ROCKINGHAM — As part of an exclusive with ROSports dubbed as “The Till Files,” Richmond Senior High School head football coach Bryan Till will be publishing his personal “notebook” from the 2019 season.
Note from sports editor Kyle Pillar
By this point, many people know the Raiders had their best season in Till’s three fall campaigns as the head coach this past season, and their 13 wins were the most in a single season dating back to 2005.
Richmond (13-1) made its first appearance to the West Regional Championship in 11 seasons, and although the Raiders didn’t reach their ultimate goal, Till hasn’t shied away from the last five months being anything but extraordinary.
One of the most admirable characteristics of Till is his passion for the sport he coaches, both on and off the field. Arguably one of Richmond County’s most visible, most critiqued and most influential individuals, Till has held his post with the highest of standards since taking over ahead of the 2017 season.
As the RO’s sports editor, I have the pleasure of having one of the most interactive working relationships with Till. It’s a year-round affair between he and myself that covers games, practices, community events, stadium upgrades, and the list goes on.
While I was reading this document, I was reminded why Richmond County Schools, Richmond County and football fans alike, are lucky to have Till as the face and guiding force of the program. He puts a lot of his energy in his faith, and that resonates throughout this series.
ROSports is proud to deliver an inside look to Till’s notebook, a working document Till updated weekly ahead of, and sometimes following, each of Richmond’s games. The notebook is being published in its original format, straight from the fingertips of Till with no changes.
It will be broken into four segments, starting with Richmond’s non-conference schedule and bye week. This edition features Till’s notes on the games against Clayton, Anson, Butler and Cardinal Gibbons high schools, as well as the Raiders’ off week before the start of Sandhills Athletic Conference play. This is the beginning of Till’s notebook.
Clayton, Week 1
Threat of thunderstorms. Clayton’s coach resigned 3 days ago and I just had a senior quit after pregame. You can’t make this stuff up.
My quest now is to be here for this team. The questions I have are “how,” “what is best,” and “what do they need.” The questions I can’t control are “will this be a distraction,” and “how will they handle it.”
They are the most important but God said which of you have added a day to his life by worry? God be with us and definitely with this young man. He needs you right now.
*Update: He came back Monday and wanted to be put back on the team. We went through a great deal with other players and make-ups to put him back on the team. He also won’t be dressing for the next 2 games.
Anson, Week 2
The day was mostly good with doing laundry, etc. Had to put up a few more jerseys today due to dressing all the 9th graders last night, but it was worth it to have them on that sideline. However, right before 4th block, I had to deal with a situation where a former player came on campus to confront someone who was talking to his brother.
This of course ended up involving current players emotionally, but thankfully, not physically (it very well could have). We had to calm that down prior to 4th block. However, the pregame lift went well, but I can hear them in the locker room very loud right now.
I continually pray for the wisdom on how to keep them motivated all while maintaining discipline and order. God grant me your mind and eyes in all of this.
Butler, Week 3
We had a kid ejected last week for retaliating after being punched. We were so blessed that our coaches and kids reacted the right way and no one ran on the field. We had some officials report that we did, but you can clearly see on video we didn’t.
Then we have Labor Day and practice, so we don’t find out the ruling until Wednesday. Then school is cancelled on Thursday due to threat of weather from Hurricane Dorian. This caused us to miss a practice on Thursday. From Thursday morning at 7:55 a.m. until after 9 p.m., I was answering text messages and calls about the game.
Thankfully the hurricane passed with little incident here and the game is still on. However, the feeling of anxiety and being overwhelmed hasn’t gone away after such a stressful week. My body still hasn’t let go even though both events have passed. It will just suddenly come on in waves.
Lord I pray for Your strength in all things today. The laundry is done ahead of schedule thanks to Coach Hope and Coach Toney, but we still have to get the field painted and I have to get two ripped jerseys sent off so they can be repaired before next week’s away game. We need to move buses, clean up the meeting room.
AMAZING these jerseys keep getting ripped and no holding calls… Lord keep our boys safe, keep them focused, and let us play out of love for each other.
Cardinal Gibbons, Week 4
Early leave time today, so doing this a little earlier than normal. It has become a great release and a way to focus on what really matters. Hopefully doing this early will still allow that. There is a lot of excitement following this game and there should be.
They are extremely well-coached and broke Wake Forest’s consecutive win streak. I truly think we are better but it will be a very different environment for our kids and it will be a test to keep our composure.
My experience with the Raleigh area officials has not ever been really great so I have some concern about us handling the different approach to the game. Their student section will add a ton of fun to the game but also distraction if we let it. I just want us to play mistake free and up to our potential.
We have the better athletes but we need to come together and have the better team. God bring us unity tonight above all else. Let us play together and for YOU and each other. Help our focus to remain there and not on anything else.
Bye Week, Week 5
I was hoping this would be a little bit more restful week. I remember thinking that last year, too. Eventually I’ll do this long enough that I’ll know better. I wanted to get all the highlights for the seniors updated and out, but it took longer than I wanted.
We had a freshman player’s house burn down last Friday, one of our varsity players lost his grandma (who happened to be our chaplain’s sister). I have met with two parents, have to call another today, and it is just now Wednesday morning.
I still need to get Youth Night and Middle School Night prepared, as well as a plaque for Coach Brown for when we honor him at halftime. I prayed over the boys as normal this morning while walking through the locker room and that always helps. You don’t feel as alone and the weight of it all when you give it to Him. I need to remember this during the day so I don’t put the weight back on my shoulders.
ROSports will publish the second of this four-part series later this week.
