Every educator and every coach must possess a strong desire to help better the children in their school district in the classroom and on the playing fields. It takes sacrifice and support to be effective, too. At Prairiland High School, one man lives to serve and have a positive impact on the student-athletes he has come in contact with during his 30-plus year career in the field, and it all started with positive experiences during his time as a high school-aged student-athlete.
“I played here in Prairiland in high school,” said Steven Weddle, head boys basketball coach and athletic director at Prairiland High School. “This may be hard to believe, but believe it or not, I was actually the track MVP my senior year. But, I really fell in love with football and tried to find somewhere to play in college. Athletics helped me a lot. I had a varsity coach take me under his wing, and the relationship I had with him made me want to coach more than anything.”
The coaching seeds were planted in a young Weddle’s brain, but the undersized yet determined defensive lineman refused to give up his dreams of playing college football until reality set in for him.
“During my senior year, I will never forget our 34-13 win over Mt. Vernon,” Weddle said. “The fans came down with balloons for our senior night game, and I still remember thinking that I wasn’t done even after that game was over. Having the desire to play at the next level, I sent some film to some Division III colleges — I certainly wasn’t big or fast enough to be a big college player — but I had a school offer me a visit. I sent them film, watched their film, and talked to their coach, but I realized that 5-foot-8, 205-pound guys don’t play in college. I picked this school because I heard they had a defensive lineman about my size there, but he was as quick as a cat. At that point, I realized my playing days were over.”
But once reality set in, the coaching seeds blossomed into a full-fledged career pursuit and a brand new dream for Weddle.
“I also realized that if I still wanted to be a part of this, that coaching was the way to go,” Weddle said. “The relationships I had with my coaches molded me to want to be a coach to do that for upcoming students. I’ve also enjoyed teaching — I actually have a major in history as well. Tommy Felty talked with me about student teaching one day, and 30 years ago he said, ‘You might not get rich, but you will never do without and you will enjoy what you do.’”
A short time later, Weddle landed his first student-teaching job in Bogata, which was the start of a landmark year for him full of changes and surprises on and off the field.
“I went in for one interview at Rivercrest High School, and a guy named Keith Brown offered me a student teaching job,” Weddle said. “Little did I know in that one year, I would start coaching, buy a Mustang, meet my wife, and get married. That was a very busy year, but at the same time, I enjoyed my presence in that community. I was a basketball assistant in my first year even though football was my forte. I was on the bench for 88 games scouting in my first year, and I fell in love with the game of basketball. I always tell everyone that football is my first love, but basketball is my passion. We went to the regional tournament in a very good year and were a step away from the state tournament.”
Weddle has mastered the ability to combine his passions with those of the athletes he has coached over the years. Knowing your team’s traits and identity is key, but caring for the players is an equally crucial part of the equation of success in high school sports. With these two aspects combined, anything was possible — no matter the gender or playoff history.
“I’ve always enjoyed this area even though I get teased from going back and forth between coaching at Prairiland and Rivercrest in the past, but the bottom line is that I’ve always enjoyed these northeast Texas kids and being a part of this community. It’s been great for me…I’ve been lucky enough to coach both of my own children in a bi-district playoff game. I coached the girls first and broke a 17-year playoff drought…then we broke a 19-year playoff streak in boys basketball when I was told we couldn’t win…I love coaching the kids in this area because they play so hard for you.”
After 30 years of teaching and coaching, Weddle received a lifetime opportunity. When his dreams became a reality, he discussed his plans to better the school and its athletic programs with sincerity and enthusiasm.
“Whenever the athletic director job came open, I was always hesitant to put it out there and say, ‘Hey, this is what I want,’” Weddle said. “I felt like it was a transition time and this was the time for me if I were to ever make that move. I asked for the opportunity to interview for the position and, I don’t mean to sound egotistical, but I felt like at the time I would do the best I could possibly do for these kids. It’s not a stepping stone — I just wanted to be a solid rock for the Patriots so badly and be able to provide them with good facilities and support. I want to try to get them to have pride in what they wear, how they carry themselves, and what it means to be a Patriot. When I was blessed enough to get that job, the best way I can explain it is how I told one of my friends on his 50th birthday, ‘You know, if 30 years ago, someone told me that I was going to be the athletic director of the Prairiland Patriots, I would’ve taken that over any job — even if it was the same position at a big place like Allen High School. That would be my dream job.’”
Even though most people may see him sweating on the football field or basketball court in business casual attire, Weddle is a man of many interests outside of the realm of sports, and has been since his childhood.
“A fun fact that a lot of people don’t know about me is that my grandad traded mules and horses,” Weddle said. “A fun fact you may not know about Steven Weddle is that I have been all over the woods riding crazy mules, and I have been bucked off in the middle of the woods at night trying to catch our hunting dogs. I also used to avidly hunt whenever I was a kid.”
Humble pie comes in many different flavors for players and students, but also for young coaches like Weddle — even if an important pair of eyes is on him.
“My most embarrassing moment came when we were on the way back from a game at Como-Pickton shortly after I just got my bus license early in my career,” Weddle said. “I pulled in and the superintendent pulled in behind us. I almost took the paint off his car when we were leaving the gas pumps, and the head coach I assisted told me, “Weddle, you’re gonna have to move over and let me drive.’ A bus load of boys and the superintendent had to watch this head coach make me get up and move seats so he could drive to get me out of the predicament I was in. I still get a kick out of it to this day — sorry Mr. (Gary) VanDeaver, who is now a state representative.”
Stress can affect any coach, even a coach who admitted to taking about 30,000 steps in one day during a basketball tournament. In order to combat stress, Weddle relies on two effective and healthy methods.
“I do two things to deal with stress. Number one, I go to the woods with my son and family…and we just go out there and relax during my happy time — my escape time. I don’t mean to get too deep, but I just felt like I was one with nature. I just watched the deer and relaxed, and we shot some pistols too down close to the Red River. The second thing I do is sometimes a little far, but me and my granddaughter go all over the neighborhood on our Mule and we drive around knowing where all of the goats are, the baby cows are — not calves — and we also go to see the horses and feed them if they want any grain. We ride just about every couple of days, just she and I making the rounds. I looked at her one time and it was a particularly stressful situation, but when she smiled at me, I knew that everything was okay.”
He was already embarrassed once, but Weddle could not avoid the moment from happening again. However, his role as more of a spectator in a certain situation is something Weddle looks back on and laughs about to this day.
“We were getting ready to take the field towards the end of football season and there were two coaches in different rooms complaining about pairs of pants that were either too tight or too loose,” Weddle said. “I realized that they were kind of close to the same size — one is a little bigger than the other — but I realized at least one of them had on the wrong pants. So, I took off running out the door to catch the guy on the left, but I slid on a mud puddle and fell that left my khakis covered in mud. We have one coach trying to keep his pants up while another coach is looking like John Travolta on Saturday Night Live because they didn’t get the chance to change. We get back at halftime and I will never forget it, the older coach that had on the pants too big for him asked if anyone had some pants he could change into…It looked kind of comical with the mud and mismatched pants.”
Life has sent Weddle on quite a journey — one that he feels blessed and fulfilled by. Weddle looks to continue giving back to all the athletic programs and will gear up to coach the boys basketball team later this fall.
