REPLAY Protecting your marriage as a coach

Episode: REPLAY Protecting your marriage as a coach
Host: Chris Doelle
Interviewer: Brian Wood (OC, Wayland Baptist; ROC Mentoring Program) & Brandi Wood

Topic: Marriage and coaching — making it work together.

• Brian’s 3 tips for young coaches: be loyal to your school, save money, marry right.
• Coaching is a mission field, not just a job. Brandi embraced that mission as her own.
• She handled the bulk of parenting (“I was not one to say ‘wait till your father gets home’”). They co-parented, but she carried the day-to-day.
• Date nights became non-negotiable — every Wednesday, driving from Shallowater to Lubbock for supper. Started ~8 years ago; never stopped.
• They forgot to invest in their marriage for a stretch — and it showed.
• Communication and honest conflict matter. “You gotta fight.”
• Don’t bring wins/losses home. Remember you have a second job: husband and dad.
• A coach’s life is uniquely public — every call, every loss is critiqued. The spouse absorbs that too. Brandi learned to let criticism roll off and to protect Brian from things said in the stands.
• Attended their first Coaches Outreach marriage retreat last summer; wished they’d gone years earlier.
• Brandi’s superpower: bonding coaches’ wives into a tight group (retreats, fellowships, team-building).
• Successful programs prioritize culture, family, and character — not just X’s and O’s.
• “It takes what it takes.”

Reminders: Educate, Excel, Play campaign | Texas Coaches Leadership Tour | Sportsmanship initiative

Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA): www.thsca.com

Produced by Fresh Media Works
http://www.freshmediaworks.com

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