As football teams across Texas have been wrapping up their regular-season games, student-athletes and coaches alike have been left with feelings ranging from excitement to disappointment and everything in between. For one Kaufman County football coach, he has also been left feeling a bit lighter, and possibly chillier, physically speaking.
Coach Patrick Luecke, a past Forney resident, works with the athletics department at Crandall Middle School. He spends his days working to instill the physical skills his athletes need for success, as well as skills that will serve them their entire lives, like the ability to work hard, persist through difficulties, and work as a team. Coaching football, basketball, and track for the last six years in Crandall ISD has allowed Coach Luecke to build relationships with many young men who come through the program.
Jake Vanlandingham is no exception. This is Jake’s second year to be coached by Coach Luecke, though he has known him even longer. Jake’s older brother, Luke, was also coached by Luecke when he was in middle school. With the rapport Jake and Luecke have established over time, it was no surprise to Luecke when Jake approached him at the beginning of the season with a wager of sorts.
“Our 8th grade group lost one game last season, as 7th graders, which was how they missed the district championship game,” Coach Luecke explained. “They were determined to win it all this season. Jake said at the beginning of the season that he would shave his head if they lost one game. In return, I would shave my beard if both A & B teams went undefeated and won the District Championship. All the boys jumped on board and made sure to remind me of the bet each week after we won. They would also let me know in the middle of close games not to worry about losing because they wanted to see my beard come off.”
Luecke said he knew from the minute he made the bet that he would lose. “They were determined!” he remembered.
Fast forward to the recent end of the regular season, and Crandall Middle School’s 8th grade A and B teams both delivered on their end of the deal: both teams wrapped up a perfect season. “The district we play in is a tough one, so to go undefeated is an accomplishment,” Coach Luecke said. “Warren Middle School (in Forney) is in our district and accomplished it last season with a very talented group.”
To top it off, the boys took it a step further, and the 8th grade C team had an undefeated season as well.
Every player and coach in the program was proud of their accomplishments, and rightly so. But as if this accomplishment wasn’t exciting enough, the teams were just as excited to have Coach Luecke follow through on his promise. On the afternoon of November 3, Luecke said, “The beard came off.”
While shedding his beard may be a sacrifice in some people’s eyes, it’s a small one in the grand scheme of things. Coach Luecke has his sights set on things much bigger than his beard. He’s working to leave a positive impact on the young men in the Crandall athletics program. His hope is, through the experience of being a close-knit group of young men who work together day in and day out to do hard things, that they’ll grow to be men who are equipped to face all that life puts in their paths. Coach Luecke says that he hopes “that they have all the confidence in the world to tackle what is in front of them each step of the way through life.”
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