Life lessons from a female football coach
From Paige McCoy Smith, the Not-So-Perfect Parent
 Susan Myers was successful. A Harvard grad and a Wall Street executive, Susan was excelling in business and in the roles of wife and mother. But when Susan moved to Texas, she fell in love with football. She began to master the technical aspects of the game and eventually left her investment banking career and started landing coaching jobs.
However, she really hit her stride this past year by writing the acclaimed new book, “The Complete Handbook of Coaching Wide Receivers," published by Coaches Choice and available on Amazon.com. It is being touted by football coaches at every level of the game from youth through the NFL as the “go to” manual for wide receiving coaching.
Coach Myers believes that “practice does make perfect” and that the “difference is in the details.” Coach Myers believes that through visualization in the mind and repetition in the body, you can become unstoppable.
Today, Susan is the passing game coordinator and varsity receivers coach at Carrollton’s Prince of Peace School. Although Coach Myers has the skills and ambition to coach at the college and professional levels, she finds tremendous satisfaction in working with high school and junior high athletes. I recently had a conversation with this pioneer and asked her about her new career, the kids, the coaches, and of course, the game of football.
You were a Harvard graduate and a Wall Street executive. What prompted you to make such a major life change and become a football coach?
When I moved to Texas, I started watching the Dallas Cowboys and I fell in love with the game. I had never been as intellectually curious about anything until football. I called the Emmitt Smith Football Camp and said, “I am twenty years over your age limit and the wrong sex, but I have to come to your camp.” They were very accommodating and that experience ignited my passion. Later, when I would drive by local high schools, I would have this overwhelming feeling that I should be on the field. As a result, I eventually started volunteering at local high schools until I landed my first coaching job.
What is the most difficult aspect of being a female coach?
My husband jokes when he says, “It is hard to make a living off of teenagers.” That is true for anyone in the education field – whether on the field or off. You must believe in what you’re doing. In addition, I do experience some opposition for being a female in this field. Resistance comes on three levels.
The first level is the kids. When first introduced, some kids look bemused, some look concerned, and others look like they want to throw a punch. Usually all the resistance is gone in about two days when they see that I know what I am talking about, that I have a lot of energy for the game, and that I don’t give up on them. I NEVER give up on them. My kids are my source of joy.
Parents are the second level of resistance. Although I have never been confronted by a parent, some of the other coaches have been challenged about my presence on the field. The good news is that the other coaches usually have my back.
The third level and the hardest level are the coaches. Some coaches feel the need to butt in and undermine my authority. Believe me, I am not a perfect coach and I make mistakes – like everyone else. Still, I have discovered that I have to stand up for myself and show that I am strong and that I am not the one to walk over.
What would you say is your locker room demeanor?
My style is extremely blunt – and that’s good and bad. I believe in a lot of feedback because I don’t want to just stand there and flip my whistle in the air. I can get mad, but when I do, it’s more to create energy and not to pick on a kid. At the same time, nobody gets more excited when something goes well. It is a magic moment for my guys and I want as many magic moments as possible for them.
How did your husband and daughter respond when you told them that you wanted to be a coach?
At first my husband thought it was fun that he had a wife that wanted to watch football. But it soon got old when I wanted to watch EVERY game – no matter how bad it was in hopes I could learn something. His philosophy has always been that you need to be doing something you enjoy and when you enjoy it, you will be successful. My transition to football was gradual. But when I went from being starry eyed around the players and started to become more fascinated by the coaches, he began to see that this was my life’s passion.
As far as my daughter is concerned, believe me, I feel like a Not-So-Perfect Parent most of the time. During football season, I am gone all the time and my husband tries to balance the home. I am sure that it is struggle for my daughter. I am there at the important things but I am not available for everything. She is, however, learning more self reliance and independence as well as being a good cook because I never do it.
What are some of the life lessons you have learned through this experience?
In 2004, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I believe in an attacking defense – let’s do everything. From treatment options to diet and exercise, whatever resources I had I wanted to throw at this thing. Plus, I was able to use three important lessons from the game and from my coaching in my recovery.
“Stay cool in the pocket”: This is a statement for quarterbacks. Just because you have a bunch of linemen coming in your face, you have to stay cool and not panic and stay in your game. You can never let the circumstances derail you.
“You’ve got to play the team that get’s off the bus”: No matter how big they are or how mean they look, when the other team pulls up to the field, you have to play the game. With cancer, this is not what I picked, this was not on my timeline, but it is what got of the bus and it is my job to play it to the best of my ability in every way.
“One play at a time” All of us sometimes look too far ahead. I think moms are particularly bad about that. But you must be in this moment and focus on what you are doing now. We spend too much time looking ahead and focusing on the trivia that we lose site of the moment.
But above everything else, the greatest lesson I have learned from football is resilience. It’s not what happens to you its how you handle it. You get thrown on your butt and you get up and try harder. You need to be proactive and lead the charge in what you want to happen in your life.
What life lessons do you hope to teach your daughter and other women?
The greatest lesson is to believe in yourself and go after your dream no matter how hard it is. My parents have been a huge influence. In fact, I wrote their tombstones: To Dad Who Taught Us How to Dream and To Mom Who Taught Us How to Make Our Dreams Come True.
One of the greatest compliments I received in my life is when someone asked one of the girls at my school what the guys thought of the new female football coach. She said, “Well the guys say she’s cool but to us she’s our hero.” I want them to know that they can do anything and to never, never give up.
Learn more about Paige
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