{patriot summer series}
Blending. It's trickier than you think. Potent aromas and definitive textures have a way of standing out. Of needing nothing to stand alone. Substantially spectacular in singular design. Yet when fresh flavors, confident in their own right, join forces, a beautiful marriage of mouthwatering goodness happens. That's called a low country boil. That's also called a great coaching staff.
Earlier this summer, Kenny & I hosted the first of the Patriot Summer Series. It was our intent to gather the people we love who've collectively formed the Jefferson County Patriot Football Coaching Family. Much like a low country boil, a coaching staff can be a powerhouse of goodness when all flavors are independently awesome, yet move together to create something that much more fantastic. The coaches of the Patriots are a physical representation of men with a focus on better. On best. On the push rather than the pull. Coaching staffs, much like low country boils, can go either way mind you. Too much of one ingredient and not enough of another, leaves a staff bitter and begrudging the process-to-finished. In a boil, each article dumped into the pot has to carry its weight all while melding into the flavorful concoction one loves to indulge in on a summer night in the South. Finger licking. Butter dripping. Saturated mountains of empty rowed corncobs and shrimp peels. That's what we like to call "Doin' work, son."
What makes the whole thing work is the collective resolve. The agreement of energy moving in one direction for a single solid purpose. Results.On the plate. On the field & in the classroom. Men leading boys with dignity and character is so very important now more than ever. The Patriot football coaching staff is all in the pot, so to speak. They are men of loyalty, work ethic, initiative and innovative collaboration. These men are after the art of making champions. Of making it their business to teach players what it means to make every rep count not just in the 4 quarters on a Friday night in the Fall, but in the mindset they take as they become men, graduates, employees, husbands & fathers.
And the spectacular of it all is that these men are supported in their endeavors. In their quest for up-charging a community with a team that believes in pride & heart. The wives and significant others to this staff are a streamline of encouragement and the epitome of teamwork. Our staff is family in so many ways because we believe in one another, even more, we lift up one another in their individual strengths to the whole pot. After each Friday night home game, you'll find our home on Dumplin Valley navy blue & red packed with love & food. With an unwind from that night's game. With kiddos playing, ladies chatting and coaches discussing. Hard work deserves a heavy plate. It's the together through the good and the bad that make this staff moving more toward excellence. Kenny and I are thankful for this staff family. We've celebrated holidays with them documented here and here. Upon arrival to this new zip code 3 years ago, we were filled with hope that this East TN town would be a place where a football family would thrive. For the players. The coaches. And the community. We are well on our way.Every rep counts, JeffCo.
Coach Cobble's Low Country Boil
- 5 pounds red potatoes
- 5 onions
- 4 pounds corn
- 4 pounds smoked sausage
- 5 pounds pounds unpeeled/uncooked shrimp
- 16 oz. Old Bay seasoning
Directions:
- Fill turkey fryer a little over 1/2 full with water
- Bring water to boil
- Add potatoes and cook for 12 minutes
- Then add smoked sausage & quartered onions for 5 minutes
- Next add corn for 7 minutes
- Finally add shrimp and cook until pink to sight
- Use slotted spoon to dump contents of boil onto newspapered tables
- Serve with melted butter for dipping
