Army veteran reaches new heights with Soldiers to Sidelines charity: ‘Puts our veterans at the forefront’

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Maurice Allen has worn many different hats in life. He is a U.S. Army veteran, a husband, a father and a football coach. 

He is also a "soldier coach." 

Allen, a retired Army communications specialist, is just one of the more than 1,800 "soldier coaches" certified through the veteran charity Soldiers to Sidelines that was able to find a renewed purpose after his military service. 

Maurice Allen enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2012 and served for four years, which included his deployment to Afghanistan in 2014-15. (Maurice Allen)

"I played high school football. I kind of always knew I wanted to be a coach. I was going to go to play college football out of high school and instead went active duty Army and was stationed at Fort Hood," Allen told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

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Allen put his dream of coaching on hold to serve his country and, eventually, to pursue his education. He enlisted in 2012 and served for four years, which included his deployment to Afghanistan in 2014-15. 

His story is like many others. However, after completing his service, Allen knew he wanted to return to coaching. With that in mind, he earned his Bachelor's degree and a Masters of Education in Sports Administration at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and later an Education Specialist degree from Valdosta State University. 

During that time, however, Allen was looking for something that was just for veterans. That was when he came across Soldiers to Sidelines. 

He reached out to Harrison Bernstein, the president and founder of Soldiers to Sidelines, a veteran service charity organization whose mission