I tear up when I walk into the gates at the State Fair of
Texas and at my kid’s games. I totally
tear up during school music programs and especially when I hear a song that
respectfully honors our nation or when kids sing “Happy Birthday Jesus.” All of
these tears are not because I have reached the age that I need a heavy dose of hormones
yet or because I am sad and sappy. I
tear up because I am so happy to be alive and to be part of the everyday magic
that happens when we LIVE this thing called life to the fullest! My tears of JOY increased after I had cancer
because I learned that every day is a gift.
Presently, I tear up often when I think about the 2013 Eagle
football team. On Friday nights, there
is a buzz in homes across the community listening to the radio that lasts all
week. In the stands at the games, there is an unexplainable energy that is so
strong I think everyone involved could win a foot race against the Energizer
Bunny if given the chance. This town has
been united an electrified, and I think it is based on more than just a good
feeling. It is deeper.
My football knowledge is limited, but I can shake a water
bottle full of beans with the best of them, so I am going to call myself
qualified and take a stab at examining the “roots” of this Fairfield Eagle
team. The roots of this organization run
deeper in my opinion than many Eagle fans may know.
The football boys regularly visit the Elementary and
Intermediate campuses to visit with younger kids wearing their “Keep it Simple”
armbands. Three of them cornered a
young man in our library last week who had been in trouble and questioned him
on his behavior. They are available for “HIRE” and will attend kid’s birthday
parties to play catch. They don’t ask
for money like a clown or magician might, but will work for some time on the
field with kids, Gatorade and Bushes’ tender rolls. They take pictures with kids after games and
tell them to hold up a #1 with their finger and to hold it up high. They give God the credit for their talent,
say they pray on game day mornings, and admit that self-control is hard at
times, but that they are getting better at it. They say they love the “no pass
no play” rule because grades come first.
My son and his friend interviewed Larry Rose, Chris Lide,
and Jacob Gallegos for the Eagle Eye Gazette, the Intermediate school paper
last week. When asked who inspires them,
they didn’t pause at all, but said their coaches. The coaching staff, led by John Bachtel in
his 17th year of coaching, has roots that run deep and are as
impressive as the number of points this team has racked up this season.
Coach Bachtel teaches
a 5th and 6th grade Sunday school class at church with his
wife. He is humble and credits the boys
for the victories because of their hard work and leadership. He is not afraid to ask for prayer and loves
the LORD. When I asked him about an
opponent a few weeks ago, he told me that the other coach was a Christian too
and that they had enjoyed talking on the phone about the game. John’s Father, Kent, is a part of the staff
too. The football players told me that
he is the most positive man on this planet.
The family of Coach Kevin Childers was hit hard at the
beginning of the school year and I can’t help but think that the heartbreak
connected this group of men together in a way that few of us will ever
know. When you work together, practice
together, cry together, and celebrate together, something happens. Joyful tears are heartfelt, but tears shed
from pain connect us for life and greatness is usually birthed out of adversity…
thus, the deep roots.
The “Keep it Simple” approach has lines that run deep and
point to the Word of God. “Keep it
Simple” was printed on gold wristbands in maroon and passed out at the first of
the school year. They also say
“8:39.” That stands for Romans 8:39, which reads “Neither height not depth, nor anything else
in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Coach Bachtel’s wife gave my son her own bracelet. When I
asked him last week where it was he looked at me like I was crazy and said “I
hang in on the deer horns in my room and save it for Fridays. It’s too special to wear every day.”
Now…that’s community, small town U.S.A., football, and the
power of “Keep it Simple.”
