I have been out of coaching for thirty years, but the memories are as strong as if they were only yesterday. Some of my fondest memories are of the late Coach Bill Ruple. Coach Ruple was the Head Football Coach for many years at Neville High School in Monroe, Louisiana. I could share many stories concerning Coach Ruple. Much of his coaching was between the ears and started long before the games began.

One of the most humorist stories was when he shared what influenced him to go into coaching. Coach Ruple went to Ruple High School in Ruple, Louisiana. He told me that he always carried his lunch in a syrup bucket. He noticed that his coach always came with a store bought sandwich. He thought that would be mighty nice to have enough money to buy a store bought sandwich. If the football coach had enough money to buy a store bought sandwich then that is what he wanted to do.

He never made a coaching move by accident. If Coach Ruple had not been a football coach, he could have been very successful as a psychologist. What I learned from Coach Ruple about the mental part of the game is what the television ad says. "It is priceless."

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