In my first blog post I hinted at the topic that Allen and I lead…hectic…lives. Here’s the living, breathing proof. In the next 21 days we have 9…yes 9 basketball games! Crazy…I know! We played tonight at Houston County, we play Friday night at home vs. Headland, in a Christmas tournament Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday the week before Christmas, and we are hosting a tournament the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after Christmas! Holy smoke…thank goodness I love basketball!
Let me share a little bit of background with you that got us to Carroll High School. When Allen and I got married we moved to Covington, GA where Allen coached at Eastside High School for 1 year. He coached varsity football and GIRLS basketball. It was by far the WORST coaching experience we have been through. And I do mean WE! (All coaches wives, or husbands, will testify to the fact that coaching is not done just by one person, but by their spouse also!) He was at football practice until 9 o’clock every night of the week and had to go to the school to watch film on Saturday and Sundays. Then, watching Allen coach girls was like watching….I don’t know….you fill in the most frustrating seen you can imagine! It was horrible!
After that year we moved to Dawson, GA and Allen coached at Terrell Academy. In Dawson, we made TONS of friends that we will cherish the rest of our lives! The coaching was pretty good too. Allen was an assistant varsity football coach, the head junior high football coach and the head varsity boys basketball coach. TA is the place where Allen learned he liked coaching basketball more than football. However, he had to do a lot of “teaching” basketball at TA instead of coaching. The boys had not won a game in years when we got there. Over the 2 years that we were in Dawson, the boys improved greatly and won a couple of games, including a nail biter over SGA, a school that Allen and I interviewed at before moving to Dawson. We both became homesick for the great state of AL and began looking for jobs closer to home. We were also very enticed by AL teachers insurance for infertility treatments.
We applied and interviewed at several schools in AL and were pumped when we found out that Allen had gotten a job at Zion Chapel High School in Jack, AL as the head boys basketball coach. Again, we were going to a school where the boys had not won a game in years but we were excited about moving back to AL and were very encouraged by the progress Allen had made with the boys at TA. At Zion we didn’t just find lifelong friends, but a family. Again, Allen began the grueling task of building a basketball program. Not only did he coach the varsity boys, but he also began a little league basketball program a Zion that would help build at the varsity level eventually. After 3 years of ups and downs and 1 VERY memorable night in Poplar Springs, FL, we decided it was time again to move on.
This time we decided that maybe Allen would move up in classification and down in leadership to gain more knowledge of coaching on a larger scale. Which brings us to Carroll High School….Allen is the assistant varsity basketball coach and the head JV coach. After tonight’s game his JV team is 6-1! We couldn’t be more excited. It’s like all the sleepless nights of trying to figure out how to teach the game of basketball; Allen is finally getting the opportunity to coach the sport. That’s not to say that we have not loved MOST every moment that has gotten us here, or to say that he has not coached some very athletic boys…it’s just so nice to sit back and watch as all the hard work pays off. I am always amazed at the impact that my husband has on his players. He loves all of them very much and it is very evident how much they love him too! I always knew I wanted to marry a coach….I can’t imagine it being any better than being Coach Maness’ wife. I love every minute of it!
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