Frank A. Martin was my high-school girls varsity basketball coach. Coach Martin was a very interesting man. I think when people reflect on his character some of the leading attributes would be respected, tough, dedicated and a softy at heart.
There are horror stories, don’t get me wrong. He had four daughters and each of them had played ball for him and would say the same. Christmas Eve practice was both a dreaded and loved day. It would always start “on the line” and we would run suicides until some were sick. If one person didn’t make the time we had to do the set all over again, it was miserable. But then, at the end of the worst practice of the year, we would go up to his classroom where he would have presents for each of us under a miniature plastic Christmas tree. We would all celebrate, talk, laugh and do our annual gift exchange. It was as though he was a father to our team. Tough love was his motto, yet, at the end of the day you knew he cared for each and every one of us.
My sister who is four years younger than I, was lucky to have an incredible season of basketball that our small town will never forget. Every year Coach came up with a new team slogan, theirs was “one heartbeat”, symbolizing a team as one individualized unit. When their team won sectionals, then regionals, it was clear that they had indeed one heartbeat. It was nice as a previous Lady Gator and with a sister still involved to keep up to date on their season, especially their success. I remember that regional game, and his fist pump into the air when they won. The whole team surrounded him hugging one another, smiling and jumping with excitement.
That night the team had an escort into town because they would be headed to States. They gathered with half the town into one small bar to celebrate. I was lucky to meet them there, and got to congratulate Coach with a hug. We talked for a while, catching up, and I gave him one last hug goodbye and wished them luck at States. They ended up losing, but it was the fact that they made it there after his many years of coaching that mattered most.
The next week Coach went in for surgery. It was just like him to put it off until the end of season. It wasn’t a huge deal, no one was worried about a thing. Doctors even assured it was an easy procedure and that he would be recovered within a few weeks to teach and coach again.
When I got a text saying he had passed I couldn’t believe it, really no one could. He was involved in so many lives that I think our community stopped functioning to think about how we could even begin to recover. Our school suffered without him.
It is hard to lose someone that you feel is invincible, and maybe to some aspect we feel that way about anyone we are close to in life. Being the strong man he was, I think Coach would tell us we need to work as a team to figure it out. It has definitely been a slow healing process for my small town, but I think if we can work together, with one heartbeat, it would be a testimonial to the life lesson Coach Martin taught us all.
