UTC assistant coach Healy on call for wife's labor

photo Emily and Will Healy pose for photos while at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga on Oct. 30, 2014. The Healys are expecting their first child soon and are anxious about being on the road with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for their football game this weekend due to the possibility of inclement weather.

Mocs GlanceUTC (5-3, 4-0 SoCon) at WESTERN CAROLINA (6-2, 4-0)Saturday, 2 p.m., E.J. Whitmire Stadium, Cullowhee, N.C.96.1 FM

In his playing days, as an all-state quarterback at Boyd-Buchanan and later with the University of Richmond, Will Healy didn't always follow the offensive script of what was expected.

That tendency not to follow the usual protocol has continued, setting up the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga receivers coach and his wife Emily for a nervous weekend as the Mocs travel to Western Carolina for a huge Southern Conference showdown.

Emily is not due to give birth to the couple's first child until Nov. 12, but her obstetrician recently told them that she is likely to go into labor any day.

"I've told myself no sudden movements this weekend," Emily said. "I'm going to watch the game at home with my mom and friends and try not to get too excited. Thank goodness Western Carolina is only a few hours away."

As with any good coaching strategy the Healys have a backup plan, with Emily's dad driving to the game to have a car ready just in case Will needs to get back home quickly.

"It wasn't perfect timing, but there never is a perfect time in life," Will said. "We're at the point where the most important thing for us in our lives moving forward was having a child, and we're not going to plan something that's going to happen when it's supposed to happen.

"I want Emily to understand this isn't taking a back seat to anything. If you make it a priority you can make it work. It hasn't been ideal for either one of us at times, but if you have a positive attitude about it and maximize the time you have together you can enjoy the process and make the most of the adventure that's coming."

It's an adventure that UTC linebackers coach Rusty Wright experienced 17 years ago when his wife gave birth to their daughter. The Mocs had just started August two-a-day practices, and when Wright came home that evening to find his wife wasn't there, he began to get nervous.

"This was before everybody had cell phones, so it was a little while before someone from the hospital called our house to tell me she was there in labor," Coach Wright said. "I jumped in the car and slept for a couple of hours next to my wife and the next day, after our daughter was born, I missed the morning practice but was back out there that afternoon.

"You try to plan it, but who can plan those things? When it's that time and you get that call, it's your child and you have to go."

As odd as it may seem to those outside the coaching fraternity, many football coaches plan having a family around the season. UTC coach Russ Huesman said when he and his wife discussed having children, they planned it so that the birth of each of their four kids came during the offseason.

The Healys, however, made no such plans, and once they were told they were expecting, Emily's first reaction was to get out her pocket schedule to compare the due date with UTC's season schedule.

"I wanted to see if we would be playing at home or away around the date, and my first fear was about The Citadel game because that's so far away," said Emily, whose experience as a college softball coach prepared her for the demands her husband's career places on his time. "I knew going into it that football would be a consideration, because I'm used to him not being able to be home much once the season starts."

Besides the Healys themselves, UTC director of football operations Carter Crutchfield may be the person most relieved once the baby is born. For the last few weeks Crutchfield has been in charge of keeping Coach Healy's cell phone with him at every practice and during each game, nervously monitoring it to make sure he hasn't missed a call from Emily.

"It's kind of a preview for how to manage time for when the child is growing up and how you make them feel you'll make time for them," Will said. "This is real life and things happen at times you don't normally expect or have planned.

"I've told my players how much I care about them but that my wife and I are going through something that is a higher commitment for me, and they totally understand. It's allowed them to see me as a real human, not just a robot football coach. It's put things into perspective. Beating Western Carolina is really important, but there's more to life than winning a football game."

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.

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