This is just about the most absolutely bizarre thing in the world for me to see my High School football coach on the front page of Hacker News. I attended Pulaski Academy (PA) 6th-10th grade and played football there from 7th-10th grade, 1 under Coach Kelley who was then the Defensive Coach while I was a cornerback (and tailback).
As coaches go, Coach Kelley was smart, far smarter than any coach I had at Plano West, one of the premier school districts for football in Texas. He pushed us hard, had a great sense of humor, and was out to win. PA was also the best school I have ever attended (I also grew up in Rancho Santa Margarita in Orange County, CA).
I guess what I'm trying to say is that while this is completely bizarre to find it on a Silicon Valley tech site like Hacker News, I honestly can't say I'm all that shocked. Sometimes when you meet people, you just understand and know that there's something different about them, a potential for greatness, that they are a mold breaker. Their current circumstances may be unexceptional, but you have confidence they will go on to do great things. I think this is of course what we (HN) share culturally with a football coach from Little Rock, AR: a desire to think outside the box, to break the mold, and achieve what little greatness we believe we are capable of achieving.
I owe a great deal of my professional success to Coach Kelley and Pulaski Academy, so seeing them realize this level of success by being different, smarter, fills me with pride and warms my heart.
As coaches go, Coach Kelley was smart, far smarter than any coach I had at Plano West, one of the premier school districts for football in Texas. He pushed us hard, had a great sense of humor, and was out to win. PA was also the best school I have ever attended (I also grew up in Rancho Santa Margarita in Orange County, CA).
I guess what I'm trying to say is that while this is completely bizarre to find it on a Silicon Valley tech site like Hacker News, I honestly can't say I'm all that shocked. Sometimes when you meet people, you just understand and know that there's something different about them, a potential for greatness, that they are a mold breaker. Their current circumstances may be unexceptional, but you have confidence they will go on to do great things. I think this is of course what we (HN) share culturally with a football coach from Little Rock, AR: a desire to think outside the box, to break the mold, and achieve what little greatness we believe we are capable of achieving.
I owe a great deal of my professional success to Coach Kelley and Pulaski Academy, so seeing them realize this level of success by being different, smarter, fills me with pride and warms my heart.