AUSTIN, Texas — Crockett Early College High School is celebrating its second straight year with a winning record.
After head coach Darrick Norton took over the program in 2020 and since then, things have looked different on the field and on the sidelines. Particularly after hiring Shannon Reed as his wide receivers' coach.
Shannon Reed has prior coaching experience with middle school and high school sports like basketball, track and cross country. But for over a decade, she was searching for a chance to coach varsity football.
"She's been wanting to be a football coach forever," her son, Jacob Reed, said. "She studied the playbook with me, even before she was a coach."
Then one day during her son's freshman year, Shannon Reed brought him – by the ear – to Coach Norton after seeing his grades. She asked the coach to make her son do bear crawls for punishment.
Instead, she got an answer to her prayers. Her respect for accountability impressed Norton, so when she asked for a position, he approved.
"I knew she had high school coaching experience in the past, so we just sat down and talked about my expectations," Norton said. "My expectations of her was that she's not going to be just a football secretary, she's going to have to learn the position."
Over the past three seasons, that's exactly what Shannon Reed has done – and more. With a new voice on the coaching staff, the team has found a security blanket in the woman they call "Momma Reed."
"She helps them through all their boy-girl issues and all that kind of stuff, where I'm like, 'I don't care. There's nothing more important than football,'" Norton said with a chuckle.
Momma Reed does recognize how having a mother-like figure is impacting the Cougars.
"Just about every single one of them will walk through my door, greet me with a hug and then go about doing what they do," she said.
Unexpectedly, she has also seen the impact that her presence is making in young girls in the community.
"I don't realize how impactful it is. And then to have people come down from the stands and introduce me to their daughters and tell me, 'you're an inspiration,' then I know I'm doing something special" Reed said.
"The fact that I get to share a hero with somebody – because she's my hero," Jacob Reed said. "I'm glad other people get to see what I see from my mom."
Shannon Reed is an inspiration to her family at home and on the field. She hopes she continues to learn and grow to become a Division 1 coach one day. In the meantime, she'll be leading her pack of Cougars into the playoffs.