It takes a lot of effort these days for Bruce Carey just to make it from the dressing room to the sideline. Bridgeport's football coach suffered a spinal aneurysm over the winter, and has been forced to use a walker ever since.
It takes a lot of effort these days for Bruce Carey just to make it from the dressing room to the sideline. Bridgeport's football coach suffered a spinal aneurysm over the winter, and has been forced to use a walker ever since.
"I ended up with emergency surgery of the spinal cord artery,'' Carey said. "The vein malfunctioned and paralyzed me inside the spinal cord, and numbed me from the waist down.''
So it's with great hardship that the 52-year-old Carey goes about his everyday chores. But as the Thanksgiving holiday nears, he finds that he has a lot to be grateful for.
His Indians, unbeaten and ranked third in West Virginia Class AAA, come to Laidley Field Saturday afternoon for a date against defending state champion South Charleston in the playoff semifinals. The winner secures a spot in next week's Super Six finals at Wheeling Island Stadium.
If Bridgeport wins, it would mark the school's first title shot since 2001, when it lost to Poca in the Class AA championship game. The Indians won their last title the previous season, beating Wayne in the AA finals.
It's been quite a ride so far for Bridgeport, one that Carey wasn't sure he'd be a part of following his health concerns.
"I really didn't want to coach,'' Carey said Wednesday. "They had to talk me into it. But I'm glad I did. It got my mind off me, and I think it's the most enjoyable two, three hours I have per day.''
Carey admits it's been hard to get around and maintain a coach's lifestyle. Wayne Jamison, a coaching legend at the school whom the field is named after, came out of retirement to help the program while Carey recovered.
During preseason drills and practices, Carey relies on a golf cart to navigate the field. For games, he uses a walker equipped with a seat. The staff designates people to serve as Carey's "bodyguards'' along the sidelines in case players or officials run out of bounds and threaten his location.
It takes a lot of effort these days for Bruce Carey just to make it from the dressing room to the sideline. Bridgeport's football coach suffered a spinal aneurysm over the winter, and has been forced to use a walker ever since.
"I ended up with emergency surgery of the spinal cord artery,'' Carey said. "The vein malfunctioned and paralyzed me inside the spinal cord, and numbed me from the waist down.''
So it's with great hardship that the 52-year-old Carey goes about his everyday chores. But as the Thanksgiving holiday nears, he finds that he has a lot to be grateful for.
His Indians, unbeaten and ranked third in West Virginia Class AAA, come to Laidley Field Saturday afternoon for a date against defending state champion South Charleston in the playoff semifinals. The winner secures a spot in next week's Super Six finals at Wheeling Island Stadium.
If Bridgeport wins, it would mark the school's first title shot since 2001, when it lost to Poca in the Class AA championship game. The Indians won their last title the previous season, beating Wayne in the AA finals.
It's been quite a ride so far for Bridgeport, one that Carey wasn't sure he'd be a part of following his health concerns.
"I really didn't want to coach,'' Carey said Wednesday. "They had to talk me into it. But I'm glad I did. It got my mind off me, and I think it's the most enjoyable two, three hours I have per day.''
Carey admits it's been hard to get around and maintain a coach's lifestyle. Wayne Jamison, a coaching legend at the school whom the field is named after, came out of retirement to help the program while Carey recovered.
During preseason drills and practices, Carey relies on a golf cart to navigate the field. For games, he uses a walker equipped with a seat. The staff designates people to serve as Carey's "bodyguards'' along the sidelines in case players or officials run out of bounds and threaten his location.
"It gets a little frustrating,'' Carey said. "I've tried to rip the steering wheel off the golf cart many days.
"I've had a lot of guys help me, bring me the golf cart to coach and doing all the legwork, protecting me. I've really been blessed with a lot of help. The kids have been pretty good, too. It's tough sometimes, and it's good sometimes. With the golf cart, I can get around and holler at everybody.''
South Charleston coach John Messinger, who opposes Carey's team on Saturday, thinks the Indians players have extra motivation in their playoff run.
"Another thing they're playing for, no doubt, is to get something done this year for Coach Carey,'' Messinger said. "Bruce has had a bad year, health-wise. It's no secret. He may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and seeing the end of his career.
"Now if he recovers and comes back, more power to him. But you're talking about serious health issues. I think that team is playing for Coach Carey. Heck, if I wasn't in the playoffs, I'd be rooting for them all the way myself.''
Carey isn't sure of his plans for next year, but points out that he's been coaching for 32 years and since first playing football in Pop Warner leagues at age 10, he's been part of the sport for 42 straight autumns. It would be difficult to leave football behind.
"I'm getting some strength back,'' Carey said. "They think within two years, I could be back to walking. But I haven't really thought about [next season]. I'm going to wait until the end of the year and go back to therapy. If I'm not better, I doubt I'll be back. So this could be the last [year].''
Reach Rick Ryan at 304-348-5175 or rickr...@wvgazette.com.
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I have no doubt that his players are motivated not only by his strength in overcoming his new limitations, but I believe the team lost a fellow team member to an auto accident earlier this year, as well.
Way to go gentlemen. Good luck with the rest of the playoffs. Hard work, focus and determination are the moral of this story. There was a lot more to this story that you missed Mr. Ryan.