Weekly Column: Coach Thomas

We often talk about how much a town means to people; but it's good to remember how much a person can mean to a town:

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_12684138

Parkersburg, Iowa is populated by 1800 people. Last year, the town was in the news when a tornado ravaged through it. Football coach Ed Thomas lived through the disaster. But he didn't want his town to just survive it; he wanted his town to grow even stronger from it. And thanks to his leadership, it did.

He was heartbroken at the sight of the school being torn down by the storm. But he was not deterred. As the article notes:

"'I plan on rebuilding on the same spot," Thomas told the TV camera on Memorial Day 2008. Why? He loved football too much to even consider leaving Parkersburg in its time of most dire need, though there had certainly been higher-paying football jobs for the taking through the years. The coach's neighbors got on their hands and knees to pick shards of glass from the grass of the football field after the destructive storm. Brick by brick and one nail at a time, the high school and surrounding homes were slowly made whole again."

The football team, led by Coach Thomas, became an anchor for the entire community. It gave the whole town something to look forward to, to cheer for, to be a part of.

Having coached in the same town for years and having produced several players who later played in the NFL, Thomas could have left this four-figure city for greener football fields. But he didn't. He couldn't. As he said: "Our kids sure are special kids. That's why I've stayed here, because of the kids and this school and the people of this community. To me, there aren't any better."

Ed Thomas loved Parkersburg. He loved the impact he could have on the kids there. One of them was Casey Wiegmann, who now plays for the Denver Broncos.

"'It's hard to begin to talk about what he's meant to me,' Wiegmann said in an interview with The Denver Post. 'You're not just learning football stuff from the man, you're learning about life. My values, the way I run my life and treat my family and take care of people came from him.'"

And so it came as a great shock to the entire community when Thomas was gunned down this week by a former player. Yet even in death, Thomas once again is rallying the Parkersburg community.

When addressing the tragedy of the coach's death, Superintendent Jon Thompson, found inspiration in the coach's life. "I've heard Ed tell his players: 'When things get tough, when adversity is facing you or your team, you start by moving forward.' "

And so Parkersburg, Iowa will move forward...but it will never forget Ed Thomas.