I was not fortunate enough to ever meet Coach Rat, but I have heard from everyone who has ever talked to him or was coached by him just how great of a friend, coach, and father he was. Even though Coach Rat is no longer with us in person, his legacy still stands in the football locker room and throughout the hallways of the school. And even though I never got the pleasure of meeting him, on day one of me transferring to Abingdon High School, Sage Blevins and Noah Gilliam told me all about Coach Rat, everything that he stood for, and how I would have loved him as a coach and as a person. In that talk, they talked about the lasting legacy he had left on the Abingdon community and the legacy he instilled in the Falcons football team. That legacy of his…show more content… On the first anniversary of my friend's death, I tore my meniscus completely and was not able to do anything to help with my grief for almost a year due to surgery. After I had surgery on my meniscus I was on the brink of suicide, none of my so-called friends came around or checked up on me and I honestly thought the best option was just to end it. Luckily I had one person who has always been in my corner, my mom, and I recovered and was able to get my life back together. All of that being said, I understand what it’s like to be at rock bottom, and that is why I always check up on people, why I ask if people are okay, why I say hi to people I never even met. Because I know if I had someone do that for me when I was going through that rough patch it would have made my day, and probably my week. To get on a more upbeat topic, the last trait of Coach Rat’s that I embody is pride. I will admit, I struggled with pride for a long time. I was very hard-headed until halfway through my junior year, I am not proud of it but I will admit it. After realizing being that way wasn’t helping me at all, it was not only hurting my success on the field, but also my
