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Jimmy Teague’s resignation Monday was surely met with sadness by many throughout Reidsville and Rockingham County.
But probably not for the reasons one might think.
The Rams, no matter who is named to replace Teague, will be hard-pressed to match his record since coming to Reidsville in 1992. According to reidsvillefootball.com, Teague’s record over 17 years included 228 wins and four state titles. He has helped send two players – Na Brown and Jerome Simpson – to the NFL, and former Ram receiver Raphael Chestnut played at Duke.
Teague, 50, will be remembered for the state titles and 16 playoff appearances in his 17 seasons. But many will remember Teague as a true leader, a man of Christian values who came to Reidsville and built team after team after team. Players would go down – such as quarterback Ray Ray Butchee this season – but the “team” continued to win, including 32 straight to end Teague’s tenure with the Rams.
The Reidsville players believed in Teague, and he believed in them. The underclassmen will miss Teague, but it’s a good bet they’ve been listening and watching throughout their Ram careers. They’ll be OK.
Teague, who also taught at the school, helped bring together a community still trying to recover from the loss of textiles and tobacco, a community trying to get its feed amidst layoffs and downsizing. Teague gave them Friday nights, and he gave them much to celebrate. Teague’s immediate plans are unclear, but we hope he continues to teach our young men and women, and continues to make a difference in their lives, wherever that may be.
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Reader Reactions
I think Coach Teague did a great job of winning games and utilizing the athleticism of his players. I think he could have improve on getting more of his players into college.There were some success stories such as Na Brown and Jerome Simpson making it into the NFL but there were other student athletes who didn’t get the proper assistance from the school’s administration and the coaching staff at Reidsville to further their education.Reidsville Ram football players are majority African American, this makes me wonder if there was a “lowered” expectation of these young men to excel in the class room. Now, we can’t blame Coach Teague for all that, we have to include parents and school administrators however there were “balls” dropped along the way.We all know that a college education increases one’s chance for success. There is a direct correlation between lack of education and our prison population.North Carolina is approaching 40,000 inmates in our prison system.
It’s human nature to revel in the cheer and roar of the crowd as our home team scores a touch down but what happens when the roar no more? What happens when the crowd has left the stadium and you’re left with a life to plan.
I haven’t seen much difference in Reidsville Ram football in 25 years.The school won more games under Coach Teague but there weren’t much increase in football players attending college and remember Teague won four state championships.
I hope the next coach that Reidsville get will keep in mind the direct link between our prison population,poverty and drug usage to a lack of furthering one’s education.
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