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 Aurora, IL.- Aurora Christian High School(www.aurorachristian.org)
I had an opportunity to sit down with Don Beebe. Head Ball Coach at Aurora Christian High School. He has made Super Bowl appearances with the Buffalo Bills and has won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers. He is one of the most widely respected players that has ever put on pads in the NFL. The Aurora Christian Eagles, are 12-0 going into the I.H.S.A. 3A semi-final game vs. defending State Champion Plano. If they win this game they will advance to the State Championship game in Champaign, Il. Thanksgiving weekend. Quite a feat considering they have only had football at this school for 10 years.
As I entered the football coaches office at this school, Coach Beebe was busy working on his expansive playbook. There was a student-athlete in there watching game film. I shook his hand and settled in my chair. Here’s what we talked about.
SEAN COCHRAN (SC) - Coach. Your 12-0 going into next week’s game vs. Plano. One more game and you go down to Champaign. How is your team handling this and is it hard to keep their heads from getting big?
DON BEEBE (DB) - Well its something we’ve talked about since the beginning of the season and I know this is a cliché that you take one game at a time but this team has been able to do that as good as any team as I’ve ever been around as far as high school. We do take one game at a time. No matter if it’s a team that we should beat handily, or it’s gonna be a real tough week. They seem to handle themselves each week the same, which has been a good sign to see throughout the year.
SC - So no big ego’s running around throughout the hallways saying, “Yeah were the best?"
DB - Every once in a while I have to get on ‘em, you know these are 16 through 18-year-old kids. (So) when you go 12-0 you start thinking you’re bigger than life. I kind of reel them back in every once in a while. But with this team, that hasn’t been a real big issue. There’s been a couple of times where I have had to calm them down but it’s more them just being giddy.
SC - How much do you think the school being a Christian Academy has played into your success this season?
DB - Well, you know, I’ve been asked that question a lot. Is God on your team? Is God on your side? And I tell people, no. God’s probably on everybody’s side. God doesn’t care if we win or lose. What God cares about is what we do with that win or loss. As far as being an example of Him and winning or losing graciously. So, if that was the case, then why aren’t we 12-0 every year? All God asks is that you give it your all. Try hard; give Him the glory throughout that. And this team has been able to train really hard in the off-season. They’ve earned everything that they’ve gotten. And that’s why God has blessed this team because they’ve dedicated themselves to this football team. And through that, they’ve been very humble in the fact they have given God everything. So I think in that respect, God has blessed them.
SC - You guys put up a lot of points. Do you incorporate any of the offense that you learned at Buffalo or Greenbay into your offense here?
DB - Both. I’ve taken the west Coast offense over from Greenbay; with the terminology we used over in Buffalo and combined it into my own package. So, it’s a scaled down version but you’d be surprised how many plays we have. At one time, we had 76 pass plays and 36 run plays.
SC - Wow that’s a lot.
DB - Well there’s a lot of verbiage to the west coast offense. If you look at John Gruden’s offense, you would see that it’s (the verbiage) gotten to the point where it’s ridiculous.
SC - Well, do your guys have those plays written down on their sleeve or they have to memorize it because that’s a lot of plays?
DB - No. They have to know them all.
SC - I know they have to do a lot of studying.
DB - Well a lot of coaches kind of limit their kids in the sense that they don’t think their kids can learn it. Well, I think a kid can learn anything. Just teach them. So we spend a lot of time in the off-season. I’ve got a Quarterback who’s a great student of the game. He watches a ton of film. Studies his playbook, knows the stuff. I mean there are times where he corrects me. He'll say, “No coach, we can’t run that out of this formation" and I’m like, "Oh yeah your right.”
SC - Is he a senior?
DB - No, he’s a Junior. He’s only 12 touchdowns away from the all time record. So barring injury he should (break that).
SC - You mean, the Aurora Christian all time record, right?
DB - No, the IHSA record.
SC - What’s his name?
DB - Jordan Roberts. The record is 95 touchdowns in a career and he’s on pace for about 120 or something like that.
SC - From what I understand it wasn’t like this before you got here. I mean I know the football program is only about 8 years old.
DB - 10 years.
SC - What was their record the year before you got here?
DB - Oh, I don’t know. I didn’t really look into the history. I just know when I got here, the weight room that they had was about the size of this room. I’m not kidding, ya. The equipment that they had was a universal machine from back in the 60’s. (We both chuckled a bit at that comment) And now you can see our weight room now, Sean. It’s state of the art.
SC - Well, it’s huge now! The lady up front told me this building was a warehouse before.
DB - Yeah, it was. They gutted it and turned it into a school. And we’ve got this huge field house in the back where we do all of the training out of. And next year were supposed to have Field Turf with a huge stadium. (www.fieldturf.com)
SC - Where’s that gonna be?
DB - Right out here. There’s a grass field there now and they are gonna wipe out the whole parking lot and put it right out there.
SC - See what you’ve done coach? (We both laugh) Well, I mean see what you guys have done?
SC - I saw from the roster that your father and brother coach here? Do you guys ever disagree or cross paths when it comes to play calling or just overall team management?
DB - No. I mean I have a great relationship with my Dad and my Brother. My Brother has never questioned anything I’ve done. That’s not his style. I’ve never questioned anything he’s done. He’s the D Coordinator. I mean, the first year we coached together he was new at it. So after that year.. You know, he’s a student of the game. I guess that’s just how my Dad made us, I guess. (He says with a smile)
SC - Don’t you love coming to work and seeing your brother here?
DB - Oh, absolutely. My daughter goes to school here. And since then, I never say anything to my Brother. He runs the whole deal on defense.
SC - So this isn’t just a team, I mean this is family?
DB - Yeah it is. My 4 kids will go here. My coaches that we have here are all volunteer coaches. We don’t have any paid coach on our staff. And they commit themselves to this program as much as I do. It’s a really neat thing.
SC - Wow. I mean I have a daughter that’s 19 months old so I can’t imagine being able to have it like that.
SC - Does it bother you at all, that the 3A class doesn’t get the type of media and public attention as the larger classes?
DB - Um, well I gotta be honest with you. We’ve gotten more print in the last few weeks.. It’s amazing how much print were getting. I have not been dissatisfied nor have I really dwelled on that much at all. Um, the Chicago Tribune. (Coach Beebe then asks one of his players that was in the room watching game film for help on this question) “Chris, was it the Tribune or the Sun Times” Chris - “Both papers did a write-up on us.”
DB - Well the Sun Times just picked us in the top 20. They told us we’re the first 3A school to be picked in the top 20.
SC - (I say with pride) Well, I actually had you guys in the top 20 last week. I have you guys 12 now. Those are bigger publications of course but, yes this is the fist time ever.
DB - Yeah, according to the Sun times it is. Now are we worth that? (He says humbly) I don’t know. I just hope we win this week.
SC - Why did you pick Aurora Christian?
DB - God called me here. I was thinking about going to a high school and I think God called me to coach kids. One time I was just out at a movie with my wife, and I drove out east of the school here and started walking that football field out there; it was just rocks and dirt. And I just started praying about it. I got down on my knees and said, “Lord, if this is where you want me. Then just lead me to take this job or have this job open up and then I’ll take it. And I just started crying. I just felt like a great presence come over me. And I knew then that God had called me here. I knew that this, where the football field would be, is where I would disciple kids and I just used football as my avenue to do that. And sure enough they called me and asked me would I take the job.
SC - Was the job already open?
DB - No. Well what happened is the old coach. Coach Price had been coaching here for 3 years. He did a wonderful job with the kids. I just went to one of their games. After the game I talked to the AD because he had asked me 5 years ago to take the original job. I walked up to him and said, “hey if the job ever opens up, I’d be willing to take it”. Well two weeks later Coach Price decided that he was going to go coach at a school, Ben Davidson, in Indianapolis. So the job opened up.
SC - So, the old coach wasn’t “asked to leave?”
DB - Oh no, no, no. They wouldn’t do that here.
SC - Your first year coaching here. Did the players know who you were?
DB - Yeah.
SC - Also, what advice would you give to a current program that’s struggling to turn things around like you did here?
DB - First thing I would say is in life I’ve always been a person that says that in life you have to earn something. I firmly believe that if you put your time in… see most people, they don’t know what that means. They think that Oh, once or twice a week in the off-season is good enough or whatever. Uhh, that doesn’t work.. In God’s eyes, I don’t believe. As a former athlete I had to punish my body, I had to train. Really hard. And if my body wasn’t trained properly I might have 1, not have made it. 2, gotten hurt or been knocked out or whatever. But I just think if your going to turn a program over, you have to teach these kids how to (A). Commit to the program. (B) Believe in themselves and (C) Work harder than any normal 16,17,18 year old boy truly knows what that means. You know, because kids nowadays they sit and they go home and play XBOX. And they don’t know what hard work is. And so you have to teach them. That is the hardest thing to teach these kids, besides teaching these kids, how to be tough. You know sometimes in a Christian school uhh, they’re just nice. Which, there’s nothing wrong with that.
SC - Are they tough now?
DB - They’re getting there, yes. This is by far the toughest team we’ve had in 4 years. But, Reggie White, he said it best and obviously a great friend of mine. He said that Christian athletes should be the toughest guys on that football field because he’s playing for a higher power. He’s not just playing for himself. He’s playing for God. And if you really understood what that meant, Man you’d be running around as hard as you could, you’d be hitting people as hard as you can. Never quitting. And that’s they type of athlete were trying to instill here. Hard working kids.
SC - Who would the ideal opponent is if you were to make it to the championship game?
DB - Out of 2 that are in the South bracket? (Greenville and Columbia)
Uhh, Plano. (He starts to laugh)
SC - Why?
DB - Well they’re 5 minutes from here and I know Jim Green really well and the kids know each other and they can’t wait. The fans know each other. I’ve got a lot of friends in Plano. I mean, this is like a match made in heaven right here. These 2 teams going at it. Cause everybody knows each other. But out of the teams that are left? It doesn’t matter. I just hope we’re there playing one of them.
SC - Any final score pick?
DB - (He starts to smile) I don’t make predictions.
SC - (I’m laughing now) I had to ask, coach. I didn’t think I’d get that out of you.
SC - What’s more fun? Winning the Superbowl and going to all those Superbowls, or leading this team all the way?
DB - Whew, Umm. Well that’s a loaded question, Sean. (He says with a smile) Umm.
SC - Well, from a selfish standpoint, and then from a macro level.
DB - (exhales)
SC - I designed that to be a tough one.
DB - It’s hard to answer that question. I’m gonna answer it for you, but its two different perspectives. As a player I wasn’t nervous. As a player, there is probably more pride involved. I mean because I was performing. You know I had to make that catch or whatever it was to help that team win. The microscope was so much bigger. On a spiritual realm, this one will probably mean more because I see the effect its having on the kids, the community, the people, and the school. Not saying that winning the Superbowl with the Packers didn’t affect a lot of people, it did. But this is different. There’s just a lot more spirituality to it.
SC - Do you guys pray together before the games?
DB - Oh absolutely, we have Bible studies. This is a very spiritual group. No doubt. I mean, we understand why we”re playing. SC - That’s hot, actually.
DB - We completely understand. Even if you interviewed any of these kids and you ask them what are you playing for. To the kid, they’d probably say for God. And that’s not a cliché, they mean it.
SC - How would you describe your coaching style?
DB - My coaching style is one of…. I demand a lot out of these kids. They know when they cross the line, there’s consequences to pay. But at the same time, they all know I love them. And that’s a rare combination to get. Sometimes you get a lot of dictators as coach that none of the kids even like him. And then you get another that is just so nice, and so loving that he loses all respect. So neither one of those work. And I use Marv Levy as the best example because when you crossed the line with him, you had to pay. And you knew where you stood at all times. So, if you were late to the meeting, you paid. He didn’t care if you were Jim Kelly or the lowest guy on the 53-man roster. He treated everybody the same. Well, let me take that back. The guys that showed up and worked hard during the off-season, you know, they got favorites. Every coach has their favorites. But at the same time I always knew Marv cared a lot. He loved me. He’s a great friend now. We talk during the season. He’s just a great man. And a lot of the things he did, I try to do. I'll scold a kid during the game and then later on I’ll go up to him and say, hey I love you man and you know I’m on your side and were getting better and all that stuff. So, when a kid knows that...
SC - He’ll run through a brick wall for you.
DB - It’s kind of like raising kids. In your house, your own kids. Well if you don’t discipline your kid when they cross that line… If you keep telling them, hey its ok, it’ll be all right, we’ll get through it and you can have that and you can be out there…..and you can do this. That doesn’t work. Kids have to have some type of limitations. And this is the important thing. They need to know that you really, really care about them. And if they know that, you’ll get the best out of them. And that’s, in a nutshell, my coaching style.
SC - Last but not least coach, how do you want to be remembered?
DB - Ahh. I’m only 43. (He starts laughing) I'm not going anywhere for a while. Don’t put that tombstone up there yet! The one word I think a lot of people say about me is, I’m passionate. I'm a passionate guy. I’m passionate about these boys; I’m passionate about what we do here. I’m a committed guy. I’m very loyal. I’m going to tell you like it is. I’m a very honest guy. There’s not a whole lot of grey area with me. I’m black and white.
SC - So there’s not a whole lot of wondering what’s on your mind?
DB - No. These kids know where I stand. They know where my heart is. And they know that I’m very passionate.
SC - Coach, I appreciate your time. Chicagosporting.com is a newer website and I appreciate you taking the time to sit down with me.
DB - Sure. No Problem.
I thanked Coach Beebe for his time on behalf of the website. Of course, after that I pulled out a color picture of him kneeling and praying in the end zone after a score. He graciously autographed it for me. I then whipped out my digital camera and had his player take a picture of me with Coach Beebe. Hey, remember. I was born in 1975. I’m an original John Madden Player. I’m an original Tecmo Bowl Player. Some reading this article might not remember Don Beebe. But, I do. I remember watching him, Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, Jim Kelly and host of others. I remember playing Madden with my brother Corey. Corey used Buffalo and I would use Kansas City. I would try to pound him with Christian Okoye and he would run over me with Thurman Thomas. Those were the days. For all of you young guys out there who haven’t had the chance to see Don Beebe play. You missed a treat. (Films www.nfl.com ) The man was fast and could catch the pill like no one else. This guy would come over the middle, take big hits, and keep it moving. That is why I drove out to Aurora, IL to talk to him.
One of the great things about writing for Chicagosporting.com is that all of us here are sports fans. 1st and Foremost. To the best of my knowledge, none of us went to school for sports journalism. No one on staff here draws a paycheck. We write because we love sports. Period. I write because I am a fan. I write because I love…. Listen to me…. I love sports. If one day we start making some money then, heck, I'll take it. But on a personal note, the stories we write are from the heart. We don’t have someone on the 87th floor telling us where to go and who to talk to.
That is why I picked Aurora Christian. This is a school and a team with heart. This is a school and a team with soul. You won’t see them on the news every Friday. You might not even hear about them if they go 13-0. But, I walked their hallways. I had a chance to talk to a few students. You know what they had? Pride. You know what else? Humbleness. A quiet humbleness that makes you root for them even more.
Here is a group of people who not only love the game of football, but they love the Lord. This is something that I admire. This is something that is special. Best of luck Aurora Christian! Go Eagles! (Shout out to my main man Don Davidson. AD. Thanks again!)
Questions or Comments?
Sean Cochran
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