The Prestonwood Christian Academy football team sings "Hard-Fighting Soldier" after every game. On Thursday, the team sung it after a funeral for the first time.
Funeral services were held Thursday for assistant coach Wade McLain, who died on the first day of football practice.
"He is the poster child for this great school," the Rev. Dr. Jack Graham said.
The school is affiliated with Prestonwood Baptist Church.
McLain collapsed after an afternoon football practice Monday. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death as heat exposure combined with a heart condition.
There was nothing coaches or players, including his 19-year-old son, Christian, could do to save him.
"Coach made every person he came into contact with feel like his son or daughter, myself included," said Chuck Georgas, a former player of McLain's.
He and other players remembered McLain as a tactical genius on the football field who made every player feel as if they were the most important member of the team.
"How do you describe a man who Mack Brown sent flowers to at his funeral?" Georgas said.
But what McLain loved more than the game of football, was his faith and his family.
"Coach was passionate about family," said Kevin Mosley, his best friend. "His voice lit up when he was on the phone with them. He was so proud of his children, and rightly so."
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McLain is survived by five children and his wife of 34 years, Becky.
"Becky, you know you have owned his heart since the beginning, and you will always have it," Mosley said. "You will not find a better family man than Wade McLain, period."
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