Sometimes all you need is an opportunity. Sometimes all you need is a chance. And sometimes your first opportunity comes from chance.
My name is Patrick Carpenter, and I have been a musician for over 10 years now. I love music. It’s been in every major aspect of my life. Luckily, God not only gave me the gift of music, but He also made me a nerd as well.
The primary subject I “nerd out” about outside of music is football, especially the quarterback position. Being from Mississippi, my football hero was the largest football icon there was, who also happened to be from my state — Brett Favre.
The way that Favre played as an athlete spoke to me as a musician. Favre improvised; he had fun; he loved every moment and was not afraid to make mistakes. As a guitar player, I had the same mindset when it came to how I approached the instrument.
This past spring, I had an idea. I knew I only had a few hours left to complete my undergrad degree, so I was looking for something to “fill” my time during the summer. In the back of my head, I kept hearing many of my instructors in my academic department saying, “Never be afraid to tackle what you fear the most. Take chances.” At some point, I got the idea to be a coach.
I have studied football relentlessly and have been in several leadership positions. In my head, I knew I was more than prepared to be a coach. I knew I had the tools, but was it something that was really worth stepping outside of my comfort zone? If I were to completely fall in love with this, I would be making a huge career transition.
After many long nights trying to convince myself to do this, I finally got the courage to start looking around. I began by looking through my notes from my Radio Programming class taught by Don Caldwell.
Mr. Caldwell brought in Doug Matthews to speak in the Spring of 2015. Many in the Nashville area know of Matthews as one of the more famous and popular radio personalities, but I was more interested in his previous position. Coach Matthews was the former defensive coordinator for the University of Tennessee. In fact, Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden was one of his former interns (Gruden is another hero of mine).
When Coach Matthews mentioned that Gruden was an intern, I don’t think I heard another a word he said that day. I couldn’t believe that there was such a thing as a “coaching intern.” Coach Matthews advised me that if I was interested in coaching, I should seek out an internship.
So I had a starting point.
So, with no real playing experience outside of some fantastic backyard football games in which I threw the game winning touchdown pass, I began my hunt for an internship.
I did have one thing going for me. The summer of 2015, I was asked to create a workout for a few high school players I knew from back home. One of those players, a tight end, made his way up on the depth chart and is now playing Division III football. So that little bit of experience definitely helped.
However, as I mentioned before, I’m a nerd about football. My bookcases are filled with books about my faith, music and the West Coast offense. It’s something I know my way around. But to think I actually belonged in a coach’s office? I still hadn’t convinced myself.
I emailed various high schools in the Nashville area. I was blatantly honest about everything. I mentioned that I wanted to work primarily with game plan, quarterbacks and on-field application. To my surprise, almost every high school I contacted brought me in for an interview. There was one school where the moment I walked in I knew it was where I was supposed to be.
Franklin High School.
Coach Donnie Webb mentioned in his email to me that he “wanted to help me as much as he could.” I knew this would at least lead to something.
The day I walked in to the coaches’ office, Coach Webb and I sat down to discuss what I wanted to get out of this. I could tell instantly that he had my best interest in mind. He offered me the opportunity to be an assistant coach and to work with the position group I wanted — especially if I wanted to work with the quarterbacks.
I was literally dumbfounded by the opportunity he had just offered. I would learn everything the first few months of the summer and would basically be “set free” after that with my group.
I got brave and asked Coach Webb what type of defense he was running, and he told me what his base defense was. I asked, “Oh, so are you using the safety . . . ?” Okay, I can’t really tell you what I said because I can’t give away our defensive scheme, but he looked back at me and said, “Actually yes, that is exactly what we are doing.”
I couldn’t believe I was talking about real football with a real head coach. He told me to go home and take some time to think about it. The following weekend I emailed him. I wanted to do it.
Today, I write this as Coach Carpenter.
The first day for 7 a.m. weights, I questioned myself during the whole drive to FHS trying to figure out if this was going to be worth it. I walked in about 10 minutes late and none of the players knew who I was. The whole time I’m walking around awkwardly meeting the other coaches and not saying anything to the players.
I was still trying to figure out why I was there. I didn’t even know if they would respect me since I’m only five years removed from high school.
At the end of weights that day, Coach Webb huddled everyone up to give his talk. At the end he pointed towards me and said, “Look everyone; this is Coach Carpenter, and he is going to be with us this season. He’s from Lipscomb. He’s one of our coaches.”
When the players left the huddle, the first player to approach me was one of our linebackers, Colin. He walked up and said, “Hey, Coach Carpenter, my name is Colin. I play middle linebacker.”
Hearing him call me, “Coach” assured me I made the right decision.
The first step I took horrified me, but don’t let your own self stand in your way. Take a chance. If you’re like me then you will question every step you take, but I challenge you to get out of your comfort zone.
Who knows, you might end up coaching quarterbacks.
– Coach Carpenter