Thanks Coach

Phil Cavnar 1960-2005

The Decatur Daily/Dan Henry

I have never played a minute of organized football nor did I attend East Limestone High School...but when I read about football coach Phil Cavnar's sudden passing I was saddened. My dealings with Coach Cavnar have been many over the years. I started my career as a photographer with The Athens News-Courier in 1996 and I shot many games at the school which is only a couple of miles from my parents home. Some high school football coaches could be very intimidating...especially to a 17 year old kid trying to pass himself off as a photographer who knew what he was doing....but Coach Cav was not one of those coaches. I moved on to The Decatur Daily in 1998 and continued covering Coach Cav and his players. He never failed to be courteous and patient with any request that we had for him. He got it...he understood what we were there to do. He knew that our stories and our pictures would bring attention to his kids...to his school...and he appreciated it. He didn't treat it as an inconvenience to him...as a roadblock for his practice...he saw it as an opportunity for his kids to get the attention and the limelight that they deserved. There were others...but he will always stand out in my mind as one of the best coaches I ever worked with.

He was known as a "nut" when it came to his sideline style. I've heard stories of him getting so fired up that he head butted his players in the helmet as they came to the sideline. He coached in shorts no matter how frigid it was. I once saw him rip off the sweatshirt he was wearing because a player was bleeding and no one brought a towel quick enough. I'm sure there are a ton of these stories.

My thoughts and prayers are with the Cavnar and East Limestone family.

You'll be missed coach.