A woman's touch can be very important for any high school football program. A strong case in point is at Paw Paw High School near Kalamazoo, Mich.
Peggy Warmack has been married to Paw Paw's coach, Dave Warmack, for 41 years. She has attended all but two of his games in his 37 years of coaching.
Her husband's football travels in Michigan have taken him to Paw Paw and North Muskegon high schools, plus Kalamazoo College. Dave also coached in Grand Junction, Colo., where the high school team won a state title in 1988.
Warmack's first coaching job was in Ohio in 1971. He moved back to Michigan and spent eight years coaching in North Muskegon. He'll begin his 16th year in Paw Paw this fall.
While assisting her husband, Peggy has kept stats, taped games, served as hostess for many team meals, organized many banquets, produced camp brochures and created season highlight films for the players.
"I've been involved every season since we got married," Peggy said. "I was a cheerleader and Al was a player. We were married at age 18. He went to Grand Rapids Junior College and I put him through school. Then he transferred to Kalamazoo College.
"We realized that it was a lot more work. He decided this is what we wanted to do. Then I had to think of where I wanted to be."
Peggy Warmack realized the potential lessons student-athletes could also learn from football, and decided she wanted to be involved.
The couple met in their junior year at Comstock High School. In March of 2008, the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association honored Warmack as one of its Women of the Year for contribution of time, energy and expertise to promote high school football in its community and the state of Michigan.
A challenging time for the Warmacks came in 1985, when Dave had a bone marrow transplant. He was in the hospital when his wife took game tapes to him and helped him break them down for the following season.
"We decided through that experience to be positive," Peggy said. "That was a big transition for us. He's doing quite well right now."
Peggy graduated from Comstock High School and later graduated from Mesa State University in Colorado. Currently, she is a teacher in biology and environmental sciences at Portage Central.
Peggy started getting heavily into videotaping and producing highlight films for players when they were in Colorado.
"When he was a Kalamazoo College, I started taking photographs again," Warmack said. "I enjoyed taking pictures. When we got to Paw Paw, I went back to taking videos."
The Warmacks have enjoyed success on the field at Paw Paw.
"We've won a regional title," Peggy said. "We should have a good season this year. We're still adjusting to the (Wolverine Conference). Our kids are making a special commitment. They're asked to lift three times a week. But they're committing to doing it five times a week."
As much as Dave and Peggy Warmack love football, they realize their current involvement won't last forever.
"We're taking it year by year right now," Peggy said. "We're both 60. I can't imagine we won't go to football games in the future."
Whatever the Warmacks do in the future, it won't be done separately.
"It's a partnership. We're always doing everything together," Peggy said. "It's been two people doing it together. You need each other to lean on. He supports me too and helps me with my own work."
Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.