The Grueling Truth

He has two adult sons. When they were three and seven, he and their mother divorced. She moved several states away so he gained custody and raised his sons. He recognized very early that these were not quiet, mild-mannered children so he channeled their ample energies into athletics. Naturally he followed and that was the beginning of his love affair with coaching.

He has coached football, basketball, and baseball for over twenty years, with players ranging in age from 6 to 18 year old seniors in high school. He also provides radio commentary in football, basketball, baseball, and softball. Game knowledge and the ability to communicate it serve him very well in coaching and broadcasting.

He was lucky to have coaches whose messages beyond the sport dovetailed nicely with the principles he learned at home. He has passed these along to many players over the years but he has seen too many coaches who did not grasp the concept. That is the reason for the book, “Be the Ultimate Sports Coach: The Definitive Practical Guide to Coaching Youth Sports. The How, The Why, and What to Avoid”.   He wrote that book with the hope that it would benefit kids by helping coaches everywhere to understand that the best coaching involves more than just the “X”s and “O”s.

Buck began broadcasting high school sports in 2009 teaming with Chris Cooke in football and basketball for WBNL 1540 AM. That led to guest appearances with ESPN radio 106.7 FM WYFX and 102.3 FM WBTO. In 2013, the pair broadcast the Owensboro Rage professional indoor football games for ESPN Radio 102.7 FM WLME THE GAME and WVJS 100.5 FM/AM 1420.

In 2014, the team of Allen Buck and Chris Cooke were called upon to travel to Cincinnati to broadcast the Kentucky River Monsters indoor professional football games via MRSN SPORTS.  More recently, he covered North Posey High School Football and Basketball on 90.1 FM WSDM during the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

In 2015, he moved to 106.7 WYFX and currently does color commentary for Mater Dei High School Football and Basketball.  Buck has made several guest appearances for Media Five sports over the 2015 and 2016 seasons broadcasting high school basketball games of past state champion Princeton Lady Tigers.  In 2016, he became the Co-Host and founder of Gameday I.Q. a weekly sports show heard at thegruelingtruth.net.  

In 1996 he left the classroom to become a guidance counselor at NRHS and left the coaching ranks to spend more time with his two sons. It was his sons youth sports teams that drew him back into coaching. He coached in the Forest Hills Youth Football organization and the Cincinnati Patriots select baseball organization. Also during this time he became an avid Xavier basketball fan, becoming a season ticket holder and traveling around the country to watch the Musketeers.

After his youngest son finished his high school athletic career in 2013, he returned to the helm of the NRHS softball program, a position he continues to this day. After retiring from the guidance office in 2014, he volunteered to broadcast basketball games for NRHS boys and girls games. In the fall of 2016 he became the voice of the NRHS football Lions on the internet broadcasts and hosts the Roll Pride Coaches’ show every Monday night.