MORE RAIN

Paul Hornung  "The Golden Boy" 

 

 

Donnie Anderson: "Old Yeller" 

 

Football players sometimes have cruel sense of humors.  Paul Hornung was a Heisman Trophy winner from Notre Dame. He was one of the first superstar players in the NFL and was considered a "pretty boy" by his teammates who absolutely loved him.  Vince Lombardi loved this colorful running back.  Everything Hornung did seemed to turn into gold.  Therefore, the players started calling Paul: "The Golden Boy"   When Hornung left the Packers (after being suspended for gambling allegations) the Packers drafted Donnie Anderson from Texas the following year.  Anderson played very well for the Packers, but he was never as colorful as Hornung was.  Playing in "The Golden Boy's" shadow, Anderson was nicknamed: Old Yeller" by his teammates.  Now THAT is funny!  

 

The RAIN returned today.  I could see the storm cell coming on my Blackberry, but it arrived before we ever got started.  We were delayed about an hour and a half before we went under the stadium to get some work done.  Bethel has a way of getting player's attention during times like this.  Today, he made sure that the players were in control of the things THEY could control:  Things like having their chin straps buckled, breaking the huddle correctly, hustling to the line of scrimmage etc..  He made it a point to emphasize that life sometimes throws you a curve ball, and you must learn to adjust.  We can't control the weather, nor can we control if the gym is being painted, but there are things we can improve on.  These "Lessons in Life" are things we teach everyday.  I get aggravated with Randy sometimes, but I admire the lessons he teaches these kids too.  Even at my age, I am constantly learning from other coaches. 

 

The JV team had a nice win tonight against Port St. Lucie High School. The game was delayed for about an hour because of the rain.  The team started out slowly, but they eventually went ahead 18-14 with 30 seconds to go.  I like to watch the younger kids play ball.  We always send down some 10th graders to get some playing time which helps the team out quite a bit.  We only have a single JV team consisting of mostly 9th graders; however, they often play much more mature JV teams consisting of 10th graders and a few 11th graders.  In reality, our kids should really be playing a freshman schedule.  I was happy for the young players and the coaching staff.  It was a nice win for them. 

 

Later,

GZ