In this episode we're joined by Joe Hilliard, assistant football coach at Odessa (TX) Permian High School.
If that high school name sounds familiar, it might be because Permian was the location of both the best-selling book and movie, "Friday Night Lights" and the basis for the successful television program of the same name.
Joe is actually a transplanted Texan. He was born and raised in the northern suburbs of Detroit and answered a LinkedIn posting on a whim to wind up in Texas.
During our discussion, Joe shares how he was a reluctant athlete and sports fan until one of his middle school coaches persuaded him to come to a football meeting. The rest, as they say, is history that's still being written near the oil fields of the Permian Basin.
Joe also pulls the curtain back on what high school football is like in Texas, where Permian (8-3) will visit second-ranked North Crowley (11-0) in the second round of the state's 6A Division I football playoffs this Friday.
If you're enjoying Conversations with Sports Fans please consider supporting our work here. For as little as 99 cents a month, generous supporters such as you are able to keep these episodes coming commercial and sponsor free.
