WHITEHOUSE, Texas — The halls of Whitehouse High School are lined with laurels for legendary athlete and hometown hero Patrick Mahomes.
His accomplishments and trophies were seen here years before the rest of the world.
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"I got to enjoy Pat on the football field and baseball field for the four years he was here, and [I] was fortunate enough to coach him his senior year here," said coach Jared Freeman.
Whether he was throwing a football, baseball or basketball, his former coaches said that athleticism is only part of what makes him special.
"He elevates the people around him," Freeman said.
Basketball coach Brent Kelley said it was easy to see early on.
"You know, everybody sees it now, but he just made everybody better," Kelley said. "He's a competitor, a leader. I just tell everybody he has that it factor, and that's something you can't coach."
"Even as a freshman in high school?" I asked.
"Absolutely," Kelley replied.
"When you say he had that it factor, was it in the game? Was it what he was able to do with the team, in the locker room? Was it both?" I questioned.
Coach Kelley surmised, "It's everything. It's on and off the court, and that's why he's a special person. That's why he's the face of their franchise. And I think that, you know, you saw it then, and now the whole world sees it."
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I asked the coaches to talk about Mahomes' ability to rally his teammates with him.
"It's one of my favorite things, stories about Pat. And I mean, you see it all the time at his games; he has a very, very small group of friends. It's the same group that he had in high school, for the most part," Freeman said. "I mean, he's added a few guys, Kelce and whatnot, but for the most part, it's a small, very tight-knit group. Just so happened those same guys that he played football with, he played basketball with, he played baseball with, and those same group of friends all stuck together."
Kelley said Mahomes was easy to approach.
"You know, if we had an issue, I would just go to him about [it and say], 'Hey, you got, you know, you're the guy. You got to fix this.'"
Some of the sideline motivation viewers see now on Sundays started in high school, according to Freeman.
"He’s motivating on the sidelines. Some of those same things that we got to see in high school ... we get to see on Sundays. I mean, like I said, if you watch just a game, he obviously is making plays, but it's the little things on the sideline that when you're watching on the camera, he still does some of the same things," Freeman said. "He hasn't changed that much, even with the stardom, even with the, you know, the fame that he has. He's still a small-town, east Texas kid at heart. And it certainly makes him even easier to cheer on."
Ahead of the big game, Kelley offered some advice.
"Throw it, to throw it to Kelce," he said. "When in doubt. Run it, buddy."
Freeman said he's hoping for a three-peat as all of Whitehouse is behind Mahomes.
"Good luck. Go win another one, and we wish you the best," Freeman said.
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