More than a Coach

On Wednesday morning June 24, 2009 Coach Ed Thomas was shot and killed while supervising weight lifting at the Aplington-ParkersburgHigh School. Prayer vigils, living room reflections, and national attention on a community one year removed from devastating tornadoes have resulted in tremendous shock and grief. One headline called him a, “A good coach, but a better role model.” One picture in the Des Moines Register showed Coach Thomas clearing a large tree branch and talking on a cell phone following 2008 tornadoes in ParkersburgIowa.  Coach Ed Thomas looked over the devastation of his beloved community and decided to help the town to rebuild. This man, who is more than a coach, will be missed, but never forgotten, by the hundreds of lives he has blessed and helped to direct.

 

Coach Thomas was a family man, a man of deep faith who chose to stay in a community he loved and that loved him.  There is little doubt about his opportunity to coach at a college or pro level and make more money. For this Coach the measure greatness was not steady personal advancement and the accumulation of wealth. Steadfastness and character building was a passion and a gift that resulted in many success stories including, National Football League players who once played for Coach Thomas.

 

When I was a child I did not fully understand the “why” of violence. Why do people choose to hurt others or kill other people? Why do bad things happen to good people and why does devastation strike good communities?  I always thought when I became an adult that these things would become clearly understood, or at least explainable.  Theological training and my prayers to God have not wiped away ambiguity and the contradictions of life. 

 

In the Black Christian Church experience older people would often say, “The Lord will give you no more than you can bear.”  Well I don’t know if that is always true. I do know that Parkersburg and the Thomas family need not bear this pain alone. I do know that the Love of God and community must be magnified at times like these.  I do know that the Church must continue to be a harbinger of hope amidst a world overrun with acts of violence. I do know that those who need our help, because they suffer from the ravages of mental illness, cannot be ignored or remain invisible as we go on with our lives.

 

Like Nehemiah in the Bible, Coach Thomas sought the Lord, surveyed the land and decided to rebuild the community he loved. As we join those who mourn, we hear him say to us what he reportedly said to his players. “Do the Right Thing.”

 

Be Encouraged...