This is an opinion piece.

It would have been easy for Greg Crager to stay in Alabama and coach high school football for four more years.

He could then retire and pick a path for the future of his family.

That’s just not what the Lord led him to do.

Crager, who spent the last two years as offensive coordinator at Benjamin Russell High in Alexander City, will move he and his family to Bremen, Germany, later this spring. He will join the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Europe and be the offensive coordinator for the Oldenburg Knights.

“Practically speaking, it’s a big jump,” he said. “I’m in a four-year window of being able to retire here, so this is huge. But, in simple terms, I felt like this door was wide open, and it was an opportunity for me to do something really significant. There are a lot of details and challenges we’ve been working through, but we prayed a lot and really felt God was telling us to step out in faith. And, as time has gone, He indeed has taken care of those details.”

Crager has been in Germany for a couple of weeks already and will return there Monday. His family – his wife Mariana and two sons (ages 12 and 2) — will join him in late May. Mariana will be teaching science at an international school in town where his oldest son will also attend. Crager, who previously has been head coach at Millry and Thomasville, said he didn’t have to convince his wife to move.

“She is completely on board,” he said. “The first time I asked her about it, she said that it was interesting. Later on, we had a serious conversation and I said, ‘Is this something you really want?’ and she confirmed to me that it was. We see past the income, past any fear of the move. I see a bigger perspective, and she sees it as well. There is something more than what the surface level looks like. We are really excited about the possibilities and doing God’s work there.”

This seed was planted in 2018 when Crager joined a group of high school coaches on an FCA-sponsored summer trip to Stuttgart, Germany. That group also included Jason Rowell, Danny Smith, Justin Patterson and Adam Winegarden among others.

“I made some friends over there, some contacts that I’ve kept up with,” Crager said. “I reconnected last summer with some of the same coaches. One of my friends called me in the fall and offered me the job.”

The Oldenburg Knights compete in the German Football League 2 or second league. Crager said it was basically the minor league for the GFL1, which is the national pro league. The Knights’ season runs from June to early September, and they play most of their games on Saturday.

Crager said language is not much of a barrier since the team will include some Americans who come overseas to continue their football careers. Most of the German players speak some English as well. There are some cultural differences to get used to like this kind of football not being the No. 1 sport in Europe as most would consider it to be in the United States, especially the South.

However, that is not a major concern for Crager. In fact, he doesn’t really have any major concerns about the move.

He knows he is doing the right thing.

“If it wasn’t for God, I wouldn’t be going,” he said. “Plain and simple. There is something spiritually pulling us there for this place and time.”

How long will the Crager family be in Germany? It’s a good question that can’t really be answered at this time.

“I told God I would go and stay as long as He wants me to stay,” he said. “In my mind, I would think at some point I would come back and finish my four years here in Alabama. I think the minimum we would be over there would be two years. It could be five. It could be 10. It could be the rest of my life. I’m not sure.”

Thank you for stepping out in faith, coach.

“And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.”

Vacation

I will be out on vacation March 31-April 7. This week in High School Sports column will return on April 12.

Prayers

Jack Doss, Grissom High basketball coach: Recovering from back surgery

Greg Crager and family: Life in Germany

Grayson Pope, Hewitt-Trussville baseball player: Continued recovery from brain injury last summer.

Praises

Chris Smelley, Sylacauga football coach: Found safe Thursday night 11 hours after leaving to go fish in a kayak off the Gulf Coast.

Steve Mask, Theodore football coach: Finished radiation treatment on vocal cord cancer and outlook is extremely positive.

Phillip Murphy, McGill-Toolen basketball coach: Left hospital a week after intestinal surgery.

Thought for the Week

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.