BACK TO INTERVIEWSCOACHPeter HopkinsMarch 4, 2025HumbleHumble High School, Texas.BEST MOMENTS“I have a promise that I make to my kids every day: I'm going to love you first — love the person first, then coach the part second.” PLAY AT 0:41“We are bridges, not brick walls. We're simply trying to usher them through this game that we love, football, and use life lessons and tools so we won't be gatekeepers.” PLAY AT 1:01“My grandfather coached me at the age of 87, my senior year in high school. He did it for 64 years. So everything I try to do is emulate what he's done.” PLAY AT 4:34CHAPTERS0:00Love the Person First, Coach the Part Second2:17Winners in Everything, From the Field to the Locker Room3:12Faith Is Vital: What Sustains Him Every Day4:26His Grandfather Coached 64 Years and Laid the FoundationTRANSCRIPTHide −0:01hey I'm here today with uh Peter Hopkins at Umble high school and uh he's given me the opportunity to just ask him a few questions and uh so I'm I'm I just am grateful for the opportunity to be able to talk to him today coach um as a coach what are some of the ways you can help a student athlete be successful in life uh the biggest thing is them understanding that I'm a child of God and every day that I'm doing the Lord's work and um0:30what I mean by that um one of my favorite scriptures is um study and show yourself approval so for me to show how they can be successful in life is for me to show up every day prepare for their life daily and I have a promise that I make to my kids every day is that I'm going to love you first love the person first then Coach the part second so I'm going to love your heart first and then Coach whatever part I need you to be0:55successful not only you know in the game of life but you know in in the game of football as well and I and I tell people all this we are bridges not brick walls and what I mean by that is we we simply Ur just trying to ur them through this through this game that we love football and and and use life lessons and tools so we won't be Gatekeepers for the kids got to know and understand that you love them and that you'll be there but also1:20hold them responsible and hold them to you know accountability level that they deserve to be coach what do you think it takes to be a good coach you kind of already said it but uh what it takes to be a good coach is um knowing that you can always learn and learn different ways to reach kids cuz you have to tailor your coaching to specifically for their kid and where tailor man for you may not be Tailor Made For Me Yeah and you got to be able1:47to sit down and be able to be related I use this terminology all the time is I'm close enough and age to relate but old enough to evaluate evaluate myself am I really doing what I can to reach this kid or do I need to use different Tex us and different tools awesome uh coach I I can already see why Umble has been doing really well because after after talking with Coach Murphy and and now talking with Coach Hopkins uh I I just love your heart man right good than you uh how2:17important is winning in this profession winning is is very important you know and and and I use this as well winners in everything we do we're going to be winners in the game of life we're going to be winners in academics we're going to be winners in the playing field if we if we got to clean up the locker room we be wiers in cleaning up the locker room so winning is very very important and what we have to be able to convey to our children and convey to2:40this community is that you pick winners and us being here in this community so we want to make sure we represent this community the right way and want to put a a great product on the field that you guys can be successful I mean you guys can be happy seeing yeah you know so when when people ask is is Win important yes it's important we we play the game to win you know yeah and we do everything in this program to win yeah and that's in the building that's you3:04know in the community and of course it's internal Stadium on Friday Thursday Saturday you know we lined up we ready to play there you go yes sir there you go uh okay Coach uh how important is uh faith in our profession and that could be um faith in your coaches could be faith in your players could be faith in God how important is Faith in our profession uh faith is Faith is huge it's it's it's very very vital I try not to use little things I use vital things3:32like you know when you have Vital Signs is you know you got to have faith in in your cultes you got to have faith in your kids but my faith sustains me you know that that that's what gets me going every day that's what allows me to um to keep going that's what allows me to um run the race and run my own race and even when I'm weary but more importantly allows me to forgive too even if I feel I've been wrong or also ask for3:57forgiveness if I Wrong someone faith is Faith is everything to me um it's it's my favorite word you know like faith and fith are my two favorite words that I live by yeah and and and you got to have some type of Faith to be able to open up these doors or to able to wake up and just going to go deal with with these with with your staff with with the children with the parents and be able to have you know a strong ego versus little4:21ego you know and and be able to check that every day when you wake up for sure amen I love this guy okay will you share some thoughts on what helped you become the person and the coach that you are today that's easy my grandfather my grandfather coached me in cracken Texas at the age of um 87 my senior year in high school wow he did it for 64 years so everything I try to do is emulate what he he's done you know um and and4:50it's it's an honor to be able to to carry the Legacy that he's laid the foundation and display got a key to the city or to the town he got gymnasium 3.7 million gymnasium got statues so he laid the foundation but before all those things came the biggest lessons I learned is washing clothes with him you know um lining the football Fielding putting D on the football fielding and how much pride that he took in doing those things for other people kids and for you to do it for 64 years you5:22talking about faith you talking about love you talking about impact you talking about selflessness you talking about you know commitment you know those little things was important to me even at the age of 87 he still watching clothes and he was only 64 year you know like he could easily said one of you young pups or you know young coaches you know it's your time to do that but right he displayed those things and he instilled those things in me to be able to want to be in the profession and want5:53to do the profession right and do it at long po long time yeah uh guys this has been coach Peter hopk kins Umble High School I am very very thankful for him sitting down and talking with me and sharing a coach's perspective
