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Saturday, December 1, 2007
Life of a Coach’s Wife
Collin County, TX
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By: Cory J. Mageors
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Photo(s) By: Lou Goodrum
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Liz Brence has been married to Plano coach Gerald Brence – and the Plano football team – for 22 years
Plano head coach Gerald Brence has been coaching for 27 years. His wife, Elizabeth Brence, has been married to him and the Wildcats football team for 22 years.
Having raised three sons who all play football, Liz, as most people call her, is a busy woman.
“In all of the years he’s been coaching, I have only missed a couple of games,” Liz said. “They all want you to be there and I want to be there for them, too. As a mother, it’s kind of an instinct to want to be there in case anything happens or if they need anything.”
One year when Mike Hughes, now Plano West head coach, was on staff with Gerald, the Wildcats made a trip to Houston for the playoffs. Liz and Carolyn Hughes were unable to make the tour for the game, however they couldn’t bear to miss the action.
“The only way we could get the game was to listen to it on a radio in the garage,” Liz said. “Carolyn and I would take turns watching the kids while they napped and go listen to the game.”
The oldest son Ryan Brence played an entire career of youth football before moving on to West Point, where he is a senior for the Black Knights.
Middle son, Beau Brence, now a senior at Plano, plays defensive end for the Wildcats who finished regular season play with a 9-1 overall record. Just like older brother Ryan, Beau plays under father and coach Gerald.
Youngest son Collin, is a freshman at Vines High School and will not play with the pressure of a father as the team’s head coach. But the pressure of living up to his older brother’s and his father’s image will still be there.
“That shouldn’t bother him too much,” said Beau. “He’s probably the best athlete out of all of us. He’s probably going to be on varsity next year.”
At one point, Liz was attending four football games a week. Beau played on Mondays, Collin on Wednesdays, Gerald coached on Friday nights and on Saturdays; she would follow Ryan somewhere across the country to see him play.
Now that schedule has been trimmed down to three games a week, as Beau is playing under his father.
“She is the backbone of this family,” Beau said. “She holds it all together for us. She has made a commitment to raising and teaching young men. As a teacher, she is extremely busy and Dad has long hours, but she still makes it all work.”
One of the more symbolic ways that Liz is there for Gerald, is his wedding ring.
“Gerald has a general rule that he doesn’t wear his wedding ring unless it’s a special occasion or it’s a game.” Liz said.
That’s because he nearly lost it once.
When Gerald and Liz first got married, the Plano coach would always fiddle and spin his ring on his finger. One weekend, he was scouting at the Cotton Bowl and his nervous habit took over.
While he wasn’t paying attention, the ring slipped right off his finger and fell through the stands.
“I looked at the other coaches and said ‘I gotta go’,” Brence said.
In his own words, Brence bolted through the crowd and below the seating at the Cotton Bowl.
“All I could see was all of this gravel,” Brence said. “But I walked straight to it and found it in all of those rocks. Now I only wear it during games. But it’s part of her. It’s special to me and it helps me to be patient out there on the field.”
Though Liz builds her schedule around her family’s football agenda, she is still unable to make every game.
Sometimes the schedule has conflicts, such as when the Wildcats play on Saturdays, when college football generally rules the day.
In Beau’s junior year, Liz missed a Plano football game to see her oldest son Ryan play.
Apparently, Gerald and Beau were distraught throughout the game and some people could tell.
A good friend of the family, Mike Sigmund, saw Liz later in the week.
“You weren’t at that game last week, were you?” he asked.
“No I wasn’t,” Liz replied.
“I could tell,” Sigmund said. “I could tell just by looking at Gerald and Beau that something was different. I could just tell by the looks on their faces and their temperament, that you weren’t there.”
“Football is part of our lives,” Beau said. “It’s what Dad does and what this city does. It’s just another family outing for us. It’s what we do. When I look in the stands and see her, I get a sense of reassurance.
She was always there for Ryan, she is always there for me and Dad and she will continue to be there for Collin.”
When looking across the city of Plano, a variety of families revolve around the game of football.
A variety of mothers schedule their lives for Friday nights. Sometimes, just like this Rice Middle School teacher, they schedule their lives around a couple of different football games.
Liz can attest that she has made various friends sitting in the stands. She has met thousands of mothers and shared hundreds of screams of joy after a long touchdown or a big interception.
“We have been through highs and lows,” Liz said. “I remember back before they renovated John Clark, the wives would only get two tickets. But we all had so many kids. So we would all pack in real tight; we had some of the best nights watching football from there.”
Now, Liz sits in the athletic director’s box at John Clark.
She has earned it. After all, she has put 22 years into Plano football. On the opening night of the newly renovated stadium, Gerald’s mother Pearl Brence traveled from Lawton, Okla. to make the season opener.
Pearl was in awe of what her son had accomplished as a coach and what this city has built for its football teams.
Liz shares that same sense of pride every time she looks down at a football field and sees one of her sons making a play, or her husband pacing the sidelines.
When Beau was asked if he thought she would change anything, he never hesitated.
“No way,” he said. “Never. She loves her life and she loves us. She wouldn’t trade any of it for the world.”
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