‘Thank You, Coach’

Tom and Amy Langworthy’s wedding anniversary is on New Year’s Eve, but the couple found themselves with an unexpected and unique opportunity last week, so the Jamestown High School varsity football coach called a figurative audible and they celebrated their special day earlier than usual.

As it turned out, it was a trip they’ll never forget.

Their journey included an overnight at a downtown Cleveland hotel; limousine bus trips on Saturday to the Cleveland Browns’ training facility in suburban Berea, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in nearby Canton; and tickets to the Browns’ game against Baltimore on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The Langworthys were among about 20 high school coaches and their guests who were part of “Thank You, Coach” weekend, a first-time event, all in the name of recognizing high school mentors for their roles in helping their former players on their football journey. The person who issued the invitation to Tom a couple weeks ago was rookie tight end Stephen Carlson, a two-time, first-team all-state player for the Red Raiders in 2013 and 2014.

“I was really flattered that he thought about me,” Tom said.

After Tom and Amy watched a 45-minute Browns’ walk-through practice on Saturday, the couple had a chance to join Carlson for an hour-long lunch. On the subsequent road trip to Canton and the Hall of Fame, Tom chatted with Odell Beckham Jr.’s high school coach on a variety of subjects, including their shared experiences of starting a freshman quarterback this fall. Tom had great success with Trey Drake, who helped the Red Raiders to a Class AA regular-season title. In turn, Beckham’s former coach talked about his ninth-grade signal caller whose last name is Manning.

Yes, that would be Peyton’s nephew.

“The thing that was interesting in talking to the (high school) coaches is that a lot of the players had similar stories to Stephen,” Tom said. “There were a number of guys who were undrafted and they didn’t have a ton of offers coming out of high school. They just found their way and worked hard.”

While having lunch with Carlson was the highlight of the trip, Tom admitted that he and Amy experienced a very special moment when they made a connection with Hall-of-Fame running back Jim Brown as they were leaving the team’s training facility.

“I didn’t feel like I was star-struck at all being there, even in the presence of the NFL stars, if you will,” Tom said, “but when I saw Jim Brown, I did a double-take and took a deep breath. The greatest player (in NFL history) is standing there.”

Although Tom said he’s “not a big picture or autograph guy,” he asked the Cleveland legend if would mind posing for a photograph. Tom said Brown was happy to oblige.

Tom added that one of the weekend’s “coolest moments” occurred when a fellow coach and his 70-something father, who hailed from Youngstown, Ohio, had a chance to meet Brown.

“The dad had a deep appreciation for Jim Brown, but had never met him,” Tom said. “I saw the guy after and he was close to having tears in his eyes.”

Tom had a different kind of emotion during his time in Cleveland.

“I’ve had moments (this season) where I got a little choked up (about Carlson’s rise from undrafted rookie to NFL starter). Not this weekend,” Tom said. “I’m just really proud of him.”