RIP to an absolute legend.

1 hour ago, ATLCat said:

We lost a rare gem today.

My heart breaks for his family, his friends, his staff, his players, and his community. Haywood was an icon in the State. Probably less than .1% of KY residents could pinpoint within a 100 miles on a map where Belfry would be if Haywood never existed, but because of his giant legacy people know where an unincorporated town in rural Appalachia is not only in the Bluegrass but throughout the country.

As a football coach his legacy will be achieving monumental heights with so very little. Rural county schools in Appalachia are not meant to be sustainable powerhouses, Haywood won 8 titles and reached Semi-Finals and State Finals that are too many to count despite isolation, unstable mining economies, and a sprawling School District that used to take nearly an hour to get from some edges to the other on winding one lane roads.

491 wins… most in KY history.. among the most in America… 491 wins. Yet the most impressive stat is that for each of those wins you can probably double it with people he brought to Jesus. For each of those wins you can multiple it by five or six times the number of players he made better men with his coaching and life lessons. For each of those wins you can multiply it by 10 or 12 times the people he impacted positively. Coaches he helped, parents he guided, leaders he developed, strangers he made welcome.

A lot of people are hurting right now, but what is so beautiful about the life Philip Haywood led is that all those people hurting know that the legacy he left has impacted generations and he would not rather be anywhere more than the place he is now. There is no pain there, but there is a crowd gathered ready to greet him.

Thank you Philip Haywood for being who you were!

 

Amen. Well said!

 

This one stings. This man was and is everything that is EKY football.  There will never be another one like him. 
 

RIP to the man, myth and The Legend and the GOAT! 

Several years ago my daughter was selected to go to HOBY (Hugh O'Brian Youth) Leadership program at Transy. It's a week long program for high school students, that works to mold our future leaders. When we picked her up she was telling us all about her week. In typical teenager fashion she wasn't real excited about anything. She did point out that there was one speaker that was awesome, one that she really enjoyed. You guessed it, it was Coach Haywood that had driven all the way to Lexington for the opportunity to speak to a bunch of young minds. 

Belfry over the past 15 or so years has played all three of our local schools on more than one occasion and I think between them Somerset, Southwestern and Pulaski only came away with one victory. There is nothing but respect coming out of this town for Coach Haywood and the program that he built. 

We at Somerset just lost our headcoach suddenly a few years ago. So we are very much aware of the feelings going through the Belfry community tonight. 

Prayers sent to the Haywood Family, his players, co-workers, church family and the community that loved him.

 

This is so sad. Prayers are with him, his family, and the whole community!!

So sad to hear this. Words really don’t do this man justice. I wasn’t fortunate enough to know him but know of him and I’m thankful for all Coach Haywood has accomplished as a KY HS football fan. I’m proud of that. 
I pray for his family , his community, his way of life. 
RIP Coach Haywood. 

Just terrible.  Prayers for his family and everyone involved with Belfry community. 

Legend. Lived his live to serve. Deepest condolences to all who knew him. 

This is a gut punch.

My sympathy for the Haywood family and Belfry community is matched only by my reverence for the man and a life well lived.

When you cross the bar, coach, may you see your pilot face to face. And may the waters be calm.

Courtesy of X.

"If you've got one thing that represents the community, it gives hope to every student, every person in this area.... whether we do it or one of the local teams does it, it gives something special back to the community and gives hope that, if you can do it, I can too"

- Coach Haywood on the transformative power of inspiration in all forms, football and beyond, in EKY.

My heart goes out to the family of Philip Haywood, as well as to the coaches, teachers, players, and the entire community at Belfry. Although I’ve only been to Belfry a handful of times and never played a down for the Pirates, it was truly an honor to call him my coach for the past 12 months as I hired him to be my life coach.

 

I usually avoid sharing my struggles on socila media, but my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder has worsened significantly, and I sought great guidance to achieve my lofty goals. When his wife, Linda, posted about his availability, I jumped at the opportunity. I plan to write more about my experience in the coming week.

 

A couple of weeks ago, we had an incredible conversation over the phone where I asked him countless questions about football, discussing several of his teams from Belfry. Coach Haywood was a Godly, Christ-honoring man, and I will always treasure the time we spent getting to know each other.

 

The people who truly make a difference are those who go above and beyond. Despite his busy schedule, Coach Haywood exceeded our contract, regularly reaching out via text, email, and phone calls. I’m debating what to share about the lessons he taught me this year; so many areas of my life matured, and it’s hard to pinpoint where to start.

 

The bottom line is that he just knew what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. When times got tough, his sessions felt like calling a timeout when the opposing team started to make a run in a game. He helped me make the adjustments needed to get back on track. If I had to identify the biggest area of growth, it would be learning to appreciate what I have, rather than taking it for granted in pursuit of my ambitions.

 

Our last brief conversation was Friday night, where we scheduled our call intended for the next evening. I’m paraphrasing, but his last words to me were something like, “It seems like you’re starting off in all the right directions this year,” particularly regarding my commitment to my exercise program and stating that I would drop 100 lbs. this year. I was like a kid and couldn't wait to let him know of my progress. These are two separate messages from him, the last one coming from our final exchange via text. I only worked with Coach Haywood over the past year with our appointments over the phone and the text and e-mail conversations we had. I have no ties to Belfry, I have never played football for him. I could only imagine what it would have been like to have the experience playing football or getting to coach alongside him being a part of his talented staff, many of whom have coached together for a number of years. Despite only closely knowing him that one year, I feel like I am writing about someone that I have known since birth. This man went above and beyond and his friendship will always be cherished.