All Gave Some.... Some Gave All

All Gave Some... Some Gave All

Josh uses this phrase a lot with his football players. It is a military motto that most of the Armed Forces use. If you think about the phrase and break it down- its pretty powerful and it stands for bravery, commitment and determination.

Josh didn't google military quotes, he had a good friend that used it.

That friend was a High School Football Coach and a Trainee in the United States Army.

Josh and I moved to Cedar Park in 2005 and he and Jay knew each other because all middle school coaches help out the High School coaches on the weekends and he was at Canyon Ridge MS with Coach Darrell Knight at the time. Over that first year, Coach Sevier showed a ton of promise- he was a hard worker and wanted to learn more and more.

In fall 2006, Coach Sevier joined the the Cedar Park staff and he started helping Josh with coaching the Linebackers. Coach Sevier was amazing with the players and worked really well with all the coaches.

We had a lot of time to hang out with him on the weekends and he was really such a nice, sweet and good-looking young man.

In June of 2007- Jay went to Coach Ross and told him that he had always wanted to join the United States Army and after a lot of conversations with his mother and father, he made the decision to end his teaching contract and join in the Special Forces of the United States Army.

Because he already had his degree, he was able to join the Army as a Lieutenant and went straight into Special Ops. He wrote us a few letters and we received several emails. He was still in training in the US and he was learning Arabic.

This past Saturday we received a call from one of Josh's friends that is coaching at Pflugerville Hendricks, who also knows Jay. Josh and I were at Corey and Taylor Elrods watching the UT game when Coach Killian called and told Josh that he was not sure exactly what had happened but that Coach Sevier had passed away that afternoon.

It was a shock to us and to all of us that knew him. Mostly because he was still here- he was not overseas. We have no idea exactly what happened, but all that matters to us is what his family must be going through this past week. We will be attending his service.

Jay was an amazing, courageous young man. It is a huge loss to us in the coaching profession, but we know that Coach Sevier got out of coaching to do something that he felt like he was called by God to do and even though he was not in battle, he died doing what he felt like God was calling him to do. He made an important choice concerning what he felt was the best way to give back his community and his nation and he served our nation for us, to protect me and my family and you and yours. If my boys grow up to be like someone, I hope it is Coach Sevier.

*I want to point out that this next part comes from an article that Brad Cone wrote in 2007 about Jay Sevier. I wish I could take credit for this, but honestly the way he wrote it was amazing and I wanted to share it with you.

There are many who question the value of football, and indeed all scholastic athletics. Some wonder at the spectacle we make of the competitions. They question the proportionate gain football might provide for the young men. The answer could be found in Jay Sevier. Football is a concentrated laboratory that provides for the rapid development of all the attributes a young man will need to succeed at life. It is fertile ground for growing character, drive, determination, and honor. Football builds a solid foundation for the human experience. Football builds men like Jay Severe.

When we talk about heroes and courage in football, we're talking about what we see in young men that later in life enables them to do the extraordinary things, among these the making of that most honorable of all choices; the choice that Jay made 2 years ago, he took it upon himself to suborn his own wishes in order to defend a nation that remains the last, best hope for mankind, to expend the currency of courage to purchase our right to live with liberty, and justice for all.

When we talk about dedication, drive, character, ethics and victory, the certain knowledge that our young men will grow up to be like Jay Sevier is exactly what we have in mind.

Rest in Peace Coach Jay Sevier. Thank you for all that you did for us as a valued Coach and friend. But most of all thank you for standing up and doing something that you felt strong about and serving our country and protecting me and those that I love. You were and will continue to be an inspiration to us all and I am sure that even now- you are watching over us and will continue to protect us.

On Friday night, our forthcoming, we will be playing the game to honor you!

"All gave some,

some gave all...

some stood through for the red, white and blue,

some had to fall....

and if you ever think of me,

think about all your liberties and recall...

some gave all."