ABILENE, TX— The Southland Conference held their virtual kickoff this week for football. I got the chance to catch up with head coach Adam Dorrel and senior Jack Gibbens and junior Kobe Clark for the first time since the pandemic.
I asked them how what the past few months have shown them personally. For coach, he said that it’s been an extremely impactful time for his growth as a husband, father and coach and that his will be a time he never forgets.
“It will be something I remember for the rest of my life. I was on spring break in Padre when everything happened. I spent about 2 or 3 days reflecting and I made the decision right then I would come out on the other side better.”
Coach Dorrel is proud of the growth he has made personally over the past few months and is more ready than ever for his 20th season in college football.
“I feel like I’ve really done that. I feel like i’m a better husband, father and coach. It’s reinvigorated me. I know it sounds crazy but when you lose something that you don’t expect to lose, I think it’s an eyeopening experience.”
For senior Jack Gibbens, he learned a lot about the value of everyday and soaking up the moments he is in.
“I realized not to take any day for granted. Like going to practice even, something that seems to drag on during the course of the semester, waking up at 5am doing weights but whenever you can’t do it for a couple of months… It’s reinspired us to not take days for granted,” Gibbens added.
He also said on the days this season where he won’t want to wake up early, he is going to remember how it felt to not have that opportunity to play the game he loves during quarantine.
“I’m excited to get going, it will be my 20th year in college football. I’m excited as I’ve been since I was a graduate assistant in 1999 in my first year of college football. This time has been a growth for me,” coach Dorrel said.
As of right now, Abilene Christian is set to play Texas A&M on September 5th if the schedule goes as planned.
