LONDON — The trip to London for the Union Jack Classic marks the first time Arizona State wide receiver coach Hines Ward has been to England. The thing that makes that a bit surprising is that his youngest daughter's name is Londyn.
Did he name her after this country? Nope. He and his wife, Lindsey, just liked the name. But chose to spell it differently than the city they are currently visiting.
"There's no meaning behind it. Loved the name," he laughed when asked if there was a meaning behind it.
Ward, in his third year on coach Kenny Dillingham's staff, spoke to the media on Sept. 16 at The Lensbury Hotel, where the team is staying and preparing for its date with Big 12 foe Kansas in the first Union Jack Classic on Sept. 19 at Wembley Stadium.
Like Dillingham earlier in the week, Ward doubled down on the fact that this is a business trip. He is letting his wife and daughter be tourists.
"They're out vacationing, doing all the picture-taking," he said. "After practice, I always look at my phone. Yesterday they were in Legoland. I think they're going to the palace. I saw a picture of her standing in front of the gate. That's what it's all about. Our whole culture here has been about family. Our family is a big part of what we do. As coaches, we grind every day, just the token of appreciation for our family allowing us to be in this business, where we're taking time away from our family. I think it's fitting that Kenny and ASU gave us the opportunity to bring our families out and let them go out and enjoy it."
Nowadays, it isn't unusual for NFL teams to make trips overseas for games, but it wasn't the norm when Ward played in the league from 1998 to 2011. He said the closest thing he had to what ASU is currently doing was playing an exhibition game against the Indianapolis Colts in Mexico City in 2000. The event drew 87,000 spectators.
He sees the value in the foreign experience.
"The game is just expanding so much," Ward said. "It's just great to see internationals really take to American football, which we all know soccer is a little different, but people have embraced it, and now you're starting to see colleges play in these international games. It's great for our program and the city. We have a lot of players that have never been out of the country."
Ward has embraced the opportunity to coach. He helped produce a first-round draft pick in Jordyn Tyson. Now he's got a pupil in Reed Harris, who enters the contest against Kansas, ranked fourth in the country in receiving yards, with 326 in two games.
He likes the work ethic of Harris and said it has resonated throughout the entire position group.
"Reed has been awesome," Ward said. "He's a worker. He is the first guy in the building. He's just been a joy to coach. So for me it's just about trying to help him be consistent week in and week out. He's done a phenomenal job, as have all of our receivers. I am extremely happy about the group we've got. I think they bring out the best in each other. When guys sees someone making a play and he wants to get into the mix. That's a good thing."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State assistant coach Hines Ward has a tie to London, sort of
