Friday Night Lights

Whenever I tell someone where I’m from, many times they’ll ask if I played football for Pinky Babb, the legendary coach who built a Hall of Fame career in Greenwood. My answer not only gives me the chance to make the distinction between Greenwood and Ware Shoals, but it also gives me the opportunity to tell them that there is another legendary coach who built his Hall of Fame career in that part of the state, too.

And I played for him.

Thankfully, however, I did more than simply play for Tommy Davis. I, along with everyone else who played on one of his teams, learned from him.

Nobody hated practice more than me (and most likely nobody ran more laps as a result), but it was during those practices—from the grueling two-a-days that ate into our summer vacations to the practices every weeknight well into late autumn—that he taught us the importance of preparation and dedication. As he prowled the side-lines and called plays during our games, and as he challenged us during half-time to play better and harder in the second half, he taught us about intensity and commitment to task. As he celebrated state championship trophies and conference titles, we learned about humility in victory. As he watched a season of hard work come to an end with a tough loss in the playoffs, we learned how to be gracious in defeat.

Certainly, all of those were invaluable lessons. Yet there is no doubt that the most important thing he taught the boys who played for him was how to be good and decent young men.  Which is truly a lesson that goes far beyond the chalk lines and goal posts of a football field.

In most of our lives, there can be found a few people who have helped shape us and mold us into the men and women we have eventually become; a parent or a grandparent, a teacher or professor, or perhaps a pastor. For some of us who are very fortunate, one of those people may also be called “coach”.

On July 25th, Coach Tommy Davis was inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame. There is no doubt it was a wonderful and much-deserved honor. But to me and to a lot of other young men, he was, and continues to be, much more than just an outstanding football coach; he was, and continues to be, a role model, a mentor, a teacher, and a friend.

Of course, I’m far removed from those long-ago Friday nights in Riegel Stadium, but all these years later, I am thankful to God that I am not removed from the lessons I learned there from Coach Tommy Davis.