Sons Settle For Support From Afar Pullman Dads Forced To Divide Attention This Weekend

Washington State football coaches are hoping for more than an Apple Cup win this weekend.

While WSU is in Seattle to face Washington, two Cougars coaches will have their fingers crossed. They’re pulling for their sons and their teammates as the Pullman Greyhounds face the Quincy Jackrabbits in the quarterfinals of the State 2A playoffs at Martin Stadium in Pullman Friday at 7 p.m.

Pullman’s 10-0 record has softened the pain in the Cougars’ 2-8 season for Jim Zeches and Craig Bray. Their sons, Brian and Trent, respectively, play key roles for the Greyhounds.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Bray, the Cougars’ secondary coach, said. “It’s a nice break, especially when we’re going through the season we’re going through.”

The Cougars have had seven home games, making it easier for the coaches to change roles on Friday nights.

“My stomach churns more when he’s out there at the start of a game,” said Zeches, the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator. “Because he’s your son, you feel a little bit helpless. During our games, I’m on the headset. At least I can make suggestions or adjustments.”

Should the Greyhounds win, the families will be split again. Brian, the quarterback, and Trent, an outside linebacker, will stay home for the semifinals while the Cougars head for their season-ender in Hawaii.

The coaches would be available for a state championship game the first weekend in December.

“It’s killing me,” Coach Bray said. “I’d rather be watching the game. It’s a rare time of your life. You hate to miss the opportunity to watch him play.”

He got to see his older son, Josh, participate in the state championship game two years ago.

Overall, though, the coaches aren’t complaining.

“The pluses outweigh the minuses right now,” Bray said, agreeing with Zeches. “Mike (Price, the WSU head coach) has been fantastic about it. I’m really thankful I work for a guy like Mike who has given me every opportunity to see my kids play. But when you’re on the road, you’re just stuck.”

The boys understand.

Because of the position their fathers are in, they’ve been on the sidelines for a closeup view of NFL-bound Cougars, they’ve been to numerous camps, they’ve been able to use WSU facilities for workouts and they’ve had one-on-one tutoring.

“It’s helped me a lot,” Brian Zeches said. “He’s kind of coached me since I was real young.”

Trent Bray added, “I feel like I’m a step ahead of everyone else.”

Neither believe they’ve been caught between their coaching fathers and Pullman coach Bill Christie.

“We haven’t run into that problem,” Trent said. “The coaching at the high school is good. What they teach is right.”

“He’s had pushy fathers,” Brian said of his father.

Jim Zeches said, “Bill Christie and his staff do a great job. We never want them to feel like we’re looking over their shoulder, just like if we had a father here who was an NFL coach. From that point, we try to stay away.”

Christie hasn’t had a problem.

“We don’t see them that much. When we’re coaching, they’re coaching,” he said. “When they’ve grown up with that, they … know the game. It gives them an edge.”

But once a coach, always a coach.

“Both my personalities come out,” Zeches said. “With my father personality, I can relax, watch them play. That’s fun.”

Still, he and Bray can’t help but notice the little things.

“I try not to step on his coaches’ toes too much,” Craig Bray said. “I’m not coaching him, so I try not to tell him anything that conflicts. I try to help him out. I’m a little more critical (than most dads). As a coach, I’m looking for that perfection aspect. He’s real good about handling it.

“It’s real enjoyable to get away from that thought pattern … just go out and enjoy small-town high school football in the Northwest, because that’s what it is.”

That won’t always be true. Christie believes both players, just juniors, will play in the future. Maybe even full-time in Martin Stadium.

“He can play some place,” Jim Zeches said of his son. “Will he be our quarterback of the future? That’s the part that’s hard to answer. I’m a dad.”

Brian has thought about it and likes the sound of that. Trent Bray said, “I haven’t really thought about it, but I definitely wouldn’t mind.”