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From the "Ouachitonian": Luke Dawson

January 01, 2020
Previously published in the 2017 Ouachitonian yearbook.

Although most students took part in football on the field or in the stands, one student fought for the Tigers from the press box.

Luke Dawson, a junior mathematics and secondary education double major from Nashville, had a love for football that drew him into the press box for his dad’s team, the Russellville Cyclones, on Friday night and the Ouachita Tigers every Saturday.

Dawson grew up in a family surrounded by football. Considering his dad was a coach and his sister was a cheerleader, learning and loving football was practically a component in the Dawson DNA. Even Dawson worked his hardest on the field until he could no longer lace up his cleats and play the game he loved.

For most, playing football usually ended after high school or college. For Luke, however, the end of his career as a football player traced back to a phrase his mom often said to him as a child: “Luke, stand up straight, please.” At the time, Dawson family did not know he was born with Kyphosis, a spine curvature disorder that made standing up straight physically impossible.

Throughout his life, his condition continued to progress, ultimately forcing his spine to reach a curvature of about 70 degrees.

“I was a humpback,” said Dawson, who was at risk for eventually being wheelchair bound.

In 2012, two years after Dawson walked off the field as a football player, he was wheeled into the operating room for a surgery that changed his life. Approximately 30 inches of rod and 22 screws later, Luke’s perception of the world was completely transformed. Instead of being defined by football, he looked to God to find his passion and purpose in life. While teaching math and coaching football was Dawson’s ultimate career choice, he desired to represent Christ wherever life took him, including the press box as a football coach.

In the fall of 2012, Luke began his first season as a coach for the Nashville Scrappers alongside his dad. Even though the Dawson’s moved two hours away to coach the Russellville Cyclones, he still traveled to every game on Friday night to do what he loved.

“I’m on the headset with the offensive coaches each week,” said Dawson, “And this summer I coached running backs.”

Working with the offensive was not part of Luke’s job description for the Tigers, despite having already worked with the defensive backs and scout team for the Tigers.

“I just really wanted to find a way to get involved, which started out small, of course,” Dawson said. “My freshman year at Ouachita, I was still coaching for my dad on Fridays, and I was the video coordinator for Ouachita on Saturdays.”

Though Dawson prepared to come back to Ouachita for his sophomore year as a video coordinator, the coaches had something different in mind.

“They called me a week before reporting day for fall camp and asked if I wanted to help out with defensive backs. I didn’t have a clue what I was getting myself into,” said Dawson. “I had never been on the defensive side before.”

For Dawson, football was a series of opened and closed doors. Yet, true victory was found in how he inspired those around him to live for Christ rather than the game.

“I want to positively impact young people in the same way that my coaches impacted me,” said Dawson, “Coaches are my role models, and I want to be that same model for students some day.”

By Lindsey Johnson

Photo by Andy Henderson


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