It might be a surprise to hear that when Seneca head football coach Terry Maxwell and his senior son Zebadiah settle in at home after a night practice or greet each other the Saturday morning after a game that football isn’t a subject that is normally discussed.

“He is so good about that,” said Zebadiah, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound tight end. “At practice and games, he’s nothing but coach, then when we get home, he’s just dad. We really hardly ever talk about anything football at home unless I want to.”

Terry says that while both may have things they what to talk about following a tough practice or game, he has always kept things in perspective.

“I have to be really intentional about keeping the separation between coach and dad, especially after games because I want to recap everything,” said Terry, who has been the head coach for the Fighting Irish since 2021. “Then I watch film, and I want to go to him and talk about this, that and the other.

“There are times I really want to say something, and I ask to him ‘Do you want to hear from dad or coach?’ Most of the time the answer is dad, and to be honest that is sometimes the answer I’m hoping for.”

Maybe even more amazing is that despite the fact that both are very competitive, they can keep the talk about football just at the field or locker room.

“I hate to lose. The last game of last season, losing to Bismark- [Henning/Rossville-Avon] just ate me up probably until halfway into the basketball season,“ Zebadiah said about Seneca’s 21-14 loss to the Blue Devils in the Class 2A playoffs second round. ”That’s has been the motivation for me since that day, doing whatever I can to help the team not only get back to that position but also succeed if we get there.

“(Dad) is very competitive. We’ll be playing Monopoly and he’ll be trying to make a bogus trade for a property or money with my 12-year-old sister to get an upper hand. He’ll never cheat, but he’ll also try and win at any game anyway he can.”

Terry said the key is having boundaries that don’t get crossed.

“We both love the game of football, we’re both very competitive, we love this team, and we are invested in it,” Terry said. “There are times where I think we both want to talk about something that happened on the field. But I think over the years we’ve found those clear lines that we both know are going to get crossed a little if we do talk, so we just let it go in the moment and revisit things later.”

Despite his father being the head coach, Zebadiah says he doesn’t feel he puts any added weight on his shoulders to do well.

“I guess I don’t feel like because my dad is the coach I put any extra pressure on myself to do well,” Zebadiah said. “I think that position I play helps a little with that. Maybe if I was the quarterback or a running back, a player that threw or carried the ball a lot, a making a mistake would be right out there for everyone to see. But most people aren’t going to know from play to play if I miss a block or not, but I know my dad will. It’s not really pressure to do well or not make mistakes; it’s just wanting to do well for him and the team.”

Terry says he hasn’t really given much thought about the fact that this will be the final season he gets to coach his son. Rather his thoughts are enjoying the season watching his Zebadiah do what he loves to do ... play football.

“It’s been special to have the chance to coach Zebadiah,“ Terry said. ”He’s made himself into a very good football player over the years and hopefully this coming season will be his best yet.

“As a coach and a dad, I’m excited to see him continue to get better.”