When we interviewed Coach Bob Reddic last year, we told you how he coached players from the Neighborhood Children's Sports league for 27 years.
Reddic smiled as he pointed to young players. "Them my babies, this is one right here, they won today!"
Reddic's dedication to the kids was strong, despite tackling stage 4 colon cancer.
When asked why he kept showing up, Reddic said simply. "The boys need me. I'm a no-nonsense coach. I'm kind of like a school teacher. A good school teacher."
But he insisted that coaching was not only about football, but also about life lessons off the field.
"Even when they lose, I make them understand you won. You won because you played the game!"
The mother of Packers player Marwin Evans said Reddic was like a father to her son. Jeannel Crawley has high praise for the Reddic and the NCSL, insisting, "It teaches the kids discipline. If they didn't have homework done, they wasn't going to be no practice and no football field."
Reddic knew he was saving young men from the streets. "If this would ever be eliminated, I'm pretty sure a lot of these kids would fall."
NCSL coaches are volunteers. But Reddic said just seeing kids and parents show up was payment enough. Coaching from the sidelines gave him the power to fight the most difficult battle of his life.
"I'll be out here until the big guy decides he needs me up there sitting up next to him".
Coach Reddic died September 17th. He was 60 years old.
