Good Sports: Generations (plural) of Normans chasing MSHSAA success

Jackson defensive line coach Brandon Norman stands with his son, starting Tribe linebacker Bryce Norman, at practice, Tuesday in Jackson, Mo.

Jeff Long ~ Jlong@semoball.com

Good Sports is a weekly feature that appears in the Southeast Missourian, as well as online on Semoball.com. It profiles the life of a person connected to sports and allows our readers the opportunity to know the people who are impacting athletics throughout Southeast Missouri in a deeper way. Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Today: Brandon Norman, 49, assistant varsity football coach, Jackson Indians. Brandon, Jackson High School class of ’88, was all-district and all-state on the gridiron, playing linebacker and center. Additionally, he won the state wrestling title at 189 pounds. His son, Bryce, is a starting junior linebacker for the Indians. Bryce’s interception late in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s semifinal against Staley sealed the win for the Tribe.

JL: Your family hails from the Bootheel.

BN: Yes, my mom and dad went to the Senath-Hornersville District. Dad was an athlete, playing basketball and baseball and running track. No football. Mom and Dad come to all of Bryce’s games — and they’ll be with us at Faurot Field in Columbia.

JL: What brought the Normans to Jackson?

BN: A job. Our dad got on with the Highway Patrol (up here) in 1970, the year I was born.

JL: In college did you play football?

BN: At Southeast, I was a center and my final coach there was John Mumford. At 6-foot-1, my playing weight was around 255.

JL: Did you entertain thoughts of playing professionally?

BN: No, not really. I wasn’t quite big enough for the NFL (at my position).

JL: The Normans are associated with football because of you and your baby sibling, Nathan.

BN: Actually I’m the eldest of three brothers. I’m three years older than Tyson, who works at Proctor and Gamble, and eight years older than Nathan.

JL: Tell us about you and Nathan.

BN: I’m enough older that I actually coached Nathan at JHS in both football and wrestling. The last two times Jackson went to the state final game, 1994 and 1995, were Nathan’s junior and senior years. Nathan, as Cape Girardeau Central’s coach, took the Tigers to the state final game in 2014. He’s now the head man at Lindbergh High.

JL: You and Bryce are poised to do Saturday what Nathan has not yet accomplished.

BN: Possibly. We’re hopeful. One more step. It will bring back memories. The ’94 state final game was at Faurot.

JL: You’re a physical education teacher and a career assistant coach.

BN: Yes, I did a year of coaching at Scott City in 1993, then came to my alma mater, where I’ve been ever since. I also coached Jackson wrestling for seven years, 1994-2001. Always as an assistant.

JL: Why did you not move up to head coaching? You certainly have the resume.

BN: I had no drive to be the head coach. Look, during the football season, which is now in its 14th week, the Jackson coaches work seven days a week. It’s an even more grueling schedule for (Brent) Eckley. All the preparing and studying he has to do to get all of us ready to play. He’s great at it but (head coaching) is not my ambition.

JL: You’re still a relatively young man. Will we see you on the sidelines directing Jackson’s defensive line into the foreseeable future?

BN: Actually no, I’m going to retire after the 2021-2022 academic year. Just two more football seasons after this one, then it’s on to other things.

JL: Will you miss it?

BN: Sure. If you didn’t enjoy (the game), you wouldn’t spend so much time around it. It’s not as if there is a lot of money in (high school) coaching.

JL: I know you have cattle.

BN: Yes, we’ve got about 50 head of cows, mostly Angus, on land that the family has between Jackson and Cape. I have to feed them once a day. Bryce will help me some on the weekend when he is able. I work in the feeding around practice times in the fall.

JL: Given your excellence as a player and your long coaching tenure, you are uniquely positioned to discuss what football teaches a young man or woman.

BN: To be committed, first and foremost. To be disciplined. These boys are in the weight room at 6 a.m. and back onto the field after classes. At home, they study and watch film. They do 7-on-7 drills, do summer camp. You’ve got to want it — and I like to think this will spill over into the rest of their lives.

JL: How would you describe your personality, your demeanor?

If you asked my wife (Rhonda, JHS Class of ’88), she might tell you something different, but I try to be laid back. This is especially true as I’ve gotten older. You learn that you can’t live on a knife’s edge all the time. Time calms us down. But I do have a button.

JL: Talk about the boys on the team — and your experience of them.

BN: They’ve worked extremely hard. They enjoy football. They’re coachable and they’re real students of the game.

JL: As busy as the players are academically and athletically, do any of them have gainful employment outside of school?

BN: Yes, a few do. Bret Meyer, for instance, is a senior starter on the D-line and he works at J.C. Penney. I happen to know he worked a 12-hour shift at Thanksgiving — and that was after practice.

JL: Say a quick word about your children.

BN: Bryce is a junior, of course, we’ve talked about him. Our oldest child, Randa, is a junior in college — at Mississippi State in Starkville. She plays basketball and soccer.