The petition
We, the undersigned, support the naming of the new field at Darrell Tully Stadium to honor the lifetime accomplishments of Oscar Cripps.
Oscar Cripps Field at Darrell Tully Stadium is a perfect gesture to thank this humble man for his three decades of impactful service to the youth of the Spring Branch Independent School District. He has impacted the lives of thousands of young men and women at Westchester High School, Stratford High School, and Northbrook High School through his positive example and the teaching of life lessons. As a result, he remains an important part of the lives of hundreds of his former students to this day, for whom he continues to teach at every opportunity.
Coach Cripps is the most successful coach the district has ever produced. He is the only football coach to bring a state championship home to SBISD, and is the winningest coach in the district’s history. He is held in the highest regard by his colleagues in the coaching profession, and in 2000 was inducted into the Texas High School Coaches Hall of Honor.
Yet these measures of coaching success do not begin to capture the essence of what makes Oscar Cripps a special human being who richly deserves recognition from SBISD.
Coach Cripps cares for students – all students – in a way that have made all of his faculty colleagues take notice. He encourages them to be the best they can be in whatever field of endeavor that they choose. He motivates them to do their best in the classroom, to have respect for others, to honor their parents. Time and again, he has put the best interests of the student ahead of his own interests as a coach. He loves all of his students and cares equally for the third-stringer as he does the star player. Winning games is important to him, but not as important as teaching young people the tools to be a winner both on and off the field.
He uses his platform as a football coach to teach broader lessons about how to succeed in life. He preaches the setting of lofty goals and working hard to achieve them. He teaches teamwork, respect for the opponent, and honorable and sportsmanlike competition. His infectious positive attitude allows him to connect with young men and women who might otherwise not hear or internalize such important lessons.
Coach Cripps’ influence continues to be felt far beyond the confines of his school campus. He has trained coaches who went on to become head coaches at Memorial, Northbrook and Spring Woods High Schools. It was well-known among all athletes in SBISD that there would always be one gymnasium and weightroom facility open during the summertime, that it would be at Stratford High School, and that all SBISD student-athletes would be welcome there.
His positive, faith-driven outlook on his life’s purpose has allowed him to overcome the ugly, premature and unceremonious manner in which his Stratford coaching tenure was ended with grace and dignity that serves as an example for all. He reinvested his time by giving away his invaluable coaching experience and his incalculable positive impact on young people
A previous petition to accomplish this same objective, which fell on deaf ears at SBISD, garnered over 2,000 signatures including the support of Mrs. Darrell Tully, Mr. Chris Gilbert (Spring Branch graduate), Mr. Jerry Kroll (Memorial graduate), Mr. Jeff Swanson (Westchester graduate), the presidents of all SBISD high school booster clubs, numerous former presidents of the Stratford Booster Club, numerous faculty members, former players, parents, neighbors and friends.
We find it unfortunate that SBISD has not yet acted on this simple request and obviously well-deserved honor, and we request that SBISD board members and administration move to dedicate Oscar Cripps Field at Darrell Tully Stadium prior to the start of the 2008 football season.
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