The day after his world was shaken, Orono head football coach Bob Sinclair came to a Thursday evening practice with a straightforward message for his players.
“You’re going to get the best of me, not the rest of me,” Sinclair told his Red Riots football team on Oct. 1. “I can promise you that.”
Less than 24 hours prior, Sinclair’s youngest son, Tyler, felt a peculiar numbness in his right leg while coaching Orono Middle School’s football team. Tyler called his father over on the sidelines during the game. The pain came to Tyler suddenly, without warning.
“He told me he didn’t feel well, that he couldn’t feel his foot,” Bob said. “At first, we didn’t know if it was anything serious. Then, hours later, he was in critical care at the cardiac ward. It all happened so fast.”
The problem was far worse than expected. Tyler, 37, had suffered a tear in his aorta, causing restricted blood flow to his numb leg. As his symptoms quickly grew harsher, he was rushed to the hospital.
That evening, Tyler was coaching middle school football.
By nightfall, he was receiving emergency open-heart surgery.
“He’s 37 years old, and for three weeks, he had tubes coming out of him every which way,” Bob said. “We truly weren’t sure if he was going to live.”
Tyler spent weeks on end at a rehabilitation facility, regaining the ability to walk and function. The Orono and greater Maine community organized donations and meal trains to help the family through the process.
Since then, Bob has spent many days fulfilling his assistant principal and coaching duties at Orono, only able to visit Tyler at night.
Bob credits the doctors and his wife, Sally, for taking care of Tyler during the day so he could be there for his players.
His players have been there for them, too.
“The kids love [Tyler], they really do,” Bob said. “It’s been incredible to see. They even showed up before last week’s game with T-shirts that said ‘Tyler Strong.’ They’ve all rallied around him and been there for us.”
Orono’s senior captains — Gabe Brewer, Audi Baker, Richie Watson and Josh Wood — even came to visit Tyler in the hospital as he recovered from surgery. Tyler had taken on a large role with Orono’s high school team this year, helping film during games and consistently pouring into the players.
On the morning of Nov. 6, before Orono’s 8-man Small North Regional Championship game at Stearns, Tyler briefly left his rehabilitation facility to come to campus and wish the team luck before the road trip.
“He couldn’t make the trip to [Stearns] for the game, but he really wanted to be here for the kids,” Bob said. “Wheeling him in the building, everyone was waiting for him there. They loved it. They were so happy to see him.”
With Tyler watching from back home, Orono pulled off a wild 55-52 upset win over Stearns to clinch the North Regional title.
“All year, coach has said, ‘Believe, believe, believe.’ That’s what we all did,” said senior running back Richie Watson, who had six touchdowns in the win. “The program has been through so much adversity this year, and we haven’t stopped for anything. We just keep believing.”
Bob also has a renewed belief, he said, in the power of football to bring people together. He’s seen it more than ever this season.
The beloved coach has, admittedly, struggled not to be distracted by his son’s medical issues. But he’s done exactly what he promised his players, who now sit one game away from capturing a state title: He’s given them his absolute best.
They’ve been there, every step of the way, to fill in the rest.
“This is a very close community. It’s a very close team,” Bob said. “But as a dad, to see those captains come down to the hospital, to see [Tyler’s] middle school players come down to visit him, it really lifted my spirit. It lifted his, too.”
Tyler Sinclair is set to return home Friday. Orono will take on Old Orchard Beach at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Edward Little High School in Auburn for the 8-Man Small State Championship.