A Walk in the Park by Caitlin Fleming, Wakulla County Parks and Recreation Department

{sidebar id=3}Small town and football go together like biscuits and gravy.  In Wakulla, football is a way of life.  If you come to the Medart Rec. Park on any autumn Saturday morning, you will find many different people with one thing in common, love for the game.  Why, you might ask, do the kids come out in full gear to cream each other for an hour at a time?  Why, you might ask, do parents endure the weather year after year?  Or why would anyone devote countless hours to coach a team of energetic kids for nothing more than the satisfaction of a job well done.

I decided to ask two veteran coaches.  Troy Nelson has been coaching the Peewee Division Falcon team for ten years now.  He originally started coaching when his stepson played but he never quit.  When I asked this Godby Alum that played college ball at Hines Community College and Central Missouri why he did it, he responded, “To give back to the community and share what I have learned.”  When asked his favorite part of the program, Nelson responded, “It’s the kids, teaching the kids is the best part.

Junior League Bulldogs coach Robby Taylor couldn’t agree more.  He coached one year with a friend and has been doing it ever since.  He just enjoys being around the kids.  This Wakulla High Alum played football from 2nd grade through 12th grade and his favorite part of football season is, “Watching the kids as they progress through the season.”  His most memorable moment was helping to implement the eight player Junior League three years ago and leading the Bull Dogs to the Super bowl Championship in the first year of the Junior League.

While I only talked to two coaches, each coach of the six Peewee and three Junior League teams has a story of his own and each coach is impacting and influencing the lives of Wakulla County children.  Maybe football is about more than just a game…

(Photo of Caitlin courtesy of Sara Daw) 

This article originally published on September 17, 2007.

Written by :

mkwestmark

 

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