Editorial/Op
Coach Sid
By |
“Those players would run through a brick wall for Coach Sid.” That is the first description I was given when I asked someone how the new head football coach was doing at Central back in 2008. As I have gotten to know Sid Edwards in recent years, I understand why those brick walls are in danger any time Coach Sid steps in to motivate and coach young athletes.
Sid would like for you to believe that he knows nothing about coaching, and that all he does is to surround himself with capable coaches and let them do the work. He does indeed recruit great coaches onto his staff, but don’t be fooled. No one who can’t coach wins state titles in both Football and Basketball and is one of the most highly sought after coaches in the state.
Indeed, Coach Sid surrounded himself with good coaches when he took over as the CHS Softball Coach this year, and they have had a turnaround year, making it to the playoffs and winning more games than this program has seen in years. In fact, if you attended a softball game this year you would not have known that Sid Edwards, sitting quietly in the dugout, was the head coach. The actual coaching and teaching, and the day to day grind of producing a winning softball team has been handled by the talented coaches he has recruited, and he gives them and his dedicated and talented players full credit for this year’s success. However, there is a confidence and belief running through the heart of this team and every team he coaches that can be traced directly back to Coach Sid Edwards.
When I talk with Sid it is rarely about a particular game or a specific play or a strategy, it is about his players. He tells me about the successes of building confidence in a player or about how many football players showed up in service to the community at an event. He talks about former players who use their high school experiences to become winners in life outside of athletics. He gets quiet and struggles to find ways to help the ones who just can’t seem to get their lives together. Sid Edwards is what is known as a “Player’s Coach”. The young men and women will always be more important than a win or even a state title. Sid has shared with me more than once “Some coaches see plays, I see players.”
I know that the Central Community School System is academically one of the best in the state. I also know that about 500 of the 1,200 students at Central High School are involved in some way with athletics. Central is fortunate to have a man like Sid Edwards as our Athletic Director, having a positive influence on all of these students. Let’s never lose sight of the primary goal of school, to prepare our students for life, jobs and further education. However, let’s also remember that we have exceptional mentors like Coach Sid Edwards who are instilling in our young men and women the commitment, desire and willingness to run through a brick wall for what they believe in.
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