by Eric Martinez
Sports Director
TownTalk Sports
eric@www.towntalkradio.com
It’s Friday night and all eyes are on you.
The game is tied and hundreds, and sometimes thousands of people are waiting to see what you’re going to do when the game is on the line and it’s on your shoulders to send in the winning or the losing play.
In the eyes of the area fans, parents and media you are about to either be the hero or the zero, based on what happens. Not to mention that everything is dependent upon 11 kids ages 15-18 to execute the play out on the field.
In some situations your job can come down to this one play. Welcome to the life of a coach and sometimes an athletic director of a high school football program.
“In this job you can get fired for wins and losses,” Brownfield Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Bryan Welps said.
This week TownTalk Sports took a moment to visit with Welps in response to a recent post on Facebook from a parent. Here are those words from Mirium Franco:
“Shoutout to all the Coaches who do more than just ‘Coach.’ The Coaches that sit there and care about their players on & off the field/court. The Coaches who are in it for more than just winning games, but who are in it to make an impact on their athletes lives. Shoutout to all the Coaches like Coach Bryan Welps. My brother Xavier Franco tore his meniscus in the game against Slaton October 23rd & was out for the season. Today he had surgery & Coach Welps called every hour until he made it up to Lubbock. He showed up, asked questions, showed support but most of all, he made my brother feel like he was more than just a football player, he made my brother feel important & loved. Brownfield’s Football Season ended November 14th, but the love this Coach has for his players lives on! Shoutout to the Big Hearted Coaches of the 806!!!!”
“I go to the hospital because I love them more than just the fact they play football,” Welps said.
The truth is that each and every one of us has our opinion of the men and women who coach our kids and grandkids, but have we taken the time to appreciate and understand what our coaches and teachers sacrifice to help our kids?
Over 19 years of coaching, Welps shared how and when he began to look at coaching in a different way. Bryan was asked to be the head coach at Hart ISD at the age of 23, making him one of the youngest head coaches in the state of Texas. Bryan shared that although he felt very confident in his knowledge of the game, he was not mentally mature enough to be the leader he needed to be.
In his early years Bryan focused on making athletes physically stronger, bigger, and faster in order to win and play harder for him. Through strict discipline and hard work Bryan’s team had some successful seasons at Heart and was asked to go to Highland Park for his second coaching stop.
It was at Highland Park that his coaching philosophy began to change because of one one young man named Zack Young. In the midst of coaching a deep run in the playoffs, Zack came across some family problems in which he feared for his safety. Not knowing who to call, he picked up a phone and called Welps.
“I remember staying up with Zack until three in the morning the day before a big playoff game and talking about life and so much more than football, ” said Welps.
It was at this point that he asked himself a question that would change his coaching career.
“Wins and Losses are great, but that ‘s not what this is all about, ‘Are you coaching for the right reasons?’ ” He thought.
“Looking back I am more proud of what Zack has become as a man than I was of him as a player,” Welps said.
Soon after, Welps would find himself headed to be the head coaching position at Amarillo River Road, and his coaching perspective would change even more.
At River Road, Welps hired two men who would help grow him not just in his coaching, but also in his spiritual walk. Bart Upchurch and Stacy Ward would be instrumental in this next chapter of Welps’ career.
Together they began to make home visits to players to build a better relationship with their athletes. They also began a tradition of having a morning chapel service each Friday where his staff could share life stories and challenges with the players.
So, instead of just coaching kids to be physically stronger, Welps and his staff began winning the hearts of their players and that is when he realized that teaching young men about life was so much more important than just winning or losing a game.
Welps began teaching his players about how to become good men by teaching them how to deal with adversity, how to be men of character, how to treat young ladies and how to compete in every aspect of their lives. Even after football.
He began to share his favorite scripture with players.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Colossians 3:23
Welps again began to realize that if a win or a loss in a football game was the proudest moment in a young man’s life, then he had failed them.
“There are so many more moments to come that will mean so much more than a game,” Welps said.
It was also at River Road that Welps was blessed with his two children, Scout and Lance. He shared that the birth of his children also molded him to change the way he approached coaching. He realized being a dad was more important than just being a good coach and many of his players needed strong male influences in their lives, just like he had. Looking back through his life Welps shared that the coach he now models his career after is his high school football coach, Alan Cherry. Coach Cherry told Bryan that kids will work hard for you if you love them and that’s how you develop a great program.
“I’m so thankful to Danielle for bringing my kids over to Brownfield so I can be a part of their everyday lives,” Welps said.
Even though things seemed to be going well for Welps at the time, it took some difficult circumstances to make him realize that he needed to change before he could make a difference in others. He began to reflect on the strong faith that his mom showed him as he was growing up. His mother supported her son by traveling thousands of miles to watch him coach every game.
Through these difficult times he turned back to his faith and began to seek God’s plan for his life. It was during this time he prayed that God would use him wherever he was needed. That’s when the door opened to come to Brownfield.
Welps shared that it was God who brought him to Brownfield and everything fell into place for him to know this was where God wanted him. Welps shared how hard his first year was here and how Jerry Jones was instrumental in keeping him encouraged and focused during some really hard times.
Since 2011 we have seen the impact that Welps and his coaching staff have had throughout all athletic programs. Even during the hiring process, Welps makes sure that his coaches have a desire to teach and grow young men and women in their programs to be ready for life after high school sports. We have seen our athletic programs soar to new heights under Welps’ leadership, not just on the court, but off the court as well.
Welps reminded me that he is in no way perfect and he still makes mistakes and sometimes he makes wrong decisions. He has to work through those each and every day. Bryan shared that coming to Brownfield has been amazing for him and his family. Welps also shared that his coaching ideals and methods would not be possible without the support of his wife, Charity. It takes a special person to be a coach’s wife and when he is having a bad day or is tired, she is there encouraging him and listening to him no matter what. Bryan shared that her strong faith gives her the strength to support him and his kids, and he is so blessed to have her in his life.
It’s easy for us to base a program on wins and losses, but what goes on beyond the game should be our measure of a coach’s true impact in the life of a young man or young women. In our culture we have created a win-or-go home environment in our sport’s atmosphere and that has tainted what athletic competition and coaching should really be about.
So, the next time you find yourself saying something negative about a coach or a program, stop and instead say a prayer for these coaches and their families.
Let’s set the example and take opportunities to lift up our coaches and teachers every chance we get. For many of us we can’t remember the last time we said thank you to a coach, teacher, or administrator for the sacrifices they make for our children, but we will be the first to track them down and single them out if we are unhappy with something they have done. Our Coaches are not perfect and neither are we. We all make mistakes and the community should look past the win-loss column. We should instead look into the heart of the people teaching our kids.
So, a big thanks to Bryan Welps, and his staff for coaching beyond the game.
“People see the outer edge of a program, not the kids behind closed doors who are praying, growing and learning about life,” said Welps.
