We got in a full day today, with no threat of rain at all. Even the mosquitoes were cooperating. I worked with the new QB a little before practice. I like the one on one time I can get with a player before practice when we get some premium reps on a specific item. Today, I worked him on the read progression on his passing routes. Then, while Miller ran stretch, I prepared for our "Score Period and Indy. Remember the boys who went home early yesterday? Well, Randy had them running 400 yards of "Catch-Ups" to make sure they got the message. I don't think this will happen again. What is a catch-up? Our fields are marked every five yards. A player starts from the end zone, and he does a 'down-up' (while running the length of the field) on every line. That is 20 'down-ups' per 100 yards. This tends to get their attention. While Randy ran catch-ups, Me, Washington and Willis, ran the score period. Good stuff. Randy and I ran a nice combined INDY period with the focus on the passing game. Then, we went right to 7 on 7 passing period. The defense is really playing fast, so it is frustrating the offense right now. When frustration sets in, things get a little spicy on both sides of the ball. It was a fun day.
I just read an article about high school football on a website. I guess not all schools have ideal facilities for the football program. We are pretty lucky at SRHS, for we have it pretty good compared to some schools. We have a nice on campus stadium, good practice fields, and a good weight room. Not all schools have this advantage. Some schools must share a city facility; therefore, they arrive at the stadium on buses just like everyone else. I today's world, if a program is really good, they will get a Nike sponsorship and play on a national platform. This means BIG MONEY for the football program, and this type of program always has the finest of everything. There is a real difference between the "Haves" and the "Have-Nots."
When I was a kid, we lived in Atlanta, Georgia for two years. There was a football league around the area called The Atlanta Youth Conference (AYC.) The AYC consisted of many leagues around the greater Atlanta area such as: Atlanta Colts, Glenwood Hills Panthers, Gresham, Tucker and many others. Each league was divided into specific weight divisions. 85 Lbs, 95 LBS, 115 lbs and 125 Lbs. Each weight division had 200-300 kids trying out for 35 roster spots to play on a CONFERENCE team. A conference team was the best of the best of all the kids trying out. The rest of the kids (who did not make a conference team) were divided up and placed on regular intramural teams inside the league. I was fortunate enough to play for the 115 lb Conference Team for the two years I lived in Glenwood Hills.
The conference teams were state funded. We even had our brand new stadium to play in. We traveled around the state playing ball each weekend. The conference teams had the best equipment, the best uniforms, and brand new helmets every year. We had cold-weather gear, and our own team trainer. We were always on the road, (out of state) every Thanksgiving. Football was a serious business and we were expected to play well or be cut from the team. If a conference coach needed some help at a position due to cuts or injuries, he would take who he wanted from the intramural league. I remember feeling bad for the intramural kids. Here I was (11 - 12 years old) with this brand-new equipment, brand new shoes, brand new uniforms, and cold weather suede parkas, and these kids would have old uniforms and old equipment to play in. This is when I realized that if you were a good football player, you would be treated differently..... good or bad.
When I was the Football Coordinator for the Sebastian, Panthers, I invited a few of the old AYC leagues down here to play in our Turkey Bowl tournament on thanksgiving weekend. They arrived by bus, and it was a major disappointment for me. The AYC had really slipped, and it was no where near the quality it used to be. In fact, they hd combined leagues to make an all-star team to play in our weekend tournament. Truthfully, I was glad when they left.
More Tomorrow.
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