Coaches Who Matter: Role models in players' lives deserve recognition

• Staff Report
• Abilene Reporter-News
• Posted August 22, 2010 at 12:30 p.m.

Some coaches are known for their glossy overall winning percentages or their legacy at one school.

Others are noted for hopping from one program to the next or, by sports writers, either being great to quote or prone to speaking in cliches.

Some coaches easily could be elected to any office they sought in their towns. Others may fear stepping out the front door to see “for sale” signs planted in their lawns, and not necessarily by a real estate agent.

But in talking about coaches — gruff or easy-going, strategists or those who rely on instinct, nattingly dressed or decked cap to pants hem in school colors, many are remembered most as individuals who care. Who they were off the field tops what they did on the sidelines.

Coaches can influence lives dramatically, be it guiding a young athlete to reach unknown potential or perhaps steering their energy toward building a team rather than tearing down their lives.

Coaches mentor other coaches, who in turn pass on to another generation of coaches the ideas of hard work, dedication, loyalty and enjoying their job, as well as how to make the Xs and Os work out.

In January, Clyde resident Monroe Lawrence offered a story that originated in the Kerrville Daily Times and was reprinted in the Albany News about Clovis Riley. Riley, now retired and living in Kerrville, played high school football in Albany and served as Cooper High School’s first coach.

Riley is remembered fondly for being a positive influence on lives as much as he was for being a coach tasked with winning football games.

His story and others selected by the Reporter-News staff inspired this year’s football tab spotlight feature, “Coaches Who Matter.”

-- Greg Jaklewicz, sports editor

The Cooper connection CLOVIS RILEY: Caring for players outweighed the Ws

Football is a way of life in West Texas, but what kind of life one lived was far more important to Clovis Riley — especially when it came to his young players.

Riley, Cooper’s first head football coach when the school opened in 1960, cared about the wins and losses, but he cared more about his players’ future off the field.

“It’s about the kids,” Riley said. “You try to make better men out of them.”

Riley was influenced by his football coaches, most notably his coach at Albany – Elwood Turner.

“Next to my father, he was probably the next most important man in my life,” Riley said.

Mike Brumbelow, who coached him at Texas Western (now known as the University of Texas-El Paso) also was a big influence.

“He cared for his players and took good care of us,” Riley said.

After graduation from Albany in 1950, Riley played for Texas Western, where he graduated in 1954. Texas Western beat Southern Miss 37-14 in the Sun Bowl in 1954. Riley ran for 112 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries in that game, and he was the team MVP that 1953-54 season at running back.

But it was his coaches influence off the field that made the biggest impact on his life.

“My high school coach, if it hadn’t of been for him, I probably would have never finished high school,” Riley said. “Then, my college coach took very good care of me. When I got out and started coaching, I decided I wanted to set my standards the way they did. I’m out here to help these boys. Of course, we wanted to win. Everybody wants to win. We worked hard at that. At the same time, you can’t forget the real reason you’re out there, and that’s to take care of those kids. A lot of them, you’re like their daddy. So I didn’t want to let them down, and it’s been rewarding.”

Riley had a chance to make a difference in his players lives during 17 years of coaching at Mason, Olney, Cooper and Sherman. Riley compiled a 129-17 record after going 5-30-5 with the fledgling Coogs.

Riley’s years at Cooper were tough on the field for a young program playing in one of the toughest districts in the state. However, the Coogs did notch their first district win against crosstown rival Abilene during their second varsity season — beating the Eagles 19-18 in 1962.

“It was pretty rough,” Riley said. “The first year there we just had sophomores, and then the second year we went into the league without any seniors to speak of and made it a little bit tough. But the kids always put forth a good effort. That’s one thing I could always say about the Cooper boys.”

Still, like his coaches before him, it was all about making an impact on his players lives — and he did that.

Riley certainly had an impact on Freddy Waggoner’s life. Waggoner, living with his grandparents at the time, was ready to hop on a bus to anywhere before his sophomore year at Cooper in 1960. But Riley talked him into staying in school and playing football for the Cougars.

“If it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Waggoner told the Kerrville Daily Times. “I was going to quit, and I had an attitude that I didn’t want to do what people told me to do. (Riley) told me that I was going to be a hippie, I guess, and he told me to go get a hair cut. He made me stay and made me better.”

Waggoner would go on to be a three-year starter with the Coogs, and he spent 24 years in the Marine Corps after high school. He’s now in his 17th year with the San Antonio Police Department, where he’s a sergeant.

Riley, 78, lives in Kerrville. He retired from coaching in 1970, after six years at Sherman. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in September 2009, but was declared cancer free in May.