Between the White Lines: Coach W.T. Johnston's Determined Pursuit of Ultimate Victory

Between the White Lines: Coach W.T. Johnston's Determined Pursuit of Ultimate Victory

Winning the state championship in football-crazed Texas is the holy grail for high school coaches. Newton, Texas, is a sleepy little town nestled in the piney woods of southeastern Texas where the residents live for what they lovingly call “Friday night church.”In December 2018 a video of the Newton Eagle coach went viral on sports and non-sports platforms as millions of people watched. In his emotional postgame interview, W.T. Johnston recounted how he had been given only a few months to live. But during his long coaching career, every one of his teams heard the same message. “I told them I was going to teach them football, but I was going to teach them something more important. How to live until you die.”This is the story of a remarkable coach and the miracle that allowed him to pursue championship dreams. Between the White Lines is a story of courage, faith, and community that will inspire and challenge you. "Between The White Lines" is a wonderful life-journey of how a highly successful football coach impacted countless lives with his spirituality and life teachings through Texas High School Football. As someone who has played this game growing up in Texas and at the game's highest level, I found countless takeaways from the narrative that I believe are everlasting and available to all of us. It is an engaging read and congratulations to my friend and the book's author, Dave Burchett, for telling everyone of us through the life and words of Coach W.T. Johnston, "How To Live Before You Die!" Gary Reasons 2-Time Super Bowl Champion 25 Year College Football TV Analyst College Football Hall of Fame All-State Texas High School Football With passion, faith, and multiple state championships, W.T. Johnston earned a prominent place in Texas high school football lore. Thankfully, Dave Burchett has crafted a portrait befitting the man who made such a difference "Between the White Lines" and made even more of one beyond them. Ted Emrich Fox Sports and ESPN Play by Play Announcer Dave Burchett has been a successful television sports director for nearly forty years. His experiences have included the Olympic Games as well as professional and collegiate sports. Dave has directed television coverage of Texas Rangers baseball for thirty-seven years. He has collected a national Emmy and two local Emmys over his career. His first published book was the well-received When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. He followed that with the acclaimed book on church healing, Bring 'Em Back Alive. Stay: Lessons My Dogs Taught Me about Life, Loss, and Grace details the spiritual lessons he learned from two rescued Labrador Retrievers. Waking Up Slowly is a 21 day journey to become more connected to God and one another. Between the White Lines is Dave's first foray into telling the true story of another person. Dave is happily married to his bride of forty-three years Joni and is the proud father of three grown sons and two amazing daughter-in-laws. Joni and Dave are blessed with six spectacular grandchildren (pictures available upon request and sometimes anyway).