His hands in the air, Coach Jeff Quackenbush shouts above the music – “Paradise City” if I remember correctly. Players lean in trying to hear him.
They’re not going to lose. I know that.The Newark Wildcats have been dominating, pressing hard, a defense that could stop a freight train.
But that’s not the point. The coach is teaching.
Teaching. It’s teaching. Maybe the boys know that now, maybe they don’t. But maybe they’ll look back and remember this moment and the people who lifted them up, the fans who cared, the man who is laser-focused with his hands in the air. Maybe they’ll remember all of this.
The coach is reaching towards his students, and they are learning.
It’s easy to forget that we’re in a high school building when you get all wrapped up in the game, rooting for the team, sitting on the edge of your seat.
In this moment, the Massillon Tigers had closed the gap. And so the coach had to do some teaching. Some reminding. And he’s saying something like, “don’t ever give up.” Something like, don’t quit.
The students are learning. And the coach, he’d probably admit, is learning too.
(And if you haven’t seen this team play this year, you ought to.)
Have a Bright Spot to share? Send it to Managing Editor Julia Lerner (lernerj@denison.edu). Tell us about the moment that made you smile in under 200 words, and try to include a photograph. We’ll add it to our growing list of Bright Spots on TheReportingProject.org!