Legendary Minnesota Vikings coach Bud Grant famously said that a football coach needs three things to win: “a patient wife, a loyal dog, and a great quarterback.”
For the past 14 years as the head coach at St. Johnsbury Academy, I’ve been blessed with all three.
This past Saturday should have been a day of celebration. We completed an undefeated regular season, earned my 100th win at St. Johnsbury Academy, and secured the #1 seed in the state playoffs. But there was little time to celebrate.
When I didn’t see my wife at the game, I checked my phone and learned that she was at veterinary urgent care with our 15-year-old Golden Retriever, JJ.
Twelve hours later, with both of us lying beside him in front of the fireplace at home, JJ took his last breath.
Over the years, football has given me plenty of reasons to celebrate and plenty of reasons to lose sleep. JJ never cared about any of it.
He didn’t care whether we had a good practice or a bad one. He didn’t care if we won or lost, or whether the season was going well. Every day, when I walked through the door, he greeted me as if it were the greatest moment of his life.
No matter what kind of day I’d had, JJ was always happy to see me.
That kind of unconditional love and loyalty is a gift. And it’s one I will never take for granted.
I still have a patient wife and a great quarterback. But our home will never quite be the same.
I’m sure going to miss that loyal dog.
Rest easy, JJ. Thanks for 15 wonderful years.
Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time!
