RANDLEMAN, N.C. — At the start of the season, football was the most important thing for Randleman Head Coach Shane Timmons. Then three weeks in, he got news that changed everything and took him away from the game entirely.
Putting your best foot forward in everything you do in life, is how Coach Timmons is navigating a parent's worst nightmare.
His nearly 2-year-old daughter Ophie is fighting Ependymoma, a rare brain cancer.
“You know, your world shatters. Your heart breaks," said Coach Timmons. “It's taught you that every single moment of your life, every single capacity of your life, you have an opportunity to comfort others and be excellent, that’s what we’re called to do. We’re called to give our best."
Coach Timmons leads the fight on the field and is now leading his daughter's fight against cancer.
For the time being, the Timmons family moved to Memphis to get Ophie the best care at St. Jude's.
“I certainly have fear," said Timmons. "I certainly have stress. I certainly wake up sometimes in the middle of the night and have a panic.”
Assistant Coach Brian Hughes will take over the program.
“It's pretty painful for me because him and I have been together a long time. It's pretty painful," Hughes said.
The Tigers are giving their best on and off the field.
“Even going through all of this - he doesn’t waiver," said Hughes. "It's so easy for everyone to rally around him."
They're selling t-shirts, wearing decals on their helmets, and loving on Ophie with signs throughout the stands too.
“You put us in a crisis, as people, man, we typically are amazing and I’ve seen the goodness of people and how great we can be," said Timmons. "To my players, I just said, you know, why not be excellent all the time? Don’t wait for a crisis to be excellent.”
Timmons' players say they're ready to answer his call to be excellent.
“It’s a little blaze in your heart - knowing he’s giving his best and it motivates you to give you best as well," said Jonathan Sampson, a junior on the football team.
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