On the Field, In the Family: John Glenn and the Edwards
NEW CONCORD, OH – He only has one year with both of his sons on the John Glenn football team, and head coach Matt Edwards is certainly making the most of the moment.
Over a decade now into his tenure in New Concord, Edwards has plenty of proud moments to look back on, but none may bring him greater pride than coaching his two sons: Owen and Jackson.
“It’s certainly special, you know, being a coach in general” says Edwards. “I feel like every single year, I have 50 or 60 kids out there that are my own, and we really relish that moment. But when they’re your own kids, every Friday night’s a reminder that there’s only so many of these times that I get to do this.”
Edwards only has one year left with Owen as his senior quarterback, and sometimes it’s difficult not to be emotionally invested when there’s only so much time left.
The Muskies’ head coach continues, “Every single one of those pregame speeches, you know, I’m thinking about the end unfortunately, because it’s also there. Then I look over at Jackson, and see that we still almost have four years left of him”.
Whether it’s the last run of Owen or the beginning of Jackson’s freshman journey, it truly is a blessing to have a son on his team. Though the same can be said about playing for your dad.
“It’s special, not everyone gets to do it.” says Owen. “I always feel like I have someone that I can talk to, pretty much anywhere. There’s always just someone that I can talk to about more than football, just about life in general.”
The elder Edwards son also notes that his father is his ‘go to’.
Jackson chimes in, “It’s definitely a whole new experience, being up here, having him [Matt], just being able to talk to any time. Hardly any kids ever get to do this and get to be with their dad in sports. I’m really thankful for it.”
Whether as a coach or a father, Coach Edwards can be pretty busy during practice or games, so how does one get his attention? It turns out it’s a little tougher than one would think Owen and Jackson attempt an alternative method.
“I don’t really say anything, I just try to get his attention any way I can” ponders Owen. “I don’t really know what to call him. It should be ‘coach’, but that just doesn’t seem right.”
Instead of referring to him as ‘coach’ or ‘dad’ at practice or games, the Edwards boys resort to locking eyes or waving arms around to garner attention. Once you do grab his attention, you can tell that it is not easy for dad to be coach, and vice versa.
“We’ve always talked about it in the car ride home. At some point, the coach hat comes off, and we got to put the dad hat back on. Once we hit the garage, I’m back to being dad.”
There is still a long way to go until the goodbyes come around, but Matt Edwards is cherishing every moment with both of his sons as Muskies.
