Coach Sid on Football This Fall

 Central High head football coach and athletic director Sid Edwards said it will be devastating to many young men if sports are suspended this fall.

In an interview with Woody Jenkins of Central City News, the much-loved coach said.

“So many of our kids need to be with their other dad, our coaches.  So many don’t have the support of their natural dad.  They are talking about shutting down sports until January.  But what does the Hippocratic Oath say?  First, do no harm!  But this will cause harm!”

“It’s very important to a high number of our young men to be with us.  If it’s postponed to January, then maybe it will be postponed again to next May!  Will we ever come back?  Our young men look to us for guidance, spirituality, food, clothing, discipline, structure, and their mental health.”  

“Football has a way of corralling them and keeping them in check.  I can’t tell you how many times I get a call from a parent, asking me to come to their house. ‘Coach, Johnny isn’t doing his chores or his grades are falling down.  Will you come talk to him?’”  

“I’ve been through many football seasons.  Trophies and championships don’t mean so much anymore, but these kids do!  If we don’t have football, it will be devastating to them.  A football game or a football season is a finite 

event.  There’s a clock, a score, and the end. But the job of a coach is forever.  It goes on and on. Coach Fresina had one of our former players in here.  He’s 33. He had just lost his family and his house, but Coach Fresina helped him get everything back up and running again and saved his life.  The politicians need to understand the role of the coaches in these young men’s lives now and into the future.”