Crockett special teams coordinator Shannon Reed waited 17 years to become a football coach.
Little did she know her opportunity would come about from a random interaction she had on the practice field with Crockett head coach Darrick Norton.
“My son was failing a class, so I walked out to the field, and I was like, ‘Hey, make him do some bear crawls,” Reed said. “‘He said, ‘Oh man, you’re old school.’ And I’m like, ‘Yep.’ And in my mind, I was like, ‘Ask him now.’ So, I said, ‘You really should hire me as one of your football coaches.’ And he turned and looked at me and said, ‘Let’s talk on Monday’ and he hired me on Monday.”
Yes! @Coach_Norton1 has changed the culture of our program and embraces diversity! THIS MAN GAVE ME MY SHOT! Blessed to be a part of this incredible organization and grateful to our head coach for all he gives and does! #AlwaysVictorious #GoCoogs https://t.co/YkYYP19txW
— Coach Shannon Reed (@shannonrhreed) October 16, 2022
After originally coming to Crockett as a math teacher back in 2010, Reed is now in her second full season as the special teams coordinator for the Cougars. She also serves as a receivers coach for the team.
Reed has been passionate about football since her childhood. Her dad was a football coach, and she grew up watching Dallas Cowboy and Texas Longhorn football games with him and her two younger brothers.
Even today, Reed’s family football traditions continue as she frequently watches film with her husband Kyle and one of her brothers.
Norton said that her love for football has helped her thrive in her role.
“Special teams coordinator is probably the hardest job on the football field,” Norton said. “You have special teams all night, and it’s the one-third everyone overlooks. And her taking that over, I don’t think we’ve had to use a timeout on special teams at all this year.”
Reed’s fellow coaches said she’s been breaking the mold in a coaching industry that has always been male dominated.
And although Reed points to the 15 female assistant coaches currently in the NFL as a sign of progress, the reality is that she is just one of two female assistant varsity football coaches in Austin ISD.
At a University of Texas coaching clinic the Crockett coaching staff attended earlier this year, she was the only female in the room.
Austin Crockett’s Coach Reed is one a short list of female football coaches in Texas. Nice coaching staff all around. More to come in Austin Crockett HS football. #txhsfb #texashighschoolfootball pic.twitter.com/Q9cotVmOtu
— Grexsys 📸 (@grexsysphoto) September 2, 2022
Reed said that with this lack of females in the coaching industry, she still often comes face-to-face with certain stereotypes.
“When I step off the bus, as I’m walking behind the coaches, the number of times that I’ve been stopped and asked ‘Hey, are you the athletic trainer?’” Reed said. “And I’m like, ‘No no no, I’m one of the coaches.’ I think people are just shocked when they see it, and then they’re like ‘Oh that’s so cool.’”
And as Reed continues to break those stereotypes, she’s having an impact at Crockett both on and off the field.
Her son Jacob is a junior wide receiver at Crockett. He said she assists the receivers just as much as she does those on special teams.
“She has that constructive criticism, especially for wide receivers,” Jacob said. “And as the years have gone by, she’s really stepped up her game. She’s a great leader, and a motivator. She’s a really great coach in that aspect.”
Sophomore Jamari Wilson agrees, reflecting on how she helped him out as he transitioned from defense to offense last year.
“I was on defense, and she was there for me when I went to receiver,” Wilson said. “She was helping me out with what to do and how to run the plays and stuff like that.”
In addition to her coaching prowess on the field, Reed also serves her players off it. According to Texas Tribune, 63% of students at Crockett are economically disadvantaged, meaning they qualify for free or reduced lunch.
To combat that, Reed stores up food in her classroom for her players to eat at lunch. She has an air fryer in her classroom and tries to teach her players how to make certain meals.
Wilson said her care for her players off the field does not go unnoticed.
“She’s been there for me when I had tough times last year,” Wilson said. “She feeds us during lunch when some of us doesn’t eat. She buys food for us during the week, and we cook it up in her class and have lunch with her in class.”
However, her impact stretches well beyond the walls of Crockett Early College High School in South Austin.
Offensive Coordinator Hector Gloria said he knows female students that are now pursuing being a football coach because of Reed.
Meanwhile, Secondary Coach Corry Perez said she’s made a notable impression on his daughters.
“For my daughters to see a woman coaching in somewhat of a male-dominated sport, it gives a lot of young women hope that there are other things they can do,” Perez said. “She’s been such a great inspiration. It’s so much of a blessing, honor, and privilege to coach alongside her.”
And with Reed breaking barriers on the coaching staff, her Crockett football team will look to break one of its own on Friday.
After finishing 6-4 on the season, the Cougars will be facing Rouse in the bi-district round as they aim for just their second playoff win in their 55-year varsity football history.
PLAYOFFS BABY!!!!!!! #AlwaysVictorious pic.twitter.com/XezMpTZKEB
— Cougar Football (@CoogsFB) October 22, 2022
But no matter what happens on Friday, Reed said she’s incredibly grateful to be a part of the Crockett coaching staff and to get to share these moments with her son Jacob.
“This is such a special experience,” Reed said. “It’s exciting. It’s fun. I wish other people could feel what I feel because it’s pretty amazing.”
CLICK HERE to listen to the Texas HS Football Podcast, with Taylor Arenz
