The Details: Petersen On Fathers - No Job Is More Important
June 19, 2016 | Football, General
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
When Chris Petersen looks back on his childhood, he talks about hours and days stacked up in the weight room and on the football field.
His father, Ron, was a coach. Where he went, his son followed.
"It didn't matter where we were going, I was going with him," Petersen said. "As a little guy, that makes you feel really good."
For Petersen, summers were spent as his father's shadow.
"Without question, my best memories were going to work with my dad in the summertime," said Petersen, thinking about the meaning of Father's Day as both a father and son. "I think I learned how to play every sport known to mankind just being out there, because I was there all day long trying to entertain myself."
But, while he will never forget those days, the time spent on the field with his father didn't inspire him to be a coach. In fact, watching the hardships of molding men initially pushed Petersen in the opposite direction.
"The one thing I knew I was never going to be was a football coach," he said.
It wasn't until he was in college he realized the impact a coach can have on the life of a student athlete.
"I figured out there's so much involved in coaching, so much to give and help these kids with other than just winning football games," he said. "That's what I didn't know."
He didn't start considering a career in coaching until he was offered the opportunity to join the UC Davis staff while he pursued a graduate degree. And, even then, he was "lukewarm" to the idea.
"Being around those coaches on the inside, seeing what they were doing with the kids, what coaching was truly all about, the light bulb went on a little bit," he said.
All of a sudden, he started to think, "Maybe this is for me."
And then, he started to look back on all of those summer days with his father.
"You don't know how you're being shaped when you're going through this process," he said. "At the end of the day, I was preparing for this all along."
He wasn't learning Xs and Os. He wasn't developing a style. His father showed him how to treat teenagers who were maturing into men.
"That's what I always think it's all about," Petersen said. "It doesn't matter what your style is, there's a lot of different ways to do things, but the most important thing, whatever you're doing, make sure you're a really big-time person."
Looking back, Petersen wishes he would have paid more attention to his father's coaching style. He doesn't know if the way he teaches the game matches his father's philosophy. But he does know his father taught him how to treat people, and that has made all the difference.
"I know what he was like as a person, how he treated me, treated our family, treated the team, but I don't know his style," he said. "Styles can vary through personalities. The important thing is you're just a quality, quality person treating people the right way, doing things for the right reasons."
Now Petersen is a father and his children, Jack and Sam, grew up in much the same way their father did. The time commitment required to be a Division I football coach is extreme, but Petersen refuses to let his job prevent him from being an attentive father.
"You've got to be able to spend the time," Petersen said. "You have to be there. We all have such busy lives and it can sound like such a simple thing, but we all know it can be hard to do."
Over the years, in stadiums across the country, Petersen has played catch with his children. It creates unique father-son moments, but for the coach, it is just another opportunity to spend time with his kids.
"The kids we coach here are our extended family, but we can't forget about our family at home," he said. "We need to make time. We can't let our jobs get in the way of the most important job we have, which is always taking care of our family."
In addition to being a parent to Jack and Sam, Petersen is a father figure for all of his players. He knows many of the athletes he coaches will become fathers, an experience that isn't easy to prepare for.
However, Petersen believes there are things he can show his players along the way that will make an impact as they grow from students and athletes to parents.
"We all know, when that day comes, when you become a dad, nobody is prepared for that," he said. "It's like, 'Now what? Give me the instruction manual.' Well, maybe if we just open our eyes a little bit before that happens, we'll all be a little bit more prepared to do a good job."
Petersen learned from his father. He now passes those lessons to his own children, and the athletes he coaches.
"I don't think there is any job more important than being a dad," Petersen said. "I really don't. You want to change things. You want to change the world, be a great dad, be a great husband."
