HICO, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Four months ago, Austin Isaacs was lying in a hospital bed following a serious automobile accident, facing severe injuries and an uncertain future.
Today, the 24-year-old is back on the football field, leading the Midland Trail Middle School Patriots to a 4-0 start.
For Isaacs and his family, this football season represents far more than wins and losses. It is a comeback that, only months ago, was far from guaranteed.
Isaacs suffered severe injuries in the automobile accident and faced months of physical therapy and recovery. He spent his first wedding anniversary with his wife, Kaitlyn, in a hospital room, an anniversary he still has no memory of.
But Isaacs fought his way back.
Through months of physical therapy and determination, he worked to regain what the accident had taken from him. Now, instead of watching football from a hospital bed, Isaacs is walking the Midland Trail sideline and calling the shots as head coach.
He is not doing it alone.
Isaacs coaches alongside his father, Frank Isaacs, a longtime special education teacher and former Midland Trail High School head football coach. His younger brother, Aden Isaacs, is also on the coaching staff, along with Austin’s childhood best friend, Trevor Harrell.
Austin credits many of the lessons he learned playing football for his father with helping him through some of the most difficult days of his recovery. He also credits God with getting him to where he is today.
The experience has given the young coach a different perspective as he leads his players. His message to the Patriots extends beyond football: setbacks do not have to define a person’s future.
Isaacs wants his players to understand the importance of hard work, perseverance and continuing to fight when circumstances seem overwhelming. With his family and friends beside him, he is teaching his players to keep showing up and never quit.
“The story isn’t finished, and only God knows where and how it ends.”
For now, Austin, Frank and Aden are cherishing the opportunity to spend Thursday nights together on the Midland Trail sideline.
The rest of the Isaacs family is never far away. Austin’s wife, Kaitlyn; his mother, Michelle; and his sisters, Addy and Avery are in the stands supporting him.
The undefeated Patriots now enter one of the toughest portions of their schedule, with back-to-back Thursday night games against Oak Hill and Glennwood.
The Patriots may face their biggest challenges of the football season in the coming weeks, but their head coach has already faced a challenge far greater than anything that can happen on a football field.
Four months after an accident threatened to take away the life he knew, Isaacs is back doing what he loves, surrounded by the people who helped him get there.
And through everything, one lesson has remained at the center of his comeback: family is everything.
