A Coach's Life

This is the story of Bob, whose mother abandoned the family when he was six. By age sixteen, he was an orphan and he and his brother moved to Tulsa to live with their aunt.
At Tulsa Central High School, he discovered football and was selected to the Oklahoma All State team. He was offered scholarships at many universities, Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, and many others. Bob decided to go to Northeastern Oklahoma A and M, a junior college, where he was named to the Junior College All American squad. Again, many large universities offered him a scholarship.
When the Korean War started, Bob joined the United States Marine Corps. At the end of the war, he again played the game he loved and earned his degree at Northeastern Oklahoma State College.
After three years moving around as an assistant, Heavener High School hired him as their head football coach. His three year record was 27-5-2 – what a wonderful way to begin a coaching career. He was the head football coach of several Oklahoma schools, most notable at Fairland, where he coached thirteen years, with five teams that won ten or more games.
At age fifty-two, he decided to let younger men do the coaching, and Bob became a principal before he retired from the public schools of Oklahoma.
This is the story of A Coach's Life… read on and enjoy the journey.

"Coach Bob Collins was the perfect coach at the perfect time for Heavener High School in the early 1960's. Much of my philosophy about coaching came from watching and listening to Coach Collins. He was, and is, an inspiration to me."
- Jerry Johnston - Head Football Coach 33 years, Past President of the Oklahoma Coaches Association, Member Oklahoma Coaches Hall of Fame, Athletic Director – Poteau, OK

"Coach Collins by his toughness and dedication to his coaching philosophy has influenced his former players who are now coaching. His influence grows with time." - Frank Captain – Assistant and Head Coach in Oklahoma, 27 Years