Football coach chooses family over the headset

One from the heart

Hoover football coach will vacate the sidelines to watch his son play.


(The Fresno Bee -- Updated Thursday, September 9, 2004, 5:48 AM)

High school coaches face a lot of tough calls. A running play? A pass? Kick a field goal on fourth down at the one-yard line, or try to score the touchdown?

Not coach the team during its games so you can watch your own son play football for another high school?

That's the tough call Pat Plummer made, and he got it right.

The long-time Hoover High School coach won't be on the Patriots' sideline this fall when their games conflict with those of Clovis High School, where the coach's son, Shawn, has won a place on the varsity roster as a sophomore.

Plummer will coach the Hoover team through the week, and watch films of the games over the weekend to evaluate his players. But on Friday nights, it will be longtime assistant -- and now co-head coach -- Rick Lyons who will call the shots for the team. In the meantime, Plummer will be in the stands at the Clovis games, watching his son.

The problem could have been finessed, of course, if Shawn had decided to attend Hoover and play for his dad. But he's a life-long resident of the Clovis High area, and chose to stay with his friends -- another Plummer making the right call.

Everyone acknowledges that the situation this year at Hoover games will be -- well, weird. Or at least very unusual. But it's hard to put it any better than Pat Plummer did: "My son is my son. That Hoover football program is my baby. We make tough decisions we have to live with. This one was tough, but it also was pretty simple. My family comes first."

 

I'm not a local, and this is my first thread in the Preps forum. But this article was on the front page of our paper here in California, and I wanted to brag on my old coach a bit.

Pat Plummer was my P.E. coach at Hoover back in '88-'89 and my football coach in '89-'90. I didn't know him well, but he was always fair. If you busted your behind for him, you earned his praise. If you slacked off, you earned his fury. And he was the kind of coach you wanted to bust your behind for. I had, and have, a lot of respect for the man.

Just thought y'all might appreciate reading this.

 

:applause: great call coach!

 

Also a big fan of Coach Plummer

I didn't know coach Plummer very long, but he made a huge impact in my life. I moved to the Hoover High area from the Clovis West area just in time for my freshman year and played for the 0-10 frosh squad.

I begged him often to let me practice with the varsity for just one day. I wanted to know what it was like to hit with the big guys. He denied my requests all season, but to my surprise he invited me to come to the playoffs with them at the end. I got a whole WEEK of practices before we traveled to, and unfortunately got beat by, Bakersfield.

Later that year my family moved to Southern Cal. Because I had participated on the varsity squad for Coach Plummer, Moorpark High School took me straight to the Varsity squad for my Sophomore year, and I was a starter after a few games on Offense, Defense, and Special Teams.

Coach Plummer didn't just give me that opportunity, he allowed me to earn it. Some day I would love to thank him in person. For a young man with very little self confidence, that sense of worth and self confidence carried over into every aspect of my life and into adulthood. I'm still proud of it today.