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Saturday, September 1, 2007
Small-Town Guy
Central Oklahoma, OK
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New Edmond North football coach Jeremy Dombeck has gone from Sports Illustrated to small town. But now he’s the coach of the Class 6A Huskies.
I’m a small-town guy. I grew up in Henryetta. I haven’t got used to the traffic in Edmond yet. I let my wife drive; she’s a city girl. I think we need to expand the roads around here.
I played all sports, growing up: football, basketball and baseball and some tennis. I wouldn’t trade any of it.
My parents were outstanding. Both were bankers. They encouraged sports, but they never pushed. I can’t remember my parents meddling in it. They would ask me about practice or games and how things were going. If I said they were bad, my dad would tell me to go fix it, and talk to the coach. They trusted me and they weren’t the type to allow me to quit anything. They wanted me to be happy. I could have been an art major, and they would have been supportive.
My dad played for Bud Wilkinson at OU. So obviously, football has always been important to me. My dad always took me to games.
My mom always said I never liked playing with toys. There weren’t any video games around, so I guess I always had a ball in my hands.
It was an adjustment when I went to Wyoming. It was tough. I was only 17-years-old.
I went from starting against Morris to starting against Nebraska in Lincoln. I was 18-years-old playing against the No. 1 team in the nation.
Being in Sports Illustrated was my 15 minutes of fame. It was a game against Nebraska and I threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns. But then again, I threw three interceptions in the in the third quarter. Nebraska went on to win the national championship. I still have the game film and pull it out every once in a while.
I always enjoyed being in the film room. I suffered an injury my sophomore year at quarterback, and then lost the starting job, but I still liked being around the game. It’s funny how things work out. I couldn’t wait to get back to Oklahoma and get started coaching.
This job at Edmond North is the only job that could have pulled me away from the last one I had. I truly feel that I left my best team behind in Plainview. We had everybody returning. This was a hard decision, but the Edmond schools intrigue me, and I wanted to look into it. I love it here. I’d love for my kids to graduate from here. Plus my wife loves the shopping.
Sure, I’m nervous. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t, but I’m confident. I believe in our program. If we do things right, the winning will take care of itself.
Coaches sometimes try to win the war with the pen. We stay up here in the office too late. The game really just comes down to blocking and tackling.
My first year at Plainview, we went 1-9. It wasn’t fun. You question yourself and all the things you do. But we didn’t fall apart as a team. We sat down and knew there was a problem. You have to identify the problem and fix it. Then the next three years we made the playoffs.
I enjoy being a high school coach. The kids are the best part. Obviously, there are a lot of headaches, and a lot of hours trying to please a lot of people, but it comes back to the kids. You hear people talking about being a player’s coach. I just hope I relate to the kids and understand what they are going through.
There is nothing like a Friday night in Oklahoma. I get a bigger thrill hearing the band on Friday night than I did playing in front of 80,000 fans on Saturday.
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