Jan
From 8-17-14
Through the years we have always tried to give our players the credit and recognition they deserve, in various ways with trips, banquets, & awards such as the Most Valuable Player. There is no doubt, in my 50-year coaching career (or for my entire life), who is the Most Valuable person--my wife, Jan!!
If you have read my stories, you already know that we have written about how I fell in love with her when she was only 14, our family, how the death of star player Billy Dean Rutledge influenced my career--& the total commitment she made to enhance my coaching career--& my life--all this, while rearing four children!! In just 3 short weeks, we will celebrate our 60th year of marriage!! On many occasions such as our banquets, sometimes I might not even mention her name, but our players have always been well-aware of her valuable contributions & what she has meant to them. I coached almost 1800 varsity basketball games in my career, & Jan only missed 5 games, while rearing 4 children! I was the head football coach in 215 varsity football games, and Jan only missed one game! If you total the number of varsity basketball & football games I coached, it comes to exactly 2,000 games. Jan missed only 6 of those games, and has had many other responsibilities, not only for the team, but also for her family! Many people have wondered how we have all the information from games, some of which were played well over a half-century ago!! Jan, in addition to keeping the basketball scorebook, took pictures, filmed the football games & assisted the many who helped keep the individual game stats--all while keeping up with her children! The toughest part of all our stats was when we reviewed our game films to make sure that each player's stats were accurate. At the end of the season, Jan would compile a complete set of stats into a booklet which was made available to our players, fans, and others---& we have the stats & other information (pictures, articles, etc.), as the capability improved through the years. (In our earlier years, it was a "nightmare" trying to keep all of this with only a pencil, pad, mimeograph machine, etc.). Some of the later booklets totaled as many as 40 pages, with complete sets of stats. In 2010, our family gave us a special Christmas gift---the website: www.coachronaldmbradley.com, which has much information from all of our football & basketball games. One of our regrets is that we didn't have the opportunity to keep accurate stats for our baseball games, but we do have the team records. One time, a football parent asked why she never saw Jan at any games, and said, "She must not like football." Jan replied, "You're not looking in the RIGHT spot!! Look at the highest point in the stadium & look behind the camera and you'll see me!" The responsibilities Jan has handled throughout my career & my life are so numerous, that I could NEVER give her the proper credit she has earned!! I have received almost every award available to a high school coach, but none is more precious than the words that are on the plaque which hangs at the entrance of the gymnasium (named for me) at Newton County's Turner Lake complex in Covington, Ga. This is a poem written by lifetime-friend, Darrell Huckaby. The first part was written in 1983, and the second part was written in 2011, at the end of my career.
