many of these men are re-contacting him. Allan sees this as a true opportunity to re-open the door to be able to testify to them and mentor them, even in their adulthood. Faith, Family, Academics and Football “Faith, Family, Academics and Football is not just the poster on the wall. We really do try to emphasize it in that order. We do our best to try to put the kids in the position to learn and grow in all of those areas.” When I asked how he gets by with the faith part, he just grinned. “Well, we walk the line a lot. But the school board, principal and administration believe in educating the whole child. Jenks is notorious for the great academic programs and the pursuit of excellence in everything, but I can tell you the core group of people who originally employed me really had a strong faith. I still talk to many of them. In fact, during this latest little journey I am going through, they are all back there, letting me know they are praying for me.” “Recently, I have thought a lot about situations I could have handled better. I feel really good about mentoring kids and we have done a really good job I think, but there are always cases where we could have done better or more. But there have been kids who have written me letters reminding me of when we walked them through a tough situation in their life and how thankful they were, that honestly, I didn’t remember until they reminded me. So, it has been real sentimental lately, as these kids (adults now) express their thanks for some of the things we went through years ago.” When asked about his near retirement this spring, Allan explained that his health had a little to do with it. “Traditionally, if you do it right, you work about 16 straight weeks in a row, 7 days a week during the season. So, you end the season mentally and physically tired. You go without rest, drink a lot of caffeine and you are exhausted, and should be. You work hard. But usually, you make it through Christmas break, you get a couple weeks off and you freshen up physically and mentally. But this year, I didn’t bounce back. Dr. Joe Reese (doctor, friend and fellow elder) tested me, but we really couldn’t quite put our finger on it. So, my health did have some to do with it. As much as I demand from my players and coaches, they deserve a leader who is right there with them. Allan believes now that he has been experiencing symptoms for the last two years. “They first thought it was carpal tunnel and they even transplanted my ulna nerve without any benefit. Then a trail of doctors finally took me to Dr. Beeson in Oklahoma City who specializes in MD and ALS and such. It didn’t take him too long to figure it out.” Burden on the Family is the Toughest Thing “The hardest thing is the burden it puts on those around you. My wife has worked tirelessly to support my coaching habit, raised two children and now the idea that she is going to have to deal with this, is a gut-wrencher for me. I can’t get it out of my mind. Most of us men, if something happens to us we can tough it out, but if something happens to our family that is a different thing.” “When you get that diagnosis, it really will make you go out on the back deck and ponder for a while. But, you couldn’t take a pencil
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and write a story with more blessings and great things in my life. I mean, you couldn’t even imagine… from Cleveland, Oklahoma to 35 years later, with the church we get to go to, with the family and friends we have, plus the community and career… you couldn’t write a better book. That part of it is really comforting and it lets me know how blessed I am. Lets face it, we ALL have a terminal disease. The odds of dying are good (Allan chuckled at the sarcasm), but I would also tell you that when you know, when you really know, at least for me, there is a very sentimental, thorough thought process on what I need to be doing. Where do I need to be impacting people? Is this particular activity worthy of the next two hours that I am going to give it? I will be honest with you, it has almost stress me out a little (I am not a “stressy” guy). I think about it a lot. It has been really tricky for me. I don’t know if it is one of Satan’s darts that he is messing with me or if it is really that I should number my days and be very calculated. I can tell you this, my 401K sort of went down on the list of priorities.” Business As Usual Coach Trimble will be on the sidelines again this year and he says it is “business as usual.” Jenks will have a young team this year, with ten new players on defense and about six or seven on offense. It’s always fun and challenging to have a young team. Our first four games will be against ranked opponents. We will have to get out of the starting blocks early. The kids are working super hard. It will be a fun year and we get to coach a little bit.” “The past couple of weeks have been both overwhelming and uplifting, but things need to get back to normal. I have talked to our staff about it. This thing with me needs to be pushed out of the way. We need to go “live.” I will try to give parts of my responsibility away. I will have to. Every one of our coaches has come to me asking to take some of the workload. It is just hard to figure out how to do it when you are not wired that way.” When asked why he has decided to continue coaching, he explained, “Should I walk away from this platform? Right now, I have a unique sphere of influence that I simply can’t walk away from. My energy level is high and I can’t wait for the new season.” Better buy your Jenks tickets early. I have a feeling you won’t want to miss a single minute of this high drama season.