4 Years Ago : Thank you Coach Maddox, the Warren Coaching Staff & the BBB ...

[pfloyd]

I was rummaging through old posts on SEOPs , going back through the years - it's getting close to Basketball :30 (not happening at the Convo this year) ... my annual CT scans/oncologist appointment at the James in C'bus are coming up March 8th - anxiety starts taking ahold of my thinking, basketball in the past always took my mind off of what "could be" when I go to The James ... in January of 2017, I had just been to the James a week prior to going to the Warren vs Athens game ... the CT scan showed "something" - again ... they wanted me back again in March to do ANOTHER CT scan to see if what they were seeing was in fact the return of more cancer ... before the game, in talking to Coach Maddox I told him about the new scans & why ... what followed I will never forget ...


... it's not a secret - pfloyd is a big fan of the Warren Warriors - have been for 15 years or so ... Coach Maddox and I both taught at Logan High School in the same department before Coach Maddox took his coaching/teaching talents to Warren Local - Logan's loss for sure ... we have been friends forever it seems ... I have always had great respect for Coach Maddox as a person, a teacher and a friend for 30 years - tonight , after the Warren , Athens game Coach Maddox & his staff only solidified that respect ...

... I always try to at least say hello to Coach Maddox whenever I'm at the Warrior Dome - it's what friends do ... I did so tonight as well - we talked hoops - I gave him the scoop on Fairfield Union & the transfer PG , Blane yelled at me for NOT letting him know I was in the gym for the Parkersburg game Tuesday night ... i returned to my cheap seat location ... as the game progressed through the first half ... Blane's wife Sally who was sitting in front of me , returned to her seat and told me that Coach Maddox wanted to see me following the game - win or lose ... okay ... the game got into the 4th quarter ... it got a little chippy when a couple of Athens players took down a Warren player - 2 Warren technicals were called one on a player who simply said what EVERYONE in the gym said when he saw how hard the tackle was of his teammate = technical #1 ... Coach Maddox had a few words with an official = technical #2 ... the game continued , Warren pushed out to nearly a 20 point lead ... with 30 seconds or so left in the game I'm writing down Napkin Stats and I hear Coach Maddox yelling my name from the bench !!! for a second I thought " Coach ! I don't have any eligibility left !" ... I told the folks around me " he wants to yell at me and blame the technical on me - I didn't say anything Coach Maddox !!!" ... he yells for me to go to the Warren locker room after the game ... ??????

I walked into the locker room the Warriors , Coach Maddox & coaching staff celebrating the "W" over Athens ... I then heard Coach Maddox introduce me to the team, he introduced me as his long time friend, that the players know me by my internet/seops name but he knows me as Mike ... he informed the players that I was battling cancer again ... asked them if they would join hands with him, me and the coaching staff to pray for me, pfloyd ... he asked me if that would be alright ... right there in the locker room , where but seconds before the Warriors were celebrating ... Coach Maddox explained to his young men that he KNEW that with his, his players prayers I could beat cancer ... I had tears in my eyes the whole time as Coach Jack Colgrove - with the entire Warrior family holding hands in a circle with pfloyd - led the team in praying for pfloyd ...

... players who had just worked their butts off on the floor for 32 minutes were now learning a life lesson from Coach Maddox ... that basketball as important to them at that time is what it is - a game ... that there are things bigger and more important than basketball ... Coach mentioned that the kids themselves knew of family/friends who were affected by cancer ... not too many dry eyes in that locker room ... it was my pleasure to shake those kids hands after the "Amen" in unison ... I thanked them all ...

... I just want to thank Coach Maddox, Coach Mitchem, Coach Coffman, Coach Colgrove and every single one of those Warren players for giving this old man, pfloyd , a memory that I will take with me forever ... I WILL beat this terrible disease ... cancer has no chance - I have the Big Bad Blue fighting for me ! ... Life IS worth Living ... #livinglifeonMYterms

pfloyd ...

[E High]

[danicalifornia]

Even without knowing this story, in my interactions with the coaches/players of Warren, you can tell that they are just good people.

This just makes it all the more obvious.

[WonderNova]

My eyes! It must be the dust....thank you for sharing. This is the kind of story that I don't see enough. This story today of all days hits me on a very personal note. I have a beloved family member that is way too young that is dealing with cancer right now. The treatments start soon. It reminds me that we should never lose faith in this story helped restore my faith, punctuated with a time of personal prayer. Thank you PFloyd for sharing, and prayers for your continued good health. And as always thank you for all you do on this amazing site.

[loganlocos]

We all could use some of this right now. Thanks for sharing Floyd.

Back when I spent a lot of time in SE Ohio gyms I could always count on a quick conversation with Coach Maddox - a true class act. He's one of the good guys.

[Schnellfritz]

Tears.....Still praying for you, Pfloyd....