ThomasDenton 79 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 Heard today that Coach Kevin Perrigan has passed away. He had recently been placed in hospice as his condition turned worse. Prayers go out to his family and the John S. Battle community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wave316 64 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 Heard today that Coach Kevin Perrigan has passed away. He had recently been placed in hospice as his condition turned worse. Prayers go out to his family and the John S. Battle community. So very sad to hear this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1inStripes 933 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 Prayers for his family and all who knew and were influenced by him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasDenton 79 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 Don't forget the fight by Jim Sacco How could he not know? He had to be playing coy. Or maybe, just maybe, Kevin Perrigan didn’t want to take the spotlight off players, his kids, his athletes and shine it on himself and his struggles. He didn’t have to; the community did it for him. But, still. That night, the man they call “Coach P†claimed it wasn’t about him, his fight or the stupid, stinking throat cancer that was ravaging his body. It was a football game and it was all for the players. It’s tough to remember exactly what night it was, to pinpoint the game or to recall what he was wearing. Was it warm? What it cold? Was it a playoff game against Giles, or maybe Virginia High? Yes. It was cold. The kind of night that makes you plop $1 down for a semi-hot, kind-of brown cup of water that passes as “coffee†at a high school football game; when you pulled the cap down tight around ever-numbing ears and zipped the coat up to your chin. Other than that, it’s tough to recall. The calendar flips, warm weather turns cold and back again; dates, much like names and faces, tend to melt into one. What Perrigan said, however, is easy to remember. “It’s not about me, it’s about them.†And he said it with that off-kilter smile – the bandage on his neck pushing folds of skin up to his cheek making his face uneven. What he said boggled the mind. How could he not see it? How could he not know that, yes, it was about him? The smiles and applause showered his way as he gingerly walked down from the press box and across the field were right there, for all to hear. Each win, some player telling you that it was “for Coach P.†Wasn’t it obvious the whole community came together for him? He shrugged and smiled again, not answering. Last spring, before the John Battle softball team left the dugout for its state semifinal game in Salem, Va., the girls wondered if Coach P was there. He eventually made it, mere hours after treatment in Johnson City, Tenn., to fend off the cancerous growth that was jutting out of the right side of his jaw. Not just two hours and 43 minutes in a car to see the softball team, but 175 miles post-treatment to catch the baseball team as well. It played the same day at nearly the same time just up the street. He went there, too. “It would have been tough to miss,†he said the next day, after the Trojans lost to Eastside. After his friend, and softball coach, Ike Anderson cried on the field – not for the loss, but for his friend. Someone, Anderson said, who was like a brother. Someone, Anderson said, he would have loved to hand a trophy to. Perrigan looked tired that day in June, but on that cold night of football he looked different. The color was back in his skin and his voice sounded stronger – the peaks and valleys of a bout with cancer. And what he said made you shake your head. He didn’t know, or wouldn’t admit, what Keep on the Sunny Side – a saying that turned into a hashtag (#KOTSS) on Twitter and eventually found its way onto marquees between Exit 7 and 10 – was doing for the team and community. Seriously, coach, you don’t see it? Those people came up with KOTSS for you. He only smiled again and looked off to the football field, shook my hand and said, “See you next game?†He drove off, not waiting for an answer. It would be the last time we talked in person. “I’m not sure why the community took up my cause,†Perrigan said in March, “but it is greatly appreciated.†On Sunday, April 7, the fight got the best of Perrigan and KOTSS became Forever on the Sunny Side. Simply because you know he is. Simply because you’ll always remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 My prayers go out to everyone in the Battle community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-Cats 472 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Today VHS students are wearing yellow and taking a picture in honor of Coach P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasDenton 79 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Today VHS students are wearing yellow and taking a picture in honor of Coach P I've got a lot of respect for VHS for all they've done for Coach P during this ordeal. Lots of schools in the area have really supported Coach P and Battle during this rough time. Post the pic on here if you can get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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