If all you knew of Strawn ISD Head Football Coach Dewaine Lee is what you see on the Friday night sidelines, you might think you don't want your son playing for such a coach.
But then you wouldn't know the real Coach Lee. He is known as not just a great six-man football coach (as evidenced by Strawn's five state championships) but also a great coach of young people.
If you are still not sure, watch “Texas 6,” a two-season documentary on Paramount+ about the Strawn High School football team, the players, their families, the town and – best of all Coach Lee, who now also serves as the school district's superintendent. You will get to know what he is all about and the kind of person he is.
Coach Lee made a rescheduled appearance (he was iced out Feb. 1) at Rotary Club of Mineral Wells on Wednesday, bringing with him his “righthand man” Assistant Coach John Eli. Rotarian Larry Eswein, a close friend of Coach Lee's, was program chair for the week.
Lee admitted he was not for the documentary when first approached about the idea. A filmmaker to become embedded within the team and town, documenting their every step. The first season follows the team on the way to Strawn's fourth state title. The next season goes through the team's 4-6 season that followed.
While some say that was a “down” year for Strawn, Coach Lee disagrees. He said those players did everything asked of them on and off the field and played their best. As happens in Class 1A, there are cycles and ups and downs because of the small enrollments. That Strawn has now won five state titles is a testament to Coach Lee, his staff and the heart and determination he instills in his players, staff and community that lives and breathes Greyhounds football.
Though he has had opportunities to go to other schools, including returning to 11-man football, Lee is now firmly entrenched in Strawn, where he has now coached for 20 years.
As anyone who has been to a six-man game knows, there is nothing like it – fast, hard-hitting and often high-scoring games played on an 80-yard field. Coach Lee said if you have not been to a six-man game, get the upcoming schedule and pick a game to attend. The Strawn-Gordon game is one of the top six-man football rivalries in the nation.
Coach Lee noted the 2008 playoff game between Strawn and Gordon remains the attendance record-holder for Mineral Wells' Ram Stadium.
Congratulations Coach Lee and Coach Eli for your success on the field, in the classroom and thank you for the care and love you show the young people in Strawn and support for the community. We wish you the best of luck this year as Strawn chases its sixth state title.