Coach Dave Thomas

Head football coach at Woodford County Middle School-2023 KYMSFA Division 1 State Champions

[Coach Dave Thomas @FootballWcms]

@BillyHo_Golf This is awesome!!! Congrats to @britthorschel! Keep doing the work!!! Recovery is a beautiful life! Working on year 17, one day at a time!

[Coach Dave Thomas @FootballWcms]

@JR_HIRSHey @Fully_Equipped @CallawayGolf We the People

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

Luke Falk shared a Mike Leach story that stopped me cold:

Two kids. One rich. One poor.

Every training camp, Coach Leach told his team about these 2 kids.

The rich kid has two choices.

Get soft. Get entitled. Expect everything handed to him because he was handed more.

Or take the resources, the coaching, the opportunities, and compound them into something greater.

The poor kid has two choices too.

Say nobody gave him anything. Blame the world. Make his circumstances the reason he never became what he could have been.

Or outwork everyone in the room.

Luke said the locker room had both. Kids from wealth. Kids from nothing. Kids with every advantage. Kids who scraped for every inch.

Same choice for all of them.

Ownership or victimhood.
Fuel or excuse.

The rich kid can waste the head start or build on it.

The poor kid can drown in the deficit or weaponize it.

Greatness doesn't come from where you start.

It comes from which kid you choose to feed.

Credit to @coachlukefalk for continuing to share golden nuggets about Coach’s legacy

[Coach Dave Thomas @FootballWcms]

Wise words!!!

[Jahsxiah Gibson @JahsxiahGibson]

I am not ashamed of my journey. My life will be a testimony.
But if I could offer a word of advice to any freshman, sophomore or junior athlete in high school it would be to just listen bro. All them adults in your life not just talking to talk. They been here longer. They done bumped they head already. They trying to save you from doing the same thing.

Do not make the mistake of thinking your talent alone is enough. It’s not. Talent open doors. Character and grades keep you there. And if you already messed up, if your GPA not where it should be, if your name been in rooms for the wrong reasons… don’t quit. Keep digging. You can climb out the hole the same way you dug it.

Class of 29, 28 and 27 hear me.

Take your grades serious.
Choose who you hang around wisely.
Protect your name. Word spreads fast if you a crash out.
Respect authority. Nobody riding for you like your parents and coaches.
Work hard when nobody clapping.
Do not wait until senior year to lock in. That GPA do not lie.
I’m still figuring it out myself. I’m struggling but I know God got me.

Be intentional.
Lock in early. Pray. Show up ready to work.

I’m learning the hard way that my future is being built in the small decisions I make today.

Start now.

[A Soldier's Whisper @SoldiersWhisper]

I locked the classroom door and turned to twenty five high school seniors, the Class of 2026. They were supposed to be the digital generation, confident and plugged in. Instead, staring back at me under the glow of hidden phones, they just looked tired.

I asked them to turn their phones off. Not silent. Off.

On my desk sat an old olive green military rucksack that belonged to my father. For weeks they ignored it, assuming it was just junk. They didn’t know it was the heaviest thing in the building.

I dragged it to the center of the room. Thud.

I told them we weren’t doing the Constitution that day. I handed out blank index cards with three rules. No names. Total honesty. Write down the heaviest thing you are carrying.

At first, no one moved. Then Sarah, straight A student, perfect everything, started writing. Then Marcus, the football captain, hunched over his card and wrote just three words.

One by one, they folded their cards and dropped them into the bag.

I zipped it shut and told them this bag was who they really were. Then I began to read.

A father pretending to go to work after losing his job. A student carrying Narcan for their mom. A kid mapping exits everywhere. A teen trapped between parents screaming about politics. A girl with thousands of followers crying alone at night.

Then the last card.

I don’t want to be here anymore. I’m just waiting for a sign to stay.

Marcus was crying openly. Sarah was holding the hand of a boy who usually sat alone. The cliques were gone. They were just kids carrying too much.

I told them the bag would stay in the room so they wouldn’t have to carry it alone anymore.

When the bell rang, no one rushed out. Every student stopped and touched the rucksack on the way out. I see you.

That night, a parent emailed me. Their son hugged them for the first time in years and asked for help.

Everyone you pass is carrying something you can’t see. Be kind. Be curious. Ask the people you love what they’re carrying. You might save a life.

[Jay Tust @Jay_Tust]

**Kids these days will never understand…**

How good SportsCenter once was.

It wasn’t endless annoying arguments trying to entice reaction.

It was poetry.

And Stuart Scott was Shakespeare.

#BOOyah

[TONY™ @TONYxTWO]

Seriously - WATCH ALL OF THIS! 🔥🔥👇🏼

“We got people literally camping in the streets, crying, lightning candles, holding signs, getting f*cking arrested, doing the most for people who broke into this country illegally, but when it comes to American veterans sleeping under the bridges, suddenly there’s not even a f*cking thought.”

“Y’all will shut down traffic for someone who hopped the fence, but won’t block a single street for the Marine who hopped on the f*cking grenade and came home invisible. And you weird a** politicians love to say we don’t have the money, but somehow there’s always enough money for people who aren’t f*cking citizens. That’s not a lack of funds, that’s a choice.”

“Fix our house first. Honor the people who built and defended it. Then we can talk about having guests over. Until that sh*t happens. Don’t talk to me about compassion.”

[G-MA & G-PA @GPAIndiana]

Gave me goosebumps 🙏
"I can do all things through
Christ who gives me strength" 🙏

[DK🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸 @1Nicdar]

130 schools said no.
He led the losingest program in college football history to a national championship anyway.
Fernando Mendoza was a 2-star recruit from Miami.

He tried to walk on at his hometown school. They passed.
So did FIU.
So did FAU.
So did everyone else.

At 17, he was sitting in his bedroom, crying over a silent recruiting inbox—after driving to 18 camps with his dad and sending highlights to more than 100 programs.
Not one FBS offer.
His only option? Yale. No scholarship. No NFL path.

Everyone told him to be “realistic.”
“Know your place.”
“Be grateful.”
He didn’t listen.
Because Mendoza understood something most people miss:
The worst outcome isn’t failing.
It’s never getting the chance to try.

Two weeks before signing day in 2022, his phone rang.
Cal needed a body. One offer. Out of 134 schools.
He took it.
He arrived as the third-string quarterback.
Spent a year on the scout team.
Lost his first four starts.
Got sacked 41 times behind a broken offensive line.

Still got up. Every time.
Then Cal brought in a transfer instead of building around him.
So Mendoza left the only school that had ever said yes.
He transferred to Indiana—the losingest program in college football history.

People laughed.
“Career suicide.”
“Graveyard program.”
“Nobody wins there.”
One coach told him something different:
“I’m going to make you the best Fernando Mendoza possible.”
That was enough.
Mendoza wasn’t just playing for football.
His mother has battled multiple sclerosis for 18 years.

Before every snap, he thought of her.
“My mother is my why.”
Indiana went 16–0.
Beat six Top-10 teams.
Won their first Big Ten title since 1945.
Mendoza threw 41 touchdowns.
Won the Heisman—first in school history.
First Cuban-American to ever do it.

Then came the title game.
Miami. Near his hometown.
Fourth-and-4. Season on the line.
Quarterback draw.
The kid 134 schools rejected spun through defenders and dove into the end zone.

Game over.
Indiana—national champions.
The losingest program became the best team in America.
All because a 17-year-old refused to believe “no” was the end.

Rankings don’t decide your ceiling.
Gatekeepers don’t write your ending.
Being overlooked isn’t a verdict—it’s a starting point.

Sometimes all you need is one shot…
and the courage to bet on yourself when nobody else will.
Don’t quit.

Credit: Barclay Mullins

[Coach Dave Thomas @FootballWcms]

@dannykanell This is awesome!!! No love for them…ever!

[Coach Dave Thomas @FootballWcms]

@mattvanswol I relate to this so much. I got a dog in early sobriety that saved me. My best friend for 10 years. He saw me marry, he saw my son born, and he loved our family. Lost him to lymphoma a few years ago. Much love to you and your family as you grieve him.

[Greg Berge @GregBerge]

PJ Fleck 🔥

“Failing is growth. Failure is quit.”

“The hard part of being the standard is you are the standard.”

“Joy is never letting circumstances dictate your behavior.”

100% coaching gold.

Bookmark and share. 🔖

[SmokeyGirl25 @_SmokeyGirl25]

Jesus died at 33. The human spine has 33 vertebrae. The same structure that holds us up is the same number of years He held this Earth.

We have 12 ribs on each side. 12 disciples. 12 tribes of Israel. God built His design into our bones. He wrote Heaven into our anatomy.

The vagus nerve runs from your brain to your heart and gut. It calms storms inside the body. It looks just like a cross. That’s the power source running through us. Every time your body heals, every time your heart slows in prayer, every time peace shows up when it shouldn’t…that’s Him.

Jesus rose on the third day. Science tells us that when you fast for 3 days, your body starts regenerating. Old cells die. New ones are born. Healing begins. Your body literally resurrects itself. That’s not coincidence. That’s design.

And it keeps going.

Your heart has an electrical rhythm. Your brain lights up when you pray. Tears contain different chemicals depending on if you're crying from joy or grief. The blood speaks. The bones store memory. The body worships whether you realize it or not.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are walking prophecy. Walking tabernacles. Dust and divinity in one.
God didn’t just create you. He carved Himself into you.
You don’t need to look far to find Him. You just need to look inward. He’s been in the design since the beginning.

[Coach Dave Thomas @FootballWcms]

And we wonder why the cost of attending college continues to increase!!!

[Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh]

🚨 WOW. Brown University student Alex Shieh previously EVISCERATED the school's administrators for having a $46 million deficit, despite surging costs for students.

They pay $90K+ PER YEAR.

Alex Shieh: "What about the kids who weren't born on third base?! [...] Brown is on track to run a $46 million DEFICIT this year. WHERE is all the money going?"

"I'll tell you where it's going. It's going into an empire of administrative bloat and bureaucracy! Brown employs 3,805 full time non-instructional staff for just 7,229 undergrads. That's one administrator for every two students."

"This isn't education. This is bloat paid for on the backs of students and families who are mortgaging their futures for a shot at a better life!"

HE'S SPOT-ON.

[Re'Mahn Davis @raydavis]

Votes count for x2! 🚨 Repost!!

#ProBowlVote  + Ray Davis
#BillsMafia  #GoBills

[The Players’ Tribune @PlayersTribune]

Hello, this is Fernando’s mom, Elsa! What a joy it is to have him as a son.

Fernando — I wrote you this with all my love. https://t.co/TNLn3uP2Gb

[Coach Dave Thomas @FootballWcms]

This is what greatness is supposed to look like!!! Faith, humility, passion, heart, and highly skilled!

[Sports Spectrum @Sports_Spectrum]

“I want to give all glory to God.”

@IndianaFootball QB Fernando Mendoza with all the emotions on FOX after winning the Big Ten championship over Ohio State.

[Coach Dave Thomas @FootballWcms]

Every single interview with an IU player I’ve watched included them thanking God. On top of that, they all seem to have a humility about them that is now rarely seen in football. So awesome to see them live their faith and love their teammates!

[Dominic Miranda @DomMirandaTV]

#IUFB running back Roman Hemby after winning the Big Ten Championship.

“I trusted what Coach Cig and the rest of the coaching staff preached to me. Everything they said could happen is happening.”

@WTHRcom

[The Driven Man @Thedrivenman]

When God want to make man powerful…

[Coach Dave Thomas @FootballWcms]

@daschundlovers2 Why does this haircut make the dog look like Mark Davis that owns the Oakland Raiders? lol