seymour optimist charter football team reunites

Forty seven years ago in 1962 the first Seymour Optimist football team was founded.  They were called the Blue Devils and their jerseys were green and gold.  This past Thursday night at Valley Grove Baptist Church, the players of that first team reunited with their coaches for the first time.
When the team was founded  John F. Kennedy was president, the Cuban missile crisis was happening, John Glenn orbited the earth, K-Mart and Wal-Mart was started, the New York Yankees, Jack Nicklaus, the Cowboys and Packers ruled the sports world.  You could get a movie ticket for one dollar, Thunder Road was premiering, gas was 28 cents per gallon, the average cost of a house was $12,000 and Elvis Presley ruled the music world.
The reunion was a great experience for all 52 people in attendance.  The men present were 7 to 14 years old when they played.  Chad Rittenhouse opened the meeting with a prayer.
Darris Hawkins, one of the organizers spoke first.  He told how he and Rick Hill began discussing the possibility of having a team reunion.  “That team meant so much to us as kids.  The lessons those coaches taught us helped throughout our lives” said Hawkins.
The team was coached by two currently very high profile men.  Rick Hill Sr. who has ran Chapman Highway Driving Range for years and Ken Sparks, head football coach at Carson-Newman College (CNC).   Coach Hill reflected on that first year.  “Our first game was against Gatlinburg-Pittman at Gatlinburg.  They were an experienced team and we were just starting.  We only lost by one touchdown despite that fact.”  The team played other Sevier County and Knox county teams.
Hawkins said, “Coach Hill taught me how to throw my first side body block.  We had to share helmets.  I didn’t mind that.  I just didn’t like sharing mouth pieces!”  The crowd erupted in laughter.  
The team started out playing on New Hopewell Baptist Church property, and then moved to Bower Field on Chapman Highway where the Seymour Optimist leased the property for one dollar a year and still does.   “Thousands of kids lives have been impacted on those ball fields” said Rick Hill Sr. who also helped build the first block building on the property.
The highlight of the program was when Coach Ken Sparks spoke.  He is a local and national legend.  Sparks is one of the most winning college football coaches in the NCAA.  He currently ranks fourth among active coaches in all divisions.  Sparks holds five national championships, four nations runner-up finishes and 18 SAC championships.  
Since he took over the Eagles program in 1980 he has built a national football powerhouse at CNC.  The 1968 Carson Newman graduate has been at the wheel of the CN machine for 27 seasons with a 259-62-2 record.   Sparks holds numerous national coach of the year awards as well as SAC Coaching awards.  
Sparks is one of the most sought after speakers in the nation.  He is a member of the Knoxville, Carson-Newman and SAC Sports Hall of Fame.  
Although he has numerous accolades, Sparks measures coaching greatness by how you impact the lives of those you come into contact with.  
He recently was named President of the American Football Coaches Association.  The Seymour Optimist Football Association should be very proud to have a part in giving Ken Sparks his start in a football coaching career.  
Sparks and Hill ran the single wing offense while coaching the Seymour Blue Devils.  It produced wins against most of the teams they played.  Sparks stated, “This is a great event.  You guys are so special to me.  If it wasn’t for you guys, I’d probably still be sacking groceries.  Life and sports is all about relationships.  God prepared you to help in other people’s lives.  He wants to use you to change your community and the world.”
The 67 year old Sparks said he was asked about retirement from college football.  He responded by saying, “he didn’t know what that meant.”  Sparks said “I wouldn’t know what else to do.”
The men responsible for this reunion were Rick Hill, Jr., Darris Hawkins and Jerry Price (all former Blue Devils).  
At the end, the players thanked Coach Sparks and Coach Hill for all they had done for them as kids.
In our world today, with all the discouragement around us, it was very uplifting to be a part of such a special event such as this.