We've seen a number of coaching changes in our area high schools recently, and they have been met with varying reactions from the players and supporters of the school that is losing its coach.

Many are supportive of the coach.

Most are saddened by the news.

A few find themselves angered that they've been left by someone with whom they've forged a strong relationship through the years.

Those mixed reactions have led to misguided explanations.

Through Twitter and other social media, those frustrated players have vented and reasoned away why their coach left.

The most common excuse when the coach is successful is: "He knew all the talent is graduating and he can't win without it."

If the coach hasn't been recently successful, then the excuse shifts to: "The coach was tired of losing."

First, what coach doesn't win more with more talent? And who doesn't tire of losing, to some degree?

Secondly, I've never known a coach to want a job, or leave his current one, because of talent or the lack thereof. High school coaching changes center around one thing: Family.

Apex football coach Bob Wolfe, who retired after 18 years, joked that he should have retired two seasons earlier for the sake of his win-loss record (key word: joked). But Wolfe felt too much of a connection to the younger players to just "go out on top" after a 2008 run to the third round.

Apex volleyball coach Nikki O'Connell wanted to spend more time with her young family, but waited a year after winning the state title to "graduate" with the 2012 senior class.

Like many volunteer coaches, former Green Hope boys' golf coach David Allen took the job thinking it would be for only a few years, but kept it for much longer because he enjoyed the players so much.

Wakefield football coach J.D. Dinwiddie recently walked away from coaching one of the nation's top high school quarterbacks to move his family.

Sean Crocker left Middle Creek football - which has never missed the playoffs - to be closer to his family.

My high school basketball coach had been commuting 45 minutes in one direction for years. He did what was best for his family and took a job closer to his home, despite returning nine seniors from a playoff team.

Sometimes we forget that a high school coach is unlike the ones we see on ESPN.

They are teachers who unconditionally care about their students - no matter how gifted they may be in athletics or academics - or volunteers who sacrifice time for kids they have no outside connection to.

In both cases, they're not in this profession for the money. They've agreed to take over a program to make a difference, impact kids' lives and use sports as a way to teach life lessons.

And one of those life lessons is this: Family always comes first.