Ten Friday Nights

    This is not a commentary on high school football.  This is a commentary on the young men and women, and the coaches and parents, that make fall Friday nights, and all of our other programs, matter to the Central community.
    Yes, I wish the Wildcats were on the practice field this week preparing for another playoff game.  After six consecutive District Championships we have almost come to expect the wins.  But, as Coach Sid Edwards says so often, Central football is about more than ten Friday nights.  So what IS Central football about, if not about winning games?
    Start by understanding WHO Central football is.  Players, trainers, band, cheerleaders, silks, kittens, and color guard.  In all, almost half of the students in Central High School are involved in some way with Central’s athletic programs, and most of them through football.
    If you know any of these students, in any of these groups, I probably don’t need to explain the hours and dedication each of them pours into their team.  These are character-building, friendship-making, teamwork-learning experiences that all of them will remember for a lifetime.  I see these students serving and volunteering in many other roles in Central, and I know that these programs are what has helped motivate them to go the extra mile for others.
    WHY are they this way?  Coaches and parents, and the dedication they pour into these students and these programs.  Yes, parents are supposed to support and nurture their kids, but the involvement of Central parents is, and always has been, unrivaled.
    As for coaches, please don’t do the math and discover what they make per hour, because this community can’t afford to pay them what they are worth.  They love your kids.  Period.
    And, go ahead and extend this to ALL of the programs at ALL of our schools, public and private.  Art, Debate, Drama, Music, Sports, Clubs, and anything else you can name.  To all of these great coaches, teachers, sponsors, and parents who pour their lives into Central’s young men and women, we thank you all.
    The elephant in the room no one really wanted to talk about this football season is that Central ended up 4-6.  As for me, I would rather my child play for an 0-10 Sid Edwards-led Central Wildcat team and learn discipline, dedication, and character, than to play for a 10-0 team anywhere else, for any other coach in the state.  Congratulations Wildcats on your dedication to a program that is more than ten Friday nights.