Coach Austin goes through defensive formations for the crowd.
Fran Powell, Laura Spradlin and Cathy Rutherford are ready to learn and impress their men with their new-found knowledge.
Southwestern football coach Joe Austin held the second annual Austin Girls’ Academy July 28 at the Palace Theater. About 30 women, and men, learned more than they ever thought they could, not just about the rules of the game, but how it is played. “If, when you see football,” Austin began, “you see 11 dudes running into each other as fast as they can, we’re going to change that in the first 20 minutes.”
Attendee Fran Powell has been married for 56 years to a football fanatic and said it was time for her to learn what it was all about. “I felt left out sometimes when we had football parties, and sometimes when I sat down to watch, the other team would start to win so I hope I won’t be a jinx any more.” She sat with her daughter who explained her father is crazy about football, but had four daughters so he didn’t have much company around the TV on weekends in the fall; and now she is married to a football fanatic; “I just want to impress him with what I know.”
Austin used a lot of humor and took four instruction quarters to methodically go through player positions, strategy, and even how a coach’s life works on and off the field. An all-around look at the game from one of Georgetown’s favorite sons. Austin plans to continue his Academy, and even though it’s a great girls night out, his experience in the game will educate even the most ardent male fans. Attendees also received a certificate of completion.
Southwestern Football season begins at home September 3 at the GISD sports complex.
