Remember this Titan (18 page)

Charlie Mitchell.
Played on the 1971 Titans. Received his degree in music and then became a musician.
Played with Bruce Springsteen. Charlie teaches music in Alexandria, Virginia.

I guess this is as good a place as any to come clean. I’m a nobody. Sure, I had success
but then lots of people do. I’ve tried to do the right thing but when I have, I have
done nothing more than a billion others. At times I’ve shown courage. I’ve also been
weak at the knees. I’ve called a few great plays and punted at the wrong time. When
I look in the mirror I see the same face that I saw in Tin Can Hollow. I know the
image that looks back is older and wiser but the little boy remains.

And yet I have spent the last few years in prime time. People pay to hear what’s on
my mind. Some ask for an
autograph. Surprising in that my celebrity has nothing to do with me. You’ve heard
my name for one reason; I was lucky enough to have Greg Howard get a haircut in the
right barbershop. As a result he put pen to paper and then the actor Will Patton made
me look better than I am. Prior to that I would not have shown up on the radar screen
of the civil air patrol.

I think there are a couple lessons here. The first is that life’s journey is a convoluted
walk into the unknown. Hopefully, early on you hear what’s important. Better yet you
embrace it. Even better, you employ it. And if you do, things will work out. You never
know when it will happen. I was eating peanut butter and jelly until I was seventy-five.

The second lesson is that whatever happens to you will be the result of someone liking
your story and then doing something about it. It probably won’t make it to the screen
but that doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you like your story too.

When I made the decision to become a “literarian” I was as ignorant as anyone who
has ever written a book. I was also as egotistical. I believed my life was special.
And why not? Some pretty great things have happened to me. Ego is a powerful force.
And it was ego that made me call Steve. The next day he delivered the news.

“Coach,” he said. “I just watched
Remember the Titans
. You were on the screen twenty-two times and delivered sixty one lines. We have a
problem.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“We’re short two hundred pages.

The journey had begun.

As I reconstructed my life it became evident that I wasn’t so special after all. Supplementing
the good was a lot of bad. The warts bloomed. I thought about abandoning the project
until it was pointed out that the worth of a story lies in the interpretation of what
transpired. In ugly, there are lessons to be learned.

These days I spend a lot of time with myself and the memories that are the tapestry
of my life. The journey that was a rollercoaster became an awakening. When I was lost,
a helping hand appeared. Whenever I walked in darkness, I was guided to the light.
As I look back, I realize I could have done things better. I made mistakes. I have
regrets. But on balance, my life has been blessed and because it was, I became better
than I ever should have been.

When Bill Yoast called, I had just reinvented myself. After writing six books I figured
it was time to retire my pen. My previous efforts had done well enough that I felt
no need to go back to the plate. I wanted to say “no” but I couldn’t. I owed Bill
Yoast. If he needed me to tell his story I figured it was the least I could do.

That night, as I reflected on the tedium that accompanies book writing, I questioned
my decision. I came up with a plan. I would tell Bill that books were passé. We should
do a newsletter. Save on time, paper, and postage. People have short attention spans.
Six pages were enough. We would just highlight the thrills. Sounded good to me.

Shortly thereafter, I received an email from a fraternity brother who had stumbled
across my website. I hadn’t talked to him since college. I returned his salutation
and asked him about six friends. He informed me that one died at war, another
from cancer, a third from a heart attack. He told me the fittest among us had Lou
Gehrig’s disease.

I was saddened by the input but awakened to the reality that I was mortal. How much
time did I have left? A question like that makes you ponder your own journey. I’ve
never met a responsible person that didn’t question their existence. Did I do it right?
Can I do it better? It’s important. For a number of reasons. If you’re lucky, you
will make it to the rocking chair phase of life. Lots of time for contemplation sitting
on that front porch. If you did right, the memories will sustain your final years.
Good deeds will deliver flowers in December. On the other hand, if you betrayed a
trust, turned your back on a friend or accepted injustice, you will have regrets.
GUARANTEED. You will know that you walked the path of least resistance and became
less than you could have been. That knowledge will turn summer into a frigid day.

The thought was terrifying.

I decided I would write the book. For selfish reasons. Bill Yoast was my horse and
I’d ride him to the finish. I figured, as we dissected his experience, I could take
a peek at my own. I would juxtapose one life against another. Bill Yoast would serve
as the benchmark to measure myself. I needed my scorecard. I wanted those daffodils.

When we began I had no idea what I would uncover. A two-hour movie doesn’t mean you
had a life. As the emails were delivered from cyber-space I started to realize that
Bill was an original. When I finished with what Bill wanted to say I called Glenn
Furman to check on some facts. Glenn wasn’t home. I left a message that said nothing
more than I
needed to confirm a couple dates for a book I was writing about Bill Yoast. Would
he please email me the information? Here is his unedited reaction to my request.

Steve
,

It was great to hear your voice on the phone. It brought back a lot of good memories
of the Admirals
.

I was excited for Coach Yoast, when I heard you were doing a book on his life. No
one deserves this recognition more than Coach. We have worked together for 35 years
and been friends for 41 years
.

Everyone that knew Bill Yoast called him “Coach,” but his greatest legacy will be
about Bill Yoast “the man.” Coach Yoast is my best friend and my mentor. He is the
person who has had the greatest influence on my life as a teacher/coach and as a human
being. He has guided my life in the areas of faith, family, and friends. It can best
be said that Coach Yoast is a people person who just happened to be a coach. He is
someone that has great compassion, therefore he just continues to give and keep giving
.

Bill and I would probably be called the odd couple. He was tall, thin, and blonde.
He was the consummate teacher, experienced, mild mannered, basically known as the
intellectual coach. On the other hand, I was short, stocky, always talking, hyper,
never laid back with my greatest strength being a motivator of young men, inspiring
them to achieve above what they thought they were capable of achieving. In retrospect
we were probably the ultimate complement for each other
.

Bits and Pieces

1. The greatest lesson that I learned from Coach was that people are more important
than wins and losses
.

2. Success and championships are achieved through people not by a particular system
.

3. You win through execution and discipline, not by what system you use
.

4. Everyone in your program is important, not just the stars. Everyone must be treated
fairly
.

5. Select coaches who are loyal to each other and then let them coach
.

6. Football is a game, so make it fun
.

A Few Stories

1. Bill’s teams were often called the “Dirty 30.” T.C. Williams opened in 1965 and
Hammond’s enrollment was cut in half. Most of the time Bill’s teams were totally out-manned
but never out-coached
.

2. Bill and I were scouting opponents for the Washington Metro area regional playoff
game between #1 ranked Falls Church and #3 ranked Woodson. It was a great game with
the lead changing back and forth. Late in the game Bill looked at me and asked who
would you rather play, I said neither one, they are both too good. I asked Bill who
would you rather play—he answered doesn’t matter, we’ll beat either one. Next week
we were 3 touchdown underdogs. We won the game 16 to 7. Valuable lesson learned, never
again did I enter a game thinking we would lose
.

3. While coaching the Titans we had the motto, “Titan Pride,” which we always would
ask the players is that the ‘Best’ you can be? What a great motivational tool
.

4. Yes, Coach did have a temper. In 1971 we were going down the stretch to the playoffs
needing two wins to make the playoffs. Late in the game we were leading by 6 points.
Yorktown was moving the ball through the air. We had a great All-Region quarterback
in John O’Connor. I sent John in the game to play defense. He made a play but sprained
his ankle. “Coach yelled who put him in the game?” We just looked at each other. Coach
did not speak to me until the following Thursday
.

5. He was also funny. The same team playing Washington Lee, the preseason favorite.
They had a 235 pound fullback named Reggie Harrison, later started for the Pittsburgh
Steelers, for seven years. Early in the game he was tackled in front of our bench
and injured his knee. Our team doctor went out, Bill followed him, bent over and said
looks too bad for him to continue playing—Reggie did not return to the game. What
a break!

6. While I was head coach at TC we were in a close game at home. We had several former
players on the sidelines for moral support. An official’s call was made on our sidelines.
One of the former players yelled his displeasure at the official’s call. The official
threw the flag for a costly 15 yard penalty. Upset, I turned and yelled, as was customary
for me, “Who did that?” Coach Yoast with his arm around a very scared former player
said, “I did Coach.” Wow, what a man!

The greatest respect that I have for Coach Yoast came when I was selected to be the
head coach at TC Williams High School. Coach had already completed a very accomplished
teaching and coaching career with full honors. He gave me my first coaching job, he
was my mentor. When I asked him if he would consider working with me, his answer was,
“Coach, what do you want me to do?” I was entering my first ever head varsity coaching
job. The program was down, the last 4 seasons no team won more than 5 games. My staff
was made up from 2 former head coaches and remnants of 3 former coaching staffs. In
a meeting with the TC principal and athletic director, Coach Yoast was asked how long
would it take for the untested Coach Furman to turn the program around? Like a proud
father, Coach Yoast said, “one year.” He was correct the Titans went 8-2-2 and lost
the Regional final game on a last second field goal. It was during this 10 year reign
that Coach Yoast shinned the brightest. Coach was not only my confidant, the guy that
kept everything together, but more important, the father-type image, the counselor,
the listening ear, the encourager. When a young man was down and needed help Coach
Yoast was always there for them. Bill Yoast made a REAL difference
.

Glenn Furman’s letter was not a surprise. It was a validation of the man I’d come
to know. You’ve read his story or at
least part of it. If you believe that Bill Yoast is a giant among men, think again.
If you see him as a god, get new glasses. If you deem that Coach was king, you need
to get out more. Bill Yoast is an “everyman.” His hopes, his dreams, and wishes are
not unique. Neither are the qualities that allowed him to achieve so much. What did
make the Coach special was his integrity. He preached it, he lived it, he protected
it. Integrity was everything. For Bill Yoast, integrity was not a means to an end,
integrity was THE END.