What a great weekend for the Cowboys this weekend in Brownwood. HSU swept the series and took over sole possession of first place in the ASC West. That in itself was a great accomplishment. In a year of balance in the ASC West there have been only two sweeps in the league so far.
In the process of the sweep, Steve Coleman won his 300th game as the head coach of the Cowboys. He is far and away the career leader in wins at HSU and Coleman is the dean of ASC coaches in his 13th year in the league.
His teams are consistently in the ASC playoffs. In fact, the Cowboys are the only team in the ASC West to advance to the ASC Championship Series in each of the first five years of the format. He has been close to the ASC title several times.
I don’t know of another coach who is more deserving of a conference title. He has put in the work, recruited great players and kids to the school and put them in a position to win seemingly every year.
Personally, Steve has been a great friend to me since I have been in Abilene. He always takes care of me when I am on the road with meals and hotels when he doesn’t have to. He makes you feel a part of the program and trust me that is not always the case in collegiate athletics.
A few things that I really admire about Steve.
The first is how he treats his players. He may be the most fair coach I have ever seen. He does not mind putting freshmen in the game, he plays the best person and doesn’t care who likes or does not like that. He is not afraid to get on a player when they need and he is also the first one to put his arm around a kid and tell him what he needs to be doing to help the team. He wants things done the right way and you know what, I think, his players appreciate that the most about him. I would say by percentage you see more former players come around the program even years after they are gone, moreso than any other program on campus. Rarely do we go on the road that we don’t see a former player at the game.
The second thing is how he handled coaching his two sons. Both Chad and Brad played for the Cowboys for four years. The big difference is Brad was a starter from day one and was a great player. Chad was more of a role player. That didn’t matter to Steve. I am sure he probably had pressure from across the dinner table to get Chad more at-bats or playing time, but he did what was best for the team. It had to be a hard situation, but both kids accepted their roles and I never heard Chad complain one time about not playing. He did everything that was asked of him and probably cares about the program more than anyone. The thing about both of them is they are great people and have followed in his footsteps as coaches.
The third is his lovely wife Lisa. Lisa may be the perfect coach’s wife. You will always see her at the games in her seat right by the gate at home games. You will also see her on the road where she travels with the team. She takes every loss hard and enjoys every win. She always makes the teams snacks and is one of the most supportive people you will meet. She is not afraid to get on to Steve when he needs it. She also makes the best peanut butter and honey sandwiches ever. If you never had one, just ask her I am sure she will hook you up. She also opens her home for guys’ night and there is always a spread, with all of the fixings. You can sometimes even find her playing some Guitar Hero.
I think I speak on behalf of all of the former players, graduate assistants, coaches and everyone in the program congrats on 300 wins. When you finally get that ASC title (and it is going to happen some day) it is going to be a great day and all of the hard work will be worth. Like I said earlier, you deserve it and what a great celebration it’s going to be.
