, mentally, in my heart, right after his death, I felt like I had landed on a planet, galaxies away. And, there was no way to get back home.
"Boy, you're gonna carry that weight, Carry that weight a long time." - Carry That Weight
When we got started at Mercer County in 2015, it was rough. We started out 0-5. We got better, but man, we were at rock bottom. We bounced back and won our district. I remember that December, someone asking me, "I guess you can relax a little now." As politely as I could say it, my response was, "Relax? Absolutely not. This is my hometown. This where my Dad built a program. This is where Alvis Johnson poured his heart/soul and guts into building a great program and helping young people. Failure is not an option here. We HAVE to get the job done." That was my mindset, every single day. We didn't win a state title, but WE did a great job building Titan Football and left it in great shape and primed to be even better going forward.
The other "weight" was and is a burden no one put on me but myself. My Dad was heart broken when Robert Allen died. He never recovered. I worked like a dog to please him, make him happy and to make him proud. If I could make him smile, that was a huge reward. If I could make my Dad happy, and maybe forget for just a second the large burdens that he carried each day, that was as good as it gets. I could never be Robert Allen, or as great as he was. But, that was my mission and in many ways, still is today. This self-imposed burden has been enormous, overwhelming at times. It still is today. Somedays I would really like for that burden NOT to be there. But, God has used it over and over. Every now and then, I can even have a little peace about that burden. Not often, but when it happens, I am thankful. And, there is no doubt in my mind, that burden has made me a much better person, husband, father, and football coach.
The two nicest things anyone has ever said about me:
“During Covid, you were like FONZIE! The coolest guy in the room. You always kept your head and you never got rattled." - That was Rob Reader in December of 2020 when we were celebrating the completion of the fall HS football season in KY. I had served as the KFCA President and we all, coaches and players, and just pulled off an accomplishment most people thought was impossible. Rob was a wonderful man and football coach. I am so thankful we became friends and I sure do miss him.
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| Rob on my left, Kaelin Drakeford on my right, December 2018 |
The other though, means even more.
Lee Glasscock played for my Dad and was one of Robert Allen's best friends. He told me, over 50 years after he played for my Dad, " Sometimes I think that your dad viewed Robert Allen as someone he would like to see his son grow up to be like. He knows his wish came true."
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| Monty Wilkerson, Trosper, Lee Glasscock- July 2021 |
The Beatles had a phenomenal career with unrivaled success. But, as incredible as they were, they were their absolute best at THE END (the last song on side two of Abbey Road). Music is a combination of your personal preference along with the memories and people we attach to the music. Still, if you have never done so, I would give side two a listen:
You Never Give Me Your Money
Sun King
Mean Mister Mustard
Polythene Pam
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Golden Slumbers
Carry the Weight
The End
Wow. Crazy good. These old guys, on their last day, were ELITE. They were the best they have ever been.
What does that mean for me? It means that tomorrow when I walk through that coaches office, or hit the field, or walk into that HS... it needs to be my best day ever, my best work ever. I don't know when the end will come. The Beatles did. But, I am 1000 % committed to making sure my last day, my last moment, will be my absolute best. That, in that moment and work, God will be glorified. I will be serving others, better than ever.
It also means this...if I realize that I am no longer capable of being my absolute best as a head football coach, it will be time for me to move on. I am not going to die a slow death of mediocrity. I am going to go 1000 mph until the day I can't. When that day comes, I will thank God for what has been an incredible experience coaching young men and KY HS Football, and all that goes with it.
Now, one part the Beatles got wrong...
"The love you take, is equal to the love you make." - The End
No, because of Jesus Christ, the love and eternal life we receive if we choose to follow Him...well, no lyrics can do that justice. Not even Paul McCartney or John Lennon can write those words.
*Let It Be was the last Beatles album released, but was produced before Abbey Road.
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