Allysyn Hansen is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover ALA-Ironwood for AZPreps365.com

From birth, Travis Epperson's life has been immersed in football, and a lot of it involved working with his dad, Mike Epperson. 

For several decades, Travis and Mike’s lives were intertwined by football, but after Travis graduated from college, their football lives remained separate for many years. Then, in 2016 when Travis was the offensive coordinator at Highland, finally a situation arose, and Mike came on as another assistant. The duo was reunited on the football field for the first time in almost two decades.  

Starting at a very young age, Travis could be found in the stands with his family cheering on his dad, who was a high school football coach in Texas. 

“He's kind of grown-up on the sideline with me,” Mike said.

Eventually, Travis became the ball boy for his dad’s team around age six. That was Travis’ first opportunity, of many, to work alongside his dad. 

Travis described himself as Mike’s “understudy.”

"I worked for my dad for free but was paid with Burger King," he said.

Travis recalled many positive memories when he worked for his dad as a kid. “I did enjoy, I will admit... having the attention of everyone in the elementary school. [They] knew that I was the ball boy for the high school team," he said. "It was a big deal. So the kids would go to games on Friday nights and see me out on the varsity field.” 

Travis continued to work with his dad throughout his entire childhood. 

Eventually, the family moved to Arizona, where Mike took a coaching job at Highland High School in Gilbert. Travis continued to work by his dad’s side as the ball boy until high school. 

Travis played football for most of his life, including in high school. He went to Highland where his dad coached, but he didn’t get the opportunity to play under his dad until his junior year when he made the varsity team as a quarterback. 

For the entire season, the dinner table at home was filled with football. Mike and Travis would discuss teams and plays, and of course, they would watch a lot of football, too. But even before that, the dinner table had always been a popular place for football discussion.

“There was always a lot of interaction, and talking at home, and getting each other’s opinions,” said Ronda Epperson, the wife of Mike and the mother of Travis.

However, going into Travis’ senior year, Mike decided to take a job at another school in Cottonwood, Arizona, about two hours from Highland. 

After a lot of deliberation, Travis decided to stay at Highland for his senior year and graduate with his friends. 

Ronda said Travis’ decision “ended up actually being a blessing, because Travis was able to prove himself, and he ended up being an All-State Quarterback. ... I think it actually gave him a chance to grow and develop his own style and kind of shine.”

After his senior year, Travis was faced with a difficult decision. He wanted to pursue football in college. It came down to two schools, BYU and Harvard.

Ultimately, Travis decided to go to BYU, incidentally, the same school his father attended more than 20 years earlier. Travis majored in physical education so he could become a football coach, just like his dad. 

Following college, Travis landed back in Arizona. His first coaching job was the same high school he played for: Highland High School. Travis worked there for a few years as an offensive coordinator with one of the coaches who coached him his senior year. 

Travis and Mike worked at a few schools around Arizona, but their paths didn’t meet on the field until four years ago. 

In 2016, Mike and Travis finally got the opportunity to work together when Travis was a coach at Highland. Mike joined on for Travis’ last year, and this was the first time they were able to work together as coaches. 

They separated again after Highland when Travis took a coaching job at American Leadership Academy-Gilbert North, where he worked for two years.

Finally, in 2019 Travis took the head coaching position at ALA-Ironwood and brought on Mike as the defensive coordinator. They have been working together there for the last two seasons. 

At ALA-Ironwood, for the first time, Travis was the one in charge, and he wasn’t the “understudy” anymore.

Travis reflected on what it has been like working with his dad.

“I think my mom is the only person that can truly be in charge of my dad,” he said. 

“I’m more stubborn than I realized, sometimes, and I want to make my own mistakes, but the experience that he has is just invaluable," he added. "I bounce ideas off of him. I talk to him most days, most nights, after practice... I'm constantly asking for feedback on stuff, and I just really value that.”

When Mike reflected on his experience working under his son at ALA-Ironwood, he explained that he really enjoys watching Travis as a coach. 

He said it’s a lot of fun to “see what he's picked up through his playing career and things he's picked up even from me as a coach... He's taken a lot of things to heart. He's very meticulous. He has an idea of where he wants the program to go. And he's not wavering in the expectations that he has for our players.”

Travis and Mike are in their second season at ALA-Ironwood, and they are very excited about what the future holds for the team.