The Legacy of a Leader: Remembering Coach Chris Deal
There are moments in a town’s history when everything seems to shift. For the Lexington football program, that moment came with the arrival of Coach Chris Deal. I remember it clearly. It was the year 2007, and a buzz filled the air about a new coach. As a freshman, I had heard the whispers and the hopes for change. Then, one day, I saw him—a tall, bald-headed figure with glasses. He walked up to me and said, “You must be Thomas.” I was in shock. How did this new coach already know my name? I stammered, "Yes sir, that's me." He smiled and said, "I've heard a lot about you, and we have a lot of work to do in so little time." In that moment, I knew this wasn't just a coach; this was a man who was already invested.
That personal connection set the tone for everything that followed. At the first parents and coaches meeting, Coach Deal introduced himself with a deep sense of respect for every person in the room. He told us there would be a lot of changes, and that we could all expect to work harder than ever before. At the time, I think those words went over our heads. We were just teenagers, thinking about football. But Coach Deal wasn’t just talking about the game; he was talking about building a culture. He believed a family that prays together stays together, and that belief became the backbone of our program.
A New Culture of Faith, Family, and Football
Coach Deal’s vision was about more than just winning games; it was about molding us into men of character. He invested in us not just as football players, but as student-athletes. He would find ways to secure funding for each player to attend different football camps, ensuring we were always competing on a high level, both on the field and in the classroom. His daily message was a simple, yet powerful, one: "Face adversity and have faith." He preached this gospel daily, making it the bedrock of our mentality.
The 2008-09 season was when the town began to see the fruits of his labor. The games were heart-throbbing, and the team, led by seniors like Chris Bush and Teland Todd, started breaking records. But it was the 2009-10 season when everyone truly became believers. That was the year we beat our rivals, Thomasville, for the first time in 23 years during the playoffs. The stands were filled to capacity, game after game, with fans screaming with a passion that had been dormant for decades. That win wasn't just a victory; it was a revival. We were all hooked on the "real Deal."
Coach Deal made sure we never took any of it for granted. He reminded us daily that playing football was a privilege, not a right. Before every game, he would buy us breakfast, and we would have a devotion. He'd read a scripture that he connected to the game we were about to play, teaching us about Christ and how to live with faith. His teachings went far beyond the X's and O's of football; they were lessons in values and principles that I still live by today.
A Lasting Legacy That Extends Beyond the Field
The energy Coach Deal brought to Lexington was unforgettable. Long before Deion Sanders was on social media preaching about belief, there was Coach Deal delivering that same message right here in our small town. He taught us to have faith and to believe in ourselves in anything we do. Though we lost in the fourth-round playoffs, the real victory was in the values we learned.
Years later, I was watching college football and saw a familiar last name on the screen: Luke Deal, playing tight end for Auburn University. I remember being shocked at first, and then it made perfect sense. If Coach Deal could get an entire town to believe in him, I knew his kids were going to be special. Luke's passion for football mirrored his father's, and it was a direct reflection of the values his father instilled. Today, seeing Luke playing in the NFL for the Detroit Lions is a point of pride for our entire community, a testament to the legacy his father started here in Lexington.
The Deal family will always remain dear to my heart. Coach Deal wasn't just a coach; he was a leader who helped add more great football history to the city of Lexington. He taught us how to face adversity, to believe in ourselves, and to have faith in a greater purpose. For that, he will never be forgotten. Thank you, Coach Deal, for helping to shape a generation and for reminding us what a true leader looks like.
