Mission, Texas
By Harlan Woods Mission, Texas Somehow, it just doesn’t seem right. Dave Lee was only 39, in the prime of his life, when death called last January. Cancer was the culprit that claimed his life, that turned him from a healthy specimen to just a shell of a man in less than a year. Dave Lee was so young, so energetic, and had so much ahead of him.
| doubt if there has ever been anyone who fought so hard and so gallantly before death prevailed. Right up to the final weeks of his life, Dave proclaimed he was going to whip this thing. And, he really believed it. Even in death, Dave was a winner. He commended to more than just one person during the final trying months that he felt the Lord had a purpose with his life. He never gave up and he died with the same strength of character and positive outlook that he maintained throughout his life.
Dave Lee and Staff with Tom Landry. Dave is the one with the dark glasses.
When asked if | would write a brief eulogy to Coach Lee, my first thought was that I couldn’t do it. I only knew Dave for four years. We talked hundreds of times during that period as coach and writer, and I had the utmost re- I knew him all that well. I know he loved his work, he loved his players and coaches, he was a religious man, and most of all, he loved his wife, his three children, and his parents, Patrick and Shirley Lee. There were very few dry eyes when he choked up Touchdown Club football banquet on December 15.
It embarrassed him some that the community made such a fuss over him and conducted the numerous fundraising activities to help pay the multitude of bills brought on by his illness. Just prior to the Christmas holidays, the Mission Lions Club was conducting a food drive to help needy families in the Mission area. Dave contacted me and Coach Lee’s First Team at Mission. His Legacy will said he wanted to help because so many people had done live on. so much for him and his family. That was the type of person Editor’s Note: Dave Lee had me come to his school and he was. do a BFS Clinic. I brought my daughter, Shauna, with me and we stayed in Dave’s home with his family.
I got that Dave was fighting a losing battle. Even then, just as to know Dave and his wife Linda. My daughter played with his daughter. I remember Dave liked to play blackjack len and Memorial on successive weekends, we had hoped and would go once a year to play in Nevada. After the clinic, we were laughing and having a good time as he taught me his system.
Dave Lee was an Upper Limit Coach, an Upper Limit family man and a Most of us knew during the weeks preceding his death we did when the Eagles were down 17 points against McAIthat some miracle would occur and Dave would come from behind to win this one — the biggest battle he ever faced. Dave Lee was a scrapper.
He looked at everything with that positive attitude that is the trademark of a winner. “If you think you're going tears as I write this sentence. He will be missed. Our prayers and sympathies extend to all who were close to to lose, chances are you will,” he told me one time.
Dave and especially to his family. One thing is clear: Dave Lee left his mark and his positive spirit will leave groups, Dave never failed to arouse excitement and support a lasting legacy to all privileged to know him. confidence in his own ability and that of his staff. The In his frequent talks to the service clubs and community for the football program. He did his homework and exuded community support was evidenced by the fact that the classroom before they could perform on the gridiron. He and his coaches held regular tutoring sessions to help those having trouble with their grades.
Dave knew the importance of passing and was not satisfied with a boy simply getting by. He wanted them to give 100 percent in the classroom, just as they did on the field.
Mission had one of the lowest rates of any school in the Valley for athletes affected by the “No Pass, No Play”
Very few people realize how much he changed the football program at Mission in four brief years. He had good people in key positions and he knew he wanted to accomplish. Those who have visited the fieldhouse in recent months would never know that it was the same place Lee POWER CLEAN — The newly remodeled and enlarged Lee Fieldhouse at Mission High School, named after former Head Coach Dave Lee, can accommodate up to 90 athletes at one time. In the photo here, Henry Gutierrez, a Mission student, is power cleaning as Johnny Steinbeck stands behind him. Supervised sessions are held six hours a week for the Mission athletes during three school periods.
(Mission Schools Photo) inherited when he came here in 1983.
When Dave first came to Mission, he made some promises. He said the Eagles would be competitive, and they have most certainly been that. He promised that the coaching staff and players would be dedicated to making the playoffs, and they did that this year, for the first time since 1968. He promised that Mission would win the district title. It is ironic that he did not get to see the last six games when the Eagles fought their way into the playoffs. But, it gave him great satisfaction. Linda, his wife, commented that each week he would tell the doctors in Dallas to hurry it up because “I need to get back to Mission to get ready for Friday night’s game.”
I feel very strongly that good things are going to happen in Mission with the football program. The groundwork was placed there by Dave Lee and those who remain are dedicated to complete his task. That is not to say he won't be missed. When you have a natural leader like he was, there will be a void. But, all of Mission can take pride in the fact that we had Dave Lee for four years and his good works will continue.
You can be sure that somewhere, Dave Lee will be watching and when that time comes that the Eagles win CHARTING RESULTS — Mission CISD Strength Coach Jeff the district title, you might hear him say, “See, I told you Dicus works out a schedule with Omar Guerra and Mark we could do it!”
Trevino as Leo Cavazos takes a turn on the bench press in the new Lee Fieldhouse. The facility, one of the finest in the state, was dedicated in the memory of Coach Dave Lee, Mission MISSION: Webster defines it as “a cooperative effort to football coach, who died of cancer on January 6. (Mission achieve a common goal.”
Teamwork is an important ingredient in accomplishing any task and never was it more evident than in a project Eagles have played before packed stadiums in recent years. There are many things I remember about Dave. The started this past year to enlarge and remodel the athletic fieldhouse at Mission High School. first that comes to mind is the meticulous preparation he It was Coach Dave Lee’s brainstorm to make the fielput into everything he did.
To watch the Eagles getting dhouse into one of the best in South Texas and, though ready for a Friday night game and to see how hard he he did not live to see it become a reality, he will always be worked, and how much he demanded from those around associated with the program because the school district has him, you couldn’t help but get excited and really believe named it the Lee Fieldhouse in his memory. that the Eagles were going to win. I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited about a victory as the opening game of this season when Mission defeated Lee Fieldhouse was completed this fall through the cooperation of First State Bank and Trust of Mission, the Mission Harlingen, 19-6.
But, following the game I had the feeling Touchdown Club, the Athletic Department of MCISD, and the administrative staff and school board, and that Dave was not too surprised at the outcome and he the district’s maintenance staff. was already looking to the second game of the season.
Jeff Dicus, the strength coach for Mission athletic teams, I guess the one thing that impressed me most, however, swells with pride when he described his new facility. “I was his insistence that Mission football players excel in the think far and away we probably have one of the best weight Continued on Page 56 room facilities in the Valley, and maybe even in South When we were AAAA State champions in 1985, we had two Junior College scholarships. At our banquet we did can come together and work out, and at the same time, not give a MVP award.
We gave a scholastic award from build the team chemistry and family aspect that we feel is each class and we let one player from each class give a two very important to our program,” Dicus said. minute to three minute talk representing his class with a The 40 by 80 foot addition includes 2,500 square feet of message. We are a family and no one attacks one without space and was added at a cost of $12,000. According to attacking us all.
Dicus, it can accommodate up to 90 athletes at one time, more than twice the number the old fieldhouse could handle.
The youth of America are faced with more challenges and temptations than ever before. But the rewards and The main weight room is carpeted, lined with mirrors on both walls that makes it look even bigger, and has some of the newest and most modern equipment. The old equipopportunities are also much greater than at any other time. I believe the good old days are now! We must look for the five power clean stations, four bench presses, three leg good and learn from the bad. We can’t dwell on things over which we have no control. We live in a fast paced, jet-set, short-cut world, and we sometimes take for granted our most precious resource . . . the young people of today.
We coaches have a heavy responsibility and can effect our extension curl machines, two Lat pulldown machines, three players lives for an eternity. calf raise machines, three sets of dumbbells, ranging from And, on a personal note, if you have kids of your own at home, you better take the time to talk to them before ment was refurbished to go with new equipment ordered for the facility. He said there are five squat racks, five incline presses, five to 65 pounds, two dumbbell racks, five station sit-up machines, one neck machine, 5,000 pounds of free weight, and 20 olympic bars.
“The overall goal of our off-season program is to offer you lose them. Tell them you love them and are proud to share the same name. Make time for yourself, for your own our athletes the opportunity to be better conditioned, emotional and physical well-being. And most of all, don’t forget your wife. Thanks to all coaches. Good luck and God stronger and faster. His personal goal as a strength coach, bless.
Dicus said, is to help each athlete in striving for their true potential to be the best they can be. “T can’t say enough about our kids. They are attacking our off-season program as if there is no tomorrow,” Dicus said. He said the weight room will remain open in the summer but will be on a some outstanding seniors who are tremendous leaders and they will coordinate the summer program,” Dicus said.
We at BFS thank Coach Dwight Thomas for being a great Upper Limit Coach and sharing his personal true life “Quest for Greatness” story. We also thank the Escambia Gator football team and coaching staff who have shown by example that hard work, total commitment and dedication can bring the dream to reality.
In addition to the weight lifting opportunities and other features of the new Lee Fieldhouse, Coach Rusty Dowling has his own private ofÏce, First assistant Ray Wagner has an ofÏce, and the defensive and offensive coaching staffs have their own ofÏces, as do the sophomore and freshmen coaches. “We are very proud of it and appreciate the efforts of so many people in the community in helping us complete it. You can say it took real “teamwork,” Dicus concluded. TrewmNrmrrerr i< 4 .
H. tomobile accident. He was the football coach at LaMarque High School, a Texas 5-A powerhouse. On December 6, the day before Coach Massey’s funeral, they advanced in the playoffs. Michael Little threw an 84 yard TD to Ronnie Johnson. “We scored for him,” said Little. In the next games, the players wore white towels on their belts, inscribed with the team logo and the coach's Great For Any Award! initials, HRM. Coach Massey was a great Coach who worked extremely hard to help his players reach their potential. Larry Nowotny took the team over and they made it to the state finals. Finally,
From BFS Magazine — March/April 1987. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
