I've sat down to write this several times over the last week, but unlike Chris Chick around anyone with ears, I was at a loss for words.

Last Friday I was driving from Biloxi, Mississippi to my new home in Charlotte, North Carolina when I got the text that Chris Chick had passed away.

I drove along for a few miles, in complete shock, before resolving to process this bombshell after I finished my drive. It was then that I saw a sign for an exit toward Auburn, Alabama. What else is there to think of when you see the name "Auburn" other than football? And as a longtime reporter of all things Arizona high school football, my mind drifted to one-time Auburn Tiger Christian Westerman, one of the highest rated offensive linemen in Arizona high school football history. Thinking of offensive linemen, it was only natural to think of the most successful offensive line coach in the history of Arizona. There was no escaping it. It had to be processed right then and there.

I pulled over on the I-85, and I wept for my friend.

When I started covering high school football back in 2012, I resolved to make sure that anything I did followed two simple rules: First, always put the welfare of the kids at the forefront of everything I do, and second, make a media product that has the kids as the intended audience.

I had grown up reading about high school sports in the Arizona Republic. I loved prep coverage, but the one thing that was always evident was that the media product being produced was for the parents and coaches, not necessarily for the kids. Because my focus is on the athletes, I've always gone as far as possible out of my way to keep a healthy distance between myself and the coaches. I do this, in part, to keep my observations and reporting from being skewed. It's not the best way to do things, and I have plenty of people on staff at ArizonaVarsity who have great relationships with coaches all over the state, but it's my way.

The downside of that mindset is that, while I know hundreds of coaches and assistants in a cordial manner, I haven't had the ability to get to know many of the men and women that put their time and energy into developing these kids on a deeper, personal level.

If I'm being honest, there are less than 10 high school coaches, across all sports, whose numbers are saved in my phone. The rest are saved on an excel doc on my computer.

I say all that to say this- Chris Chick was the exception. I knew Chris Chick well. Hell, if you were around him for any reason at all, I'm not sure you had any choice other than to get to know him. As anyone who knew him will attest, the man could talk.

If you caught Chris Chick after a game, or anywhere really, it'd be a minimum of an hour before it was quiet enough to hear your own breathing.

He'd talk to you about the field, the press box, the lighting, the referees, every single mistake the Chandler offense made, then back to the referees again, and then which players were under college coaches' radars, and then his favorite play calls the other team made, followed by the dozens of times Chandler was ready for whatever the opposition called, then right back to the referees, before touching briefly on what other teams around the state were able to accomplish that night, and then a grand finale into blocking schemes and technique- a subject in which he was a bonafide genius.

And if, like me, you didn't know much about blocking schemes? Well in that case, Chris Chick would teach you about blocking schemes and technique... so that he could talk to you some more about blocking schemes and technique.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I loved it. His passion, his knowledge base, even how red in the face he'd get- every bit of it brought me joy. Often, I'd be the one to wait around on the field and seek him out. Once after a regular season game between Chandler and Mountain Pointe, we chatted so late into the evening that by the time I left Ahwatukee to head for the nearest gas station, it was approaching midnight. And once I arrived at that gas station? Well, if you know, you know.

Another time, I was on a date with my wife in Scottsdale when Chris Chick spotted us and approached. We had tickets to a movie that started a little over an hour later. We did not make the movie on time.

Many people know Chris Chick had 13 championships between his time at Saguaro and Chandler, but what they might not know is how much he LOVED his rings.

Many people know Chris Chick was a top JuCo player at Mesa Community College, but what they might not know is how fiercely he advocated for the Junior College offensive lineman that he'd coach throughout his 30's.

Many people know Chris Chick made his way to a Pac-10 roster spot at University of California, but what they might not know is how badly he desired for Arizona State University to build a championship team upon the foundation of Arizona recruits. Of course ASU coaches knew this, and he absolutely drove them up the wall at times.

Anyone paying even the slightest amount of attention knows that his offensive lines had extreme and historical amounts of success, but you'd have to be around him to know that he loved the kids that he coached as if they were his own.

It's only now dawning on me, as I type this, that perhaps the reason it was so easy to become friends with Chris Chick, despite my desire to keep my coverage focused on the kids over the coaches, was the fact that 90% of our conversations centered around the kids he coached.

Dustin Woodard's technique. Josh Pena's work ethic. Miles McNair's strength. Gunner Maldonado's speed. Gunner Romney's leadership. Max Sandlin's potential. Chris Manoa's passion. TJ Green's opportunism. Brandon Buckner's relentlessness. Zion and Nehemiah Magalei's dedication. Sione Hingano's maturation. All of these were individual conversations that lasted more than an hour.

There's a lot more that I could say about Chris Chick. Some anecdotes I'll keep to myself, and some that I'll make sure the right people know about when I see them in person. This world was just such a better place with him around to do things like message people at 3:44 in the morning to let them know that while he's not sleeping, they're sleeping on his players, or to chase down Saguaro's Byron Murphy who was attending a Chandler game on his bye week to let him know that he'd look great in Maroon and Gold, or wink at me after Chandler had to stop themselves from scoring over 80 against Florida's state champions in the GEICO bowl, only to then spend over an hour explaining why he winked.

My favorite Chris Chick story involves the Makoa Big Man Challenge- an event for offensive and defensive linemen that kicked off in 2019, and was hosted by Chandler High. Four years prior, Chandler had hosted a big man competition, and invited smaller schools like Tempe, Westwood and more to participate. They tracked bench press numbers, I believe at 185 pounds, and the leaderboard was essentially all Chandler Wolves. When Chick first brought it up, he was extremely proud. By the end of the afternoon, he had repeated several times that he hoped the other kids that had come to Chandler for the afternoon were learning what it takes to compete at the highest level. His competitive edge was muted by his desire to see kids flourish.

By the time 2019 came around, and the Makoa Big Man Challenge suddenly became the biggest collection of OL and DL talent in the state, Chick took having the kids out on Chandler's practice field extremely personally. He absolutely wanted Chandler's linemen to be the best units out there, but not more than he wanted all the other kids to take something valuable away from the experience. He was obsessive about seeing others thrive.

I can't stop thinking about all the kids that aren't going to have his guidance. It just doesn't seem fair.

At this point I feel as if I'm rambling on and on. I don't have much left to write, but much like a Friday night with Chris Chick, I just don't want the conversation to stop.

If you wish to pay your respects to Chris Chick, join his friends and family on Thursday June 17 at 6:pm at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort.

To contribute monetarily in his honor, there is a GoFundMe.