This rain and lightning is killing us. Coach Miller was running late today, so Jefferson took the kids out for stretch. We stretched as usual, and CRACK, lightning bolt lights up the sky. Indoors we go. Rain followed soon after. Finally, we ended up under the bleachers for a mock run-through of a game situation. I will give Randy some credit, for he is good at keeping the kids busy under the stands with walk-thrus and running the pillars. It would drive me crazy. We really need to get on the field ASAP. Next Thursday (Game day) is coming fast.
Let me tell you why I am so worried about the water coolers. We had a scrimmage on Saturday. I took out both battery water cows, and one coil cooler. When we came off the field, I made sure that both water cows were taken in correctly. Coach Brown asked one of the Freshman to break down the coil cooler and take it inside. I noticed a big pile of ice on the ground outside the water room. I thought: Oh No! Sure enough, the cooler was tore up. The boy dumped the cooler upside down to empty the ice, and the entire inside guts (brass coils) fell out and broke off the connections. The feeder hose connector broke as well. The hose was wrapped up and tangled on the reel too. I spent Sunday repairing the cooler once again. I have chosen a couple of younger boys ( I can trust) to help me out, so maybe we can keep this from happening again.
We have some real characters on this team, and I really enjoy coaching them. During our stretch, this is a casual period that we all use to talk with the players, throw in some jabs, or maybe even talk some smack....like Ric Flair.! I tell the boys: "Don't hate me because I am pretty. My Grandma used to say I was too pretty to be a boy!" One of the big linemen said: Grandmothers say a lot of things coach!" LOL. Some of the kids are just plain funny.
I remember when I coached the Senior Panther team. I had this player named Ivory who was a real character. I would send Ivory on crack back blocks, and he would try to separate the defensive player's head from his body. Just a fierce hitter. I would send Ivory out as a wide receiver. It was important that he lined up ON the line of scrimmage. With Ivory, this was always a chore, for he was not the brightest bulb on the tree at the time. We were playing West Melbourne, and I called for this crack back play. I wanted to run this play into our own boundary so I could see it develop. The QB calls the play, and out comes Ivory. I told Ivory: "Tell the referee you are on!" (as in lined up ON the line) Ivory looks at the referee and says: "YOU are on!" The referee says: "I'M NOT ON!" Ivory says: "Yes you is, Coach says you is!" I about died laughing. How can you not laugh at that?
In an earlier posting, I shared that the VB Recreation Department used to give me the troubled kids because I could control them. I had a player name Cecil who had just moved here from New York City. This was a fantastic looking kid who looked like a great athlete, and looked fast just standing. I was not wrong, Cecil was LIGHTNING fast. Cecil told me he got so fast running from the Police after a getting into trouble. LOL. For some reason, Cecil and I really hit it off. I gave him the discipline he was not getting at home, and he just soaked it up. Anyway, Cecil ran GREAT, as long as he was not getting hit. He hated contact, and he folded up in traffic. However, if Cecil could get the corner on a team, it was over. NO ONE could catch him. Cecil had just broken a long run for a TD, and he ran off the field breathing hard and out-of-breath. He said to me: "COACH, I have got to quit smoking!" I had to laugh. Cecil also lived in my neighborhood. The neighborhood was having a bad string of car burglaries, and home invasions. Cecil told me: "You don't have to worry coach, it will never happen to you!" I never asked any questions. In this case, I did not want to know. Cecil ended up in prison a few years later. For all I know, he may still be there.
Later.
GZ
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