MARK REEVE – A Life of Coaching, Faith, and Influence

Meet Mark Reeve
Mark Reeve is a former athletic director, head football coach, and assistant coach at several Texas high schools, including Frisco, San Antonio Clark, Victoria, Plano West, Cuero, and Smithson Valley. He also served as Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator at Texas Lutheran University. After retirement, Mark coached professional teams in Norway and Iceland and directed camps and clinics for European coaches in Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia with HISPRINT Ministries.

Honors & Personal Life

• Texas High School Coaches Association's Hall of Honor – 2007

• Wife: Jan

• Sons: Travis and Charlie (both AD/Head Coaches at El Campo and Corpus Christi Calallen)

• Six Grandchildren (two are coaches), two great-grandchildren

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Career & Legacy

What originally inspired you to become a football coach?
My JH and HS coaches at Gatesville HS. I decided as an 8th grader to go into coaching.

What are you most proud of in your coaching career?
I am more thankful than proud. The Lord allowed me to be a part of this great profession of influence.

Was there a specific game or season that stands out as your favorite? Why?
Not really, each one was such a blessing, but maybe all the things that led up to my first coaching job. I went to coaching school, put my name on the job board, and God sent me to Frisco to learn what coaching was all about from Harold Hill.

What’s the biggest lesson football taught you—on or off the field?
Coaching is all about influence—the kids you coach and the relationships you make. When hiring as a HC/AD, if the applicant didn't mention the kids or the influence early in the interview, I probably didn't hire them.

Leadership & Mentorship

What do you think makes a great coach?
They love their players enough to hold them to a standard. They know their purpose, understand what servant leadership is all about, and take pride in doing their job right. You spend the time to know them as a person, not just a player. You care about the third teamer the same as the first teamer because their value is in who they are as a person, not in their performance.

How did you handle tough losses or challenging seasons?
I always told my players, after a loss you have two choices: you can quit and give up, or you can come back on Monday and get better. Winners just have one choice. When I think of losses I don't think in terms of games but players who have struggles in life. I had a young man I coached who committed a double murder and was sentenced to life in prison. That’s a loss. I thank God that his coaches and teammates never quit praying for him, and he has now accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. I still keep up with him.

What advice would you give to new coaches just starting out?
Get a job with a staff that loves kids and does things the right way.

Behind the Scenes

What’s one thing people don’t see about being a head coach that they should know?
I always told our staff, if we get fired, we're going to get fired doing what we believe is right. The HC must have the courage to hold his or her staff and players to the standard and not compromise because of outside influence or negativity.

Retirement & Reflection

If you could go back and give your younger coaching self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Coaching has nothing to do with wins and losses—it’s all about the players and the influence. The HC must have the courage to hold his or her staff and players to the highest standard.

Faith & Personal Journey

Can you share a bit about your journey with Jesus Christ and how your faith has grown over the years?
I grew up going to church, I always thought I was a Christian, but when I was 26, the Lord allowed me to hit rock bottom. Even the most hard-core DA couldn't convict me of being a Christian. You can't get saved until you know you’re lost. I told my wife we were going to find a Bible-believing church and start going. Charles Kimble was my pastor, I got saved and baptized. I found a little book from the Navigators called 5 Lessons on Assurance and started memorizing scripture.

How did your faith shape who you were—not just as a coach, but as a man?
Romans 12:1-2 changed my life. I tried to change my life for years but couldn't do it. God alone changes hearts through the reading and hearing of the Word. The one guy I could never coach was the guy who knew it all—that was me. Six weeks on the bench brought him to my office. “Coach, what do I have to do to play?” The beginning of wisdom! I surrendered to the Lord, and He changed my life.

Faith in Coaching

When during your coaching career did you have to lean heavily on your faith?
My first head coaching job was at Victoria HS. After wrapping up the district championship, a counselor reported a potential eligibility issue with one of our players. I had him call the UIL and report playing an ineligible player but asked for it to remain confidential until after homecoming, our next game. The story was leaked to the newspaper. After reviewing the course material, the Texas Education Agency ruled us eligible. God was in it.

Leadership & Mentorship Through Faith

How did you model Christ-like leadership to your players and staff?
Our vehicle was the FCA. Coaches shared their faith often—first of practice, end of practice, goals meetings. Our motto, which carried over to the school and community, was God Team Me. We posted scriptures around the field house like Proverbs 23:7, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Before big games, we made t-shirts with verses like Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Describe a time when you talked about faith with your players or fellow coaches.
I can't begin to tell you how many guys who initially avoided FCA or Bible study came back asking for spiritual advice when adversity hit. The best talks are always one-on-one, and they start with the realization that something is missing.

How did prayer or Scripture play a role in your preparation, motivation, or mindset as a coach?
I love Proverbs. I teach two Bible studies at the Kerr County jail. Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit your plans to the Lord, and they will succeed.” Every coach makes practice and game plans. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” God wants to be a part of everything we do.

Legacy & Encouragement

Looking back, how do you see God's hand at work throughout your coaching career?
There are no coincidences with God. Proverbs 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.” Everything in my life has been a move of God to make me who I am today. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “God has plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.”

What would you say to younger coaches or athletes trying to live out their faith in competitive sports?
The athlete that doesn't study the playbook, no matter how talented, can't help the team. In the same way, God can't use you, protect you, or guide you if you're not in the Word every day. Not only can you do all things through Christ, you can do nothing without Him.

How do you stay connected to Christ now in retirement, and how has your walk changed since leaving coaching?
More time for church and ministries like HISPRINT, Baptist missions, and volunteer teaching at the jail for the last 10 years. God moves where the downhearted are. We baptized 70 men and 43 women in 2024, and from Jan 1, 2025, to May, 65 men and 9 women. I haven't found the word ‘retirement’ in the Bible.