Istrouma Coach Sid on Football

Why are grown men drawn to coaching football?  After all, it’s just a kids’ game.

With 44 years in coaching, Istrouma High head football coach Sid Edwards is former NFL National High School Coach of the Year. He is nearing his 200th win and is already the winningest coach in the Capital region.  He answered the question of why grown men coach football for the St. George Leader.

“Football is a way to change the world — one child at a time!” Coach Sid said. “It keeps you young.  It’s teaching, mainly teaching life’s lessons,” he said.

“Do you realize that over four years in high school, an athlete will spend more time with his coach than with his parents?” he asked.

“What we teach at Istrouma goes far beyond the lessons of the playing field.  It includes the importance of being a good son, a good husband, a good father, and a good member of the community. What we really try to do is teach character, the importance of giving of yourself, and devoting yourself to something bigger than yourself — to something great.” he said.

Coach Sid served as head football coach at Central High for 17 years before accepting the job at Istrouma.  At each school where he has been, he starts an organization called Men for Others.  It devotes itself to helping people in need and serving the community.  Participation by his team is mandatory.

Coach Sid said at Istrouma many kids think they have three options — become a rapper, become an NFL star, or take to the streets with a life of crime or drugs or both.  “We are committed to opening other doors for them so they can become a teacher, a lawyer, an astronaut or anything else of their dreams,” he said.

It’s also about teaching respect for themselves and one another. “Kids tend to tear each other down. We teach them to build each other up.”

Most of the players do not have a dad in their lives.

Leading the team will be returning All-State running back Kyree Paul, one of the state’s top players.

What’s it like being a white coach with an all-black team? The coach said, “I don’t care if it’s football or fire fighting or the police or the military or life, when you are part of a team and you’re in the battle, you pull together and fight for each other. You never think about race.”

What does the 2024 season hold for Istrouma football?  Coach Sid said no matter what the won-lost record ends up being, it will be a successful year.