{"id":1845,"date":"2011-10-26T08:00:58","date_gmt":"2011-10-26T12:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/?p=1845"},"modified":"2011-11-02T22:21:33","modified_gmt":"2011-11-03T02:21:33","slug":"ed-thomas-family-recalls-inspiring-story-of-legendary-high-school-football-coachs-life-in-the-sacred-acre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/10\/ed-thomas-family-recalls-inspiring-story-of-legendary-high-school-football-coachs-life-in-the-sacred-acre.html","title":{"rendered":"Ed Thomas family recalls inspiring story of legendary high school football coach’s life in The Sacred Acre"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click “Like” to share this with your friends!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In May of 2008, a devastating tornado hit Parkersburg, Iowa and threatened to destroy the small town’s future. But legendary high school coach Ed Thomas stepped forward and made a proclamation that would set the tone for an epic comeback–the football field would be ready for its first home game later that year.<\/p>\n

Thomas made good on his promise and his Aplington-Parkersburg Falcons provided an emotional spark that resonated throughout the community. But this inspiring story took a tragic turn the next summer when a former player with a history of mental health problems took Thomas’ life. The senseless murder sent shock waves throughout the town and the entire state of Iowa.<\/p>\n

In the New York Times bestseller The Sacred Acre<\/em>, the Thomas Family (along with author Mark Tabb) has courageously told this amazing story of triumph over tragedy and the forgiveness of unthinkable pain. Inspiring Athletes had a chance to talk to Coach Thomas’ wife Jan and one of his two sons Aaron who now serves as the athletic director at Aplington-Parkersburg High School:<\/p>\n

Chad Bonham: When your husband proclaimed to the town that the football field would be ready for the season, just months after the devastating tornado, did you believe he could do it or did you think he might be a little crazy?<\/p>\n

Jan Thomas: The closer it got, for me personally, I was starting to wonder, because there was so much work to be done from the cleanup to the reconstruction. I was really starting to doubt. But I knew that if anybody was going to get it done, it would be Ed and you knew he\u2019d try to move heaven and earth to get it done. And he did.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What about you Aaron? What were your first thoughts when that bold prediction came out of your father\u2019s mouth?<\/p>\n

Aaron Thomas: I knew that was going to be a stretch. There was so much to do. So many people\u2019s homes had been destroyed and I worried a little bit about the focus being on trying to get the field ready. But that was one of dad\u2019s greatest gifts. He was definitely a visionary. He could see things before they were done and then he could work towards that. He had the ability to motivate people and get people to work. When he said he was going to do it, I guess I never questioned that it\u2019d all get done. When he said it was going to happen, I knew he\u2019d work tirelessly to make sure it happened.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What was the atmosphere like at that first home game after the field had been restored?<\/p>\n

Jan Thomas: It was almost like a mini celebration. It seems like everything monumental that happened that year was a mini celebration and another sign that we were going to come back. We were going to rebuild our town. More than anything, rebuilding the school and the football field was a little bit symbolic because, for everybody in town at that point, life was turned upside down. But that just gave us a sense of normalcy. It gave everybody a chance to have fun and watch a football game that night and not worry about insurance adjustors and contractors and those kinds of things. It gave everybody hope that we were going to be back and everything was going to work out.<\/p>\n

Bonham: When you hear from Coach Thomas\u2019 former players, what do they say about the impact he had on their lives?<\/p>\n

Jan Thomas: A lot of them just say how much the miss him and how they wish they could talk to him and how much he meant to them growing up. He was like a second dad to them.<\/p>\n

Bonham: When you look back on the days that followed Coach Thomas\u2019 murder, are you able to put in to words how God\u2019s grace helped you through it all?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Coach Ed Thomas mows the Aplington-Parkersburg High School football field in preparation for the 2008 season.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jan Thomas: That was huge. That was totally a God thing at the time. I\u2019m not sure I could have survived it without being able to lean on the Lord and to pray each night. He just got me through every day. I honestly don\u2019t know how anybody can get through a situation like that if they don\u2019t have that faith. It sustains you through everything and when you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re going to do next, He just carries you through those things.<\/p>\n

Aaron Thomas: I don\u2019t know how you can get through it except to know that God does have a plan in all these things. It\u2019s not our job to question. At the beginning of my dad\u2019s life, if God would\u2019ve told him he\u2019d have 58 years and he\u2019d have an impact and he\u2019d be passionate about what he did \u2018til the day he died, (my dad) takes that deal. It\u2019s hard for us here. We know where dad\u2019s at and we have comfort in that. While it\u2019s tough for us here, we know we\u2019ll be reunited with him in Heaven and that\u2019s our ultimate goal anyway.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How difficult was it to deal with the fact that one of his former players was responsible for his death and how have you been able to forgive him\u2014something that many might think would be impossible to do?<\/p>\n

Aaron Thomas: It was definitely a tough situation. Never before had a situation like this even crossed anyone\u2019s mind. There hadn\u2019t been a murder in Parkersburg since 1923. As well liked and respected as my dad was, I never once dreamt that he\u2019d be taken from us in that way. For it to be a former player, it\u2019s pretty hard to wrap your mind around. But that said there were so many issues that Mark (Becker) had, he was the first person that came to my mind when I heard what had happened. The forgiveness thing is truly through God\u2019s grace. I don\u2019t know if I 100 percent forgive Mark Becker. I can get through every day and I don\u2019t feel like I have a ton of resentment towards him. It\u2019s an interesting thing. I truly think it\u2019s strictly through God\u2019s grace. I\u2019ve never had a conversation with Mark and said, \u201cI forgive you for this.\u201d But to be able to get through the day and be okay with what happened, I think it is truly through God\u2019s grace and the Holy Spirit working through you.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How would you want your story to impact other families who have experienced similar tragedies?<\/p>\n

Jan Thomas: There is a lot of pain and I\u2019m not going to say it\u2019s an easy thing to do. But I totally think it\u2019s through the grace of Jesus Christ that we\u2019re able to do that in the first place. If you hold on to that resentment, your life is going to turn negative. It\u2019s going to eat you from the inside out. This is something that happened that was out of our control. There\u2019s nothing we could do about that. It was a difficult thing and it was shocking that Mark had done that, but you have to let it go at some point in time. If you don\u2019t, there\u2019s nothing constructive that will come of it. Its not hurting Mark if you don\u2019t forgive him. Ultimately its hurting God and it\u2019s hurting yourself.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How important is for you and your brother Todd to carry on your father\u2019s legacy?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Coach Ed Thomas and his sons Todd and Aaron Thomas during their football playing days at Aplington-Parkersburg High School.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Aaron Thomas: To me it\u2019s very important. We had a great example for 13 months of how to deal with adversity. If Todd and I and my mom chose to respond in a different light, everything my dad stood for, all the life lessons he ever taught the young men and women at school and the example he set would\u2019ve went out the window, if in the toughest of times his own family couldn\u2019t show the integrity and character and all those things that he was all about. That was one of the first things that came to my mind right after he was murdered. Even before that first press conference, I wanted to handle things that way dad would have handled them. My goal personally has been to make my dad proud and never do anything to disappoint him. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s changed for me, even though he\u2019s not here anymore. I still don\u2019t want my actions or words to negatively affect him or his legacy.<\/p>\n

Bonham: For those who never had a chance to meet Coach Thomas, what would be the one thing you would want people to know about him?<\/p>\n

Jan Thomas: Ed loved coaching, without any question. His desire was for people to remember him as a strong Christian man and somebody that lived to do things the right way. I really think that Ed walked the talk. He wasn\u2019t a perfect man. I don\u2019t anyone to think that. But he really did try hard to do the right thing every single day and teach others to do the same thing.<\/p>\n

Aaron Thomas: He was, number one, a Christian man, but also a man of character and integrity. He treated everyone fairly. I know that was important to him. He didn\u2019t where you came from, who your parents were, what part of town you lived in. You were going to be treated with respect. He believed in people more than they believed him themselves and he pushed them to the next level. I think that\u2019s what he would like to be remembered for.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, we talked to Aaron Kampman<\/a>, one of Coach Thomas’ former players who is now playing for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. And later this fall, we’ll have an interview with Kansas City Chiefs center Casey Weigmann who also played for Thomas at Aplington-Parkersburg High School.<\/em><\/p>\n

To learn more about the book The Sacred Acre, click HERE<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click “Like” to share this with your friends! In May of 2008, a devastating tornado hit Parkersburg, Iowa and threatened to destroy the small town’s future. 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Chad is currently working on five new books including Sooner Legacy, Husker Legacy and Lessons From Sooner Football (Cross Training) as well as The Faith of Stock Car Racing (Judson Press). When he's not writing, Chad lends his efforts to various independent television and film projects. He was the coordinating producer for Choosing Life (2010) and Life Happens (2011). Chad is currently serving as producer on a forthcoming documentary about Super Bowl champion Brian Kinchen. 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