The head coach of Saranac High School's varsity's football team is going down with the Michigan National Guard to help with Hurricane Irma disaster relief.
Before Coach Andy Lytle could leave this week, the Saranac varsity football team gave him a special goodbye.
On Sunday night, Sept. 10, the team surprised Lytle by walking up to his house singing the Saranac fight song.
"I was packing, and my wife said there is someone here to see you," said Lytle. "It brought tears to my eyes--the love they were showing."
Coach Andy Lytle has been a coach at Saranac High School since 2008 and the head coach for the past three years.
"I can't say thank you enough to them," he said. "I was in awe of what they were doing."
Lytle was not expecting the big send off. "The surprise itself was a wonderful feeling," said Lytle.
Lytle has been a part of the National Guard for 29 years, and he has been deployed on three combat tours. But he has never helped out with disaster relief.
He doesn't know how long he will be in Florida.
"We will go down this week," said Lytle. "From there, we will evaluate the situation and start disaster relief. Then we will just take it day by day."
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