Share a Story
We would like to hear your story of how Ed Thomas impacted your life. Stories will be posted to this section as we receive them.
Please submit your story by email to info@edthomasfamilyfoundation.org
Coach Thomas,
My name is Tess, and I am from Birmingham, Alabama. My fiance, Ron, and I are both physcial education teachers and coaches here in Bama. Ron and I visited a new church in our area yesterday morning. We are not "church-goers;" however, we have both felt like we were missing something in our lives. It was almost as if we were both wanting to reach out for something else. We randomly just decided to attend this church yesterday morning. Yesterday was the first that Ron and I have attended church together. It will not be the last. The pastor shared your father's memorial ESPY video. Watching it almost made us feel as if something was lifted off our shoulders. Both of us being coaches, I cannot tell you how much of an impact your father's faith made on us. We truly feel like it was not an accident that we decided to attend and that we decided to attend that certain church. We left that building yesterday wanting to be disciples. We left wanting to be different. We left changed because of God's grace through your father. We cannot thank you, your brother, and your Mom enough for sharing this with us. May you and your family continue to be blessed.
Thank you again,
Tess Simmons
I wanted to take a minute of your time to let you know what Coach meant to my life. I think it’s well documented how much Coach did for the guys in the NFL, the guys who have went on to coach or have come into the A-P program, but I just wanted to let you know that even though I wasn’t close to your dad, he also had a tremendous impact on my life. I don’t know if he knew how far his impact on lives reached?
I’d always wanted to thank him for everything he did for me, but I won’t be able to do that now. I regret that I didn’t reach out to him, but I always worried what he’d think about it. I hope you don’t mind, but I felt I needed to get it off my chest, and thought you’d appreciate hearing this.
My parents divorced when I was four, so I didn’t have a positive male influence in my life until I started playing football for your dad. He taught me how to work, how to be a better man, and I feel I owe a lot of who I’ve become to him. I love the quote when he said “if all he did was teach X’s & O’s, blocking & tackling, that he has failed”. He really did teach me so much more than football. He instilled in me life lessons that I can pass on to my children that were taught on the practice and game fields.
The memory I will take from Coach is during the middle of my Sr year of football, I accepted Christ. Somehow the next day he had heard about it and pulled me into the training room to congratulate me and I remember he said it was the greatest decision I could have ever made. I didn’t fully understand it at the time, but he was right and I’m forever grateful he took the time out of his day for me. The football field was his mission field, and I’m living proof of that because his daily teachings were a part of my road to Christ.
I want to thank you for being such an inspiration to the thousands who have watched you since the events of late June. I can honestly say I was at a stage of being weak in my walk with the Lord, but through your challenge at the funeral, I’m pleased to say I’ve been in my Bible every day since, I have committed to help with the Awana program again this year, and I’m looking for more ways to spread the word to the children of A-P and grow in my personal walk.
