Coach Larry Huck passed away this week. He was our head football coach from my freshman through junior year of high school. Part of our daily ritual at practice during warm up calisthenics was doing up downs. Coach loved up downs and as players, we hated up downs. If coach was unhappy with the team, the more up downs we did.

One day at practice the up down session was going extra long. One of the players on the back row yelled out, “Coach you are killing us.” Coach yelled back, “Killing you am I?” As we ran in place waiting for the next whistle to blow coach lectured us. “I am not killing you. You have more in you than you realize and I know you can do one more” as he blew the whistle again. And he continued to tell us we could do one more and continued to blow the whistle for what seemed like an eternity.

What coach was teaching us that day had a little to do with football, but more about life in general. No matter how tired you are, no matter what life throws at you and it can get difficult with death, sickness, marital issues, family problems, work problems you get knocked down, but you need to get back up.

At the time we did not understand the lesson coach was teaching us. We thought he was being……well I don’t want to tell you what we thought of him at that moment, but they weren’t nice thoughts.

Jesus said the same thing to his disciples at one point, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” (John 13:7)

I’ll come and see you coach, after my up downs are done on this side.