Flying Jackets

The locker room was filled with players at halftime of a playoff game in Haskell, Tx.  Coach Wendell Neff prepared himself to motivate his talented young team to come back in the second half. As he pushed the door open, he noticed a young player sitting at the end of the bench staring at the cement floor waiting to take instruction.
 
In one motion, Coach Neff’s jacket was quickly removed, took flight, and landed squarely on the young player’s head. The player didn’t move a muscle. He listened as the wise coach laid out the plan for the rest of the game. As the buzzer sounded to signal the start of the 2nd half, the player removed the jacket from his head and handed it back to the coach he respected so much asking, “Do you need this, coach?”
 
Coach Bubba Edwards and his fellow Jaybirds didn’t win that night, but they learned important lessons. Lessons that carried them through the next season to upset Petrolia and make it to the Regional tournament.
 
Fast forward a few years…
 
Today at 6:00 in Andrews, Coach Edwards and his #6 Borden County Coyotes take on the #11 Buena Vista Longhorns in a Region 2 Quarterfinal rematch. The Coyotes survived the Longhorns 80-61 in 2016 and made it to the Region 2 tournament.
 
How will the battle finish this year? You can bet that these two teams will leave it all on the court. Let’s hope Coach Edwards leaves his jacket at home.