THANK YOU, COACH BRUNO
I’m no angel, and I never was, but I learned a few lessons along the way towards manhood that have helped me shape my life and put me on the right track. This writing is about one of those lessons. One I have carried through most of my seventy-eight years.
I transferred to Asbury Park High School from Long Branch High School after football season in my sophomore year under tumultuous circumstances. While attending Long Branch, I played football from freshman to JV to Varsity.
Each year the plays became more sophisticated, and by the time I was playing Varsity, we were given an elaborate playbook. This playbook was considered secretive and was to be guarded with your life. It was the key to the entire offensive system of the team. It was the most amateurish of offensive football schemes one could imagine. At the end of the season, the playbook was returned and stored under lock and key.
My removal from Long Branch High was so swift that I didn’t have the opportunity to return the notebook. When we arrived in our new home in Asbury Park, while unpacking, I found my Long Branch playbook stashed away in a cardboard box along with my other possessions. I was delighted that I still had it in my hands. I found pleasure in thinking that the powers that be in Long Branch would spend sleepless nights wondering about the whereabouts of the super-secret playbook. I even hid it in my underwear drawer, thinking it would be well concealed in the event of a midnight raid by my former teammates.
As I indicated, I was having some issues. My life was terrible. My existence at home was a challenge. We lived in a three-room apartment. My folks slept on a convertible sofa in the living room, and my space was in the small bedroom. We had one bath, a kitchen, and a dining area. My dad couldn’t make ends meet and was a disappointment to my mother, who continuously harangued him. The continuous screaming and yelling were the worst. When they were done beating on each other, they would direct their fury on me. It sucked. It also didn’t help that I was a bad kid, to begin with.
Things were so bad that I wouldn’t want to come home, and I slept around wherever I could – many times in the lobbies of the small hotels in the area. Sometimes I would stay at a friend’s house and sometimes in vacant cars. Eating was another issue. It seemed the only relief I had was either by going to school or just hanging out with a couple of friends.
Fast forward to footbałl season. I had no intention of furthering my high school footbałl career until Coach Bruno insisted that I play. One day he grabbed me by my collar and demanded that I tell him why I didn’t go out for the team. He told me that he expected me to pick up my equipment, and he wanted to see my ass on the field the next day. Wow, this legendary coach was paying attention to me. I was taken back, but what the heck.
I showed up the next day and every day until the week of the Long Branch game. It’s worth mentioning that over that period, coach Bruno became my father figure. He took an interest in me, and I reciprocated by playing my heart out for him. He kept tabs on me most of the time did his best to keep me on the straight and narrow. What Coach didn’t know was the miserable time I was having at home. Looking back, I suppose I should have shared that information with him.
The last thing I ever wanted to do was to disappoint him in any way. I would have rather had taken poison.
Early in the week of the Long Branch game, I had a terrible day at home. It was so bad that I skipped practice the next day. I was distraught. That night I realized I would have to face Coach Bruno the next day.
The next morning I took my super secret Long Branch playbook to with me to school. It didn’t take long for Coach to find me in homeroom and called me out. He took me into the library. He sat me down and asked why I missed practice the day before. He went on to tell me he knew about my situation at home but never mentioned it before for fear he would embarrass me. I was overwhelmed and didn’t now what to say or do.
Then he noticed the playbook and asked what I had there. I handed the book over to him, and he fingered through the page. He closed the binder and handed it back to me while smirking.
He said “Rodey, we don’t need this. Using this information is wrong, it’s cheating. If you need to cheat to win the game, the game isn’t worth playing.”
Coach gave me a big smile and grabbed me behind my neck and gave me a fatherly pat on my shoulder.
It seems to me that every day I think about that meeting with Coach and I tell the story whenever I can. I think I have learned a fabulous lesson and I am sure Coach Bruno would be very proud of me for passing it along.
I’ve been doing my best.
