In Remembrance of Coach Tom Flood

In remembrance of St. Andrew's First Head Football Coach, Tom Flood (Nov 17, 1937 - Nov 10, 2020)
Coach Tom Flood, a longtime friend of former Head of School Lucy Nazro, helped establish St. Andrew's first Upper School Football Program.  He was a 1955 graduate of Waco High and attended Tarleton and Texas A&M University, class of 1959. At Texas A&M, he played football under Paul “Bear” Bryant which solidified his love for football and pursuit of a career in coaching.  When St. Andrew's high school was formed, Mrs. Nazro recruited Coach Flood out of retirement and into the head coach position for the newly formed Upper School football team.  He remained the head coach until 2008, when Coach Ty Detmer was hired.
 
Coach Flood was a special part of our growing Upper School athletics program. In a 2009 sermon titled "Winning and Losing", Mrs. Nazro highlighted a memory about Coach Flood:
 
"Sports, with its highs and lows, euphoric joys and utter sorrows, are so much like life. The director of the camp in Tennessee, where I went, used to say, "It's not what happens to you that counts, it's how you REACT to what happens to you. " It's your attitude.”
 
I am reminded of one of our graduates who loved sports as much as I. David Houston came to St Andrews in the first grade. He was born with cerebral palsy, could not walk, and was in a wheel chair. In the 4th grade, David moved to a walker and, of course, he fell on many occasions. David worked and walked and walked and worked and finally, when he came to the Upper School, he was using only arm braces. Then finally, he walked, albeit haltingly, without the braces.  David wanted nothing more than to play football. He went out for football in the 11th grade and sat on the bench. He helped out, but he never played a down. Finally, in his senior year, his dad came to me and our Athletic Director and told us that David wanted to play in the last game of the season. He could barely walk out onto the field, but I knew that David needed to play. We talked to his doctors at Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas and to our coach, Tom Flood. They cleared him to play. David would play football! David walked onto the field for an extra-point kick. The crowd cheered: "Da-vid! Da-vid!" He took his place on the line and blocked his man as directed. David wrote his college essay on that moment It was the high point of his life."
 
Rest in peace, Coach Flood.  And thank you for helping St. Andrew's establish our high school football program, we are forever grateful.
Back