Two new videos, “Dear Seniors” and “Dear Coach” highlight the emotional bond between players and coaches. In the first video, New Palestine, Ind., high school football coach Kyle Ralph explains how his players have learned to deal with adversity and how football builds character. In the second video, one of his players responds, speaking about how Ralph taught the team lessons that would make them better people. “We no longer see a big, scary coach. We see the man, husband and father we want to be,” the player said in the ad.
The spots are part of Russell Athletic’s “#SettleYourScore” campaign, which launched earlier this year with a mini-documentary series about the raw emotions of small town high school football. Photographer Robert Clark, who took the photos for Buzz Bissinger’s book Friday Night Lights that spawned the movie and popular TV series about football and life in a Texas small town, shot the footage for the new ads. Russell will run a month-long social media campaign featuring more real letters from high school coaches to their seniors.
“‘Dear Seniors,’ captures the important life moments from the perspective of an athlete’s most influential mentor, their coach,” said Matt Murphy, svp of marketing at Russell Athletic, in a statement. “This is a defining point in these young players’ lives and will serve as a foundation for every future team they’re a part of, whether it be work, family, community, or country.”