“The biggest game of our season is Dierks. On the Friday morning before we play Dierks, I get a phone call from my wife saying they are taking my son to Children’s Hospital (Little Rock). So I get in my vehicle and meet the ambulance in Prescott. He was dehydrated and they think he may have some problems. They didn’t know what it was."
I remember that all the way there (Children’s Hospital) the football game was placed on the back burner. Any other time, it would have been nothing but 'we play Dierks tonight.' It was a conference ballgame and both teams were undefeated. That would have been my focus as it is every year. “
Coach Tommy Poole
That day, Spring Hill High School’s head football coach, Tommy Poole, found himself trying to balance family and football like no other time in his life.
For a high school football coach, the job can be all-consuming. Poole explains, “In a small school, we’re the same coaches that coach 7th grade football. We’re the same coaches that coach junior high football. We’re the same coaches that coach senior high football. “
The coaching staff of Spring Hill High School maintains a strenuous routine during football season. Sunday is reserved for viewing game films and looking at the next week’s opponent.
On Monday practice starts at 2:30 for two and half hours. After that, the junior high squad moves onto the practice field for about one and half hours. Tuesday is a repeat of Monday. Wednesday is set aside for weights, review of game film with the team, and special teams practice. Thursday is junior high football game night. Friday night is senior high game night. That leaves Saturday for family, if things work according to plans.
But the workload is not confined to the fall. Add to the above schedule off-season practices, 7-on-7 competition, and summer team camps. Keep in mind that in Arkansas, a coach is required to teach or function as a school administrator. Add all of this together and you’ve got a recipe for a neglected family.
Coach Poole has his team playing good football.
“Even though winning is important, we preach to our kids that God comes first, followed by family, school and then athletics. We explain to our kids, that’s why we call them "student-athletes", not "athlete-students". We preach that to our kids, but in the back of our minds,” Poole confessed, “we're thinking about winning. That’s the bottom-line. We want to win.”
“I grew up around football. I knew that’s what I wanted to do.” Poole played high school football in Prescott. He played college ball at Ouachita Baptist University.
When referring to the day that his son was rushed to Children’s Hospital, Poole admitted, “I guess the good Lord was trying to tell me that there was more to life than football.
At Children’s Hospital they diagnosed him with juvenile diabetes. It's not easy telling an eight-year-old kid that he will need four shots (insulin) a day for the rest of his life. That was tough on him, as well as his mom and I.
The week after he was dismissed from the hospital, he started getting sick. With juvenile diabetes we had to stay on top of things. My wife took him to the doctor and he was diagnosed with the early stages of H1N1 influenza. This was the Friday that we played Mount Ida. Since then, I have had a whole new perspective on life.”
His advice for someone entering the coaching profession is “don’t take the simple things for granted. Just because you have a healthy family today doesn’t mean they will be healthy tomorrow. If you go home thirty minutes early, spend it with your family. Lots of times, I would use that time for me. I’d go do something I wanted to do or just watch television. Focus on your family. Basically a coach has to make it a point to spend time with his family."
Poole will be the first to admit that he doesn’t have all of the answers when it comes to balancing family and football. It’s an ongoing struggle. But, he certainly gained some insight that day on the way to hospital.
By the way, his son is doing well. He takes his shots everyday and is adjusting to his new lifestyle. The whole situation has made the Poole family a much stronger family unit.
Comments: